Enticing the Earl

He might not be so nervous if the tone of her voice had been a little warmer. “I need a wife.”

“You are not—”

“You said you would hear me out,” he interrupted. “I am almost thirty. I need a wife and I want children.” He watched her eyes grow wide as her head started shaking. “I can keep you safe. No one can touch you here.” He took a deep breath and said, “I would like to marry you.”

“No.”

“No? That’s all you can say? You haven’t even heard my reasons.”

“Of course I did. You want a wife and children. That’s understandable; so go find a lady in London. I am not the type of woman a man like you marries.”

He laughed. “You know that is not true. Look at your best friend. She married a duke.”

“Selina was a proper lady until she met North. I am not. You know I have been with Davies and I was with Smyth before that.”

Simon shook his head. Her virginity was the issue? “I have not been celibate, Mia. Does that bother you?”

“No, but you are a man and it’s expected that you would be with women befo

re you married.” She struggled to sit up against the pillows. “My being with other men can only embarrass you if it gets out.”

“I can handle the embarrassment. I rarely go to London, so who would know?”

“Everyone here and at your other estates. Gossip spreads like fire, Hart. They all know that a man abused me. The servants will all assume what happened, and they would be right.”

“Not one of the servants would dare to speak ill of you. They all love you.” He leaned in closer. “And fear your mother, I believe.”

Defeated, she glanced down at her hands on her lap. “Why do you want to marry me, Hart?”

“To protect you.”

She blinked quickly as if trying to fight back more tears. “I see. With you, I would be safe. You would never hurt me physically.”

Simon moved to the bed and held her hands. “I would never hurt you in any way.”

She went silent in thought for what seemed like the longest minute Simon had ever waited to pass. As she mentally debated the merits of marriage, her head would shake and then nod. Finally, she looked back up at him and said, “I have several conditions that must be agreed upon before I give you an answer.”

What was she up to? “Very well, tell me your conditions.”

“You will teach me to shoot.”

He smiled knowing how important it was now for her to be able to protect herself. “I will teach you to shoot and throw knives and most importantly, I will teach you the same things I taught my sister.”

“What?”

“How to take down a man trying to harm you.”

“How can I bring a man down who is taller and stronger than I?”

“It can be done in just a few easy steps. And it works. You may write my sister Caroline if you wish. She actually used it on her husband before they were married. It was not intentional; he thought she was someone else, and she thought he was a man trying to abduct her. It all worked out in the end, once his nose healed.”

Mia giggled. “She hurt his nose?”

“She broke his nose and hurt him in another very uncomfortable place. Fortunately, they were still able to have children after that.”

Mia laughed aloud this time. “That story is not true.”

Simon held his hand up as if taking an oath. “Every word. Now what are your other conditions?”