Graham stared in disbelief as Victoria wrapped a set of plain white plates in table linens and placed them into a crate. “You’re packing? Why?”
With one finger held aloft, she glanced up at him, and her blue eyes melted his ire. “I have one week left. I have failed my uncle’s test. As he knew I would. So I’m packing necessities and making inquiries into apartments I can afford on my stipend. Don’t worry. I won’t take anything of value.”
He never imagined she would. But then again, he never imagined her living anywhere but here … in her home. “I’m sure you’ll be given ample time to find a place and move after the rest of the will is read.”
“Why put off the inevitable? I would rather be done with it all when the final sentence is rendered.” She went back to her task.
“You have a week. You never know what the Lord will do.”
She stilled her hands and sighed but didn’t look up. “If He was going to make all my dreams come true, He would have by now. Besides, all my marriage prospects—not that any were suitable to begin with—have been scared away.”
Not all. “There has to be one agreeable man in the greater Boston area.”
She turned to face him. “Do you have someone in mind?”
Was that hope in her voice and eyes?
Staring intently, she blinked several times. “Anyone?”
Soon after he had met her, his heart had secretly hoped. But he hadn’t let his thoughts go there, because he knew that even faced with a life of near poverty, she would never consider him. He could mention Stanley Browning. She got on well with him, and his sister was her best friend. But what if she took him up on Browning? Then she would be lost to him.
Would he rather have her in poverty and still have a glimmer of hope than have her financially secure? “I’ll marry you.” He hadn’t meant to say that. But he couldn’t take it back. Didn’t want to.
She gripped the chairback closest to her and appeared not to breathe for a moment. Her voice came out small, almost childlike. “You?”
He swallowed hard and nodded like an errant schoolboy.
One eyebrow rose gracefully. “Why would I want to spend the rest of my life with a man who doesn’t even like me and thinks I’m nothing but a spoiled debutante?”
“I don’t dislike you.” In fact, quite the opposite.
“Do you deny that when we met, you wanted nothing to do with me?”
“Well … I … my cases …”
“Do you deny you thought me among the snobbish privileged who couldn’t do anything for myself?”
“Well … I suppose …”
Her eyes glistened, and she blinked several times. She folded her arms. “So what about your oh-so-romantic proposal am I supposed to swoon over and say yes to?”
He was mucking this up. He drew in a deep breath to order his thoughts. Just like closing statements to a jury. “My proposal is not meant to be romantic but practical. To keep you from losing everything.”
She thinned her lips. “So you want my uncle’s money, too. You would be sitting pretty then. You are no different than Lord Claremont and all the others.”
Ouch! “That’s not true. I’m not after your money. But I don’t want you to lose it.”
“I’m not losing my uncle’s money.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I can’t lose something I never had in the first place. And if I marry, it all becomes my husband’s—in this case you. So I was never, ever going to have my uncle’s money, married or not. I would rather be a pauper and control my own life than be at the whim of a man who cares naught for me.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. He was making a flying mess of this whole thing. “What I mean is, I would allow you to have full control over your uncle’s money—your money.”
“Allow. How generous. That’s easy to say now. I’m sure Lord Claremont would have said the same thing.”
“True. But I will draft a contract we’ll both sign before we marry, giving you full control.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You could do that?”
“Of course.”
“But wouldn’t that go against my uncle’s will? And therefore not be binding?”
“I think I could word things to take effect the moment all your uncle’s assets are transferred to m—the man you marry.”
Through squinted eyes, she studied him. “Why didn’t you suggest this before? With one of the men my uncle had chosen?”
“I hadn’t thought of it until now.” And he didn’t want her to marry anyone else. “You can’t be sure that one of those other men would keep his word and not try to break the contract after the wedding. I give you my solemn promise.”
“Why would you do this? What would you gain out of the deal?”
You. “Nothing. You deserve and are entitled to your uncle’s holdings. You’re his only heir.”
Her stoic expression didn’t budge.
“Would you at least think about it?”
She gave a curt nod. “I would like to be alone to contemplate my future.”
From the start, she had been trying to send him away. Was there anything more he could say to persuade her? “I’ll be in the library.”
Victoria’s heart broke as Graham walked away.
He had proposed a business arrangement.
Nothing more.
She had hoped for more.
A lot more.
But what would he gain from his proposal? Certainly not a wife to love and cherish. Social position?
The tears she had held at bay during their discussion broke free. She slapped them away. Why did she think she was special enough to find a man to love her when so many women failed? Or settled.
Her uncle must be laughing at her high ideals now. Shaking his head and saying she had fanciful notions.
Stanley had obviously been wrong in his declaration that Graham held affection for her. Maybe Stanley would be willing to marry her if he learned of her uncle’s stipulation. He might not agree to her having full control but at least a large allowance.
Victoria stayed in the dining room for a good hour, packing the dishes and linens she would take with her. The time gave her a chance to get a handle on her emotions.
Prepared to face Graham again, she strode into the library and studied him busy at work behind the desk. “Write the contract, and I’ll read it.”
Graham jumped to his feet. “Really?” He strode around the desk. “So you’re agreeable to my proposal?”
“I don’t know.” She clearly wasn’t going to find another man to fall in love with in a week. Wouldn’t it be better to marry a man she at least loved even if he didn’t return her love than having no love at all? “But I’ll read it and consider your offer.”
He reached back and picked up the papers he’d been writing on. “It’s done.”
“How? When? You left me only an hour ago.” Had he already had the contract written up before he arrived? Had he been planning this all along? Was he manipulating her? She prayed not.
“I wrote it just now while I was waiting for you.”
“You did?”
He nodded.
“Is it legal?”
“Of course. Once you’ve signed.” He motioned toward the desk chair. “Sit and read it. Let me know if you have any questions or would like anything changed.”
She hadn’t expected something so fast. Her legs felt weak as she rounded the desk, grateful for the cushioned seat to catch her. She dropped the contract onto the desk and flipped through the pages. “You’ve already signed this. Are you that confident?”
“I wanted you to know that I’m making you a serious offer.”
“Why are you so insistent?”
He hesitated. “Because you deserve what’s rightfully yours.”
She sensed he was holding something back. She drew in a slow breath. “I don’t know. Maybe with someone like Stanley. He at least doesn’t detest me.”
Graham seemed to bristle at the mention of Stanley. “I do not detest you. Far from it. I admire your spirit and spunk. You’ve never let the conditions of your uncle’s will get you down. You’re smart and have a superb sense of humor. I don’t know another lady who could have outsmarted Lord Claremont the way you did. Most would have given up, declared him the victor, and married the manipulating clod. But you stood your ground.”
He paused then continued. “Please consider me over Mr. Browning.”
“I still can’t determine what you would gain out of the arrangement.”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.” Consenting to let him write the contract had been a bad idea. “I don’t understand your motivation. And until I do, I won’t agree to anything.” She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. “I don’t want any surprises. I want to know exactly what I’m getting myself into.”
He stared at her, unwilling to speak.
She couldn’t take his silence, stood, and rounded the desk, prepared to leave.
“Um—I—you!”
She turned slowly to face him. Me? “What does that mean?”
He took one of her hands in his. “I would get you. That’s all I want. I love you.”
The air froze in her lungs. Could it be true?
He continued, unaware of her swirling emotions. “Yes, when I first met you, I thought you were spoiled, but then I got to know you. You treat the servants like human beings, and they love you. The household staff is more like family to you. You’re not willing to sacrifice your principles for the security of money.”
She stared at him, afraid to speak, but finally found the courage. “You don’t love me. You’re just saying what you know I want to hear.” Tell the silly female what she wants to hear, and she’ll do anything you ask. She didn’t know which hurt worse, his declaration of love when he didn’t mean it, or his not saying it at all.
“I wish there was something I could say to convince you, but I know that no words would be adequate. They would all sound fabricated. Though words are my profession, I have none but this. I do love you.”
Victoria ached to believe him.
“Please read it.” Graham guided her around the desk and into the chair.
At the very least, she could scan what he’d written. The contract gave everything back to her. House. Money. Business holdings. As she read, an uneasiness coiled around inside her, and a verse echoed in her mind, drowning out the words on the page. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
She allowed her mind to ponder that verse and realized she was no different from all the men who would marry her for her uncle’s money. Wasn’t she considering Graham’s offer partly for her uncle’s inheritance? Otherwise there would be no rush. She would always wonder if Graham believed the earnestness of her declaration. She wanted him to have no doubts in her. And hadn’t God pricked her heart with that verse?
She stood, came around the desk, and handed him the contract.
He turned to the last page. “You haven’t signed it.”
“And I’m not going to. If I sign that and marry you, I would be as dishonorable as Lord Claremont or the others.”
“What are you saying?”
“Thank you for your offer, but I’m not going to marry for the sake of money.” Though she desperately wanted to marry him, she knew the right thing to do was to not marry him to receive her uncle’s vast wealth.
“So you plan to go to the final reading unmarried.”
“Yes.”
He lowered to one knee. “Will you marry me after the will is all settled?”
Behind her, someone gasped. She turned to see the household staff bunched together at the bottom of the stairs.
Mrs. Fuller, barely able to contain her grin, waved her on and nodded for Victoria to accept Graham’s proposal.
She wanted to say yes. If he truly loved her, she would have everything she ever wanted. But if he didn’t love her, then this could all be a big manipulation to marry her before the will was read, and he would take everything. “Do you truly love me?”
His smile spread wider. “I do.”
Gazing down at him kneeling patiently, she believed him. Or at least, her heart believed him. And that would be enough for her. “Why would you want to marry a pauper?” She realized she didn’t truly believe he loved her. Her uncle’s money had always stood in the way of love, or the certainty of love.
“Because I love you. Is this some sort of test? To see if I really do love you? Because I do.”
“No. No test.” She wouldn’t do that to him.
“Then you’ll marry me.”
“I’ll have nothing.” She never truly believed that anyone would fall in love with her, or at least, she wouldn’t be able to believe it.
“I don’t care if you have money or not. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I can provide for you.” He spread his hands. “Not at this level, but well enough.”
“Then you really do love me.”
He nodded.
“Yes, I’ll marry you, but not to have my uncle’s money, but because I love you, too.”
He rose, cupped her face in his hands, and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.
Her insides tingled with joy and love for this man. It would be a fine Christmas after all.
The servants applauded.