“Winifred,” Arabella protested. “I thought you supported our intentions to remain single.”
“No, dear. I want you to have a choice about who…whom you wed, but you need to marry eventually. That’s the only future for a lady of quality.”
“I have been trying to tell her so,” Marcus said, his eyes laughing.
“You should listen to your guardian, Arabella,” Winifred said quite seriously. “Lord Danvers might even be willing to drum up some good candidates for you. Suitable husbands don’t grow on trees, you know. With his connections, you might be able to make a good match after all.”
“Well, actually…” Marcus remarked, “I already have found the ideal candidate for her.”
Winifred turned to him with keen curiosity. “Who?”
“Myself. I have proposed to Miss Loring, but she has refused.”
Her ladyship looked startled, while Arabella shot him a reproachful glance. She hadn’t yet told her friend about Marcus’s proposal or their wager, and she regretted that he had brought it up now when she would rather have explained the situation to Winifred in private.
Winifred was still eyeing him in disbelief. “Is that the truth? You proposed, my lord? I wouldn’t have taken you for the marrying kind.”
“I wasn’t until last week. I took one look at Miss Loring and was smitten.”
Her ladyship’s chuckle resembled something of a horse’s whinny, while her brown eyes started dancing. “I always heard you were a wicked charmer. I can see why you have a bevy of lovestruck mistresses and admirers all trying to set traps for you.”
“Winifred!” Arabella exclaimed again. “It is hardly proper to speak of a gentleman’s mistresses at the dining table.”
“Now, don’t be so missish, dear. You know I believe in plain speaking. And if you want my advice, you could do much worse than to wed his lordship.”
“See,” Marcus interjected with a provocative glance at Arabella, “even your patroness thinks you should accept me.”
Winifred continued as if Arabella wasn’t there. “You won’t find it easy to win her over, my lord, but don’t be discouraged just because she doesn’t want you right this minute. Persistence, that’s the key. You should take a page from my late husband’s book. He practically had to fight off my other suitors, which is why my papa chose him for me-because he admired Rupert’s persistence. And even though Rupert only wanted me for my fortune, it turned out to be a good enough marriage. We became right fond of each other.” Her eyes suddenly shimmered with tears. “I miss him with a powerful ache sometimes.”
She sniffed loudly, then turned her attention to Arabella again. “Which is why, my girl, you don’t want to remain an old maid all your life. I know you have your reasons for not wanting to wed, but loneliness is a bleak bedfellow.”
With effort, Arabella managed a smile. “I will keep that in mind, Winifred. Now, may we please change the subject? All this pointless talk about marrying Lord Danvers has diminished my appetite.”
Arabella was glad when they obliged, but to her chagrin, Winifred was not willing to give up the subject entirely. She brought it up again an hour later when she took her departure. While Marcus waited politely on the front landing, Arabella accompanied her ladyship down the steps to her carriage.
“I think you should seriously consider wedding Lord Danvers,” Winifred whispered in a voice loud enough to carry back to the house. “That magnificent specimen of manhood would make you a fine bedfellow, I’ll wager.”
Arabella felt her cheeks flame, knowing that Marcus had overheard. “That is not a wager I intend to take, Winifred.”
She was determined to pretend indifference, but when she returned to the house, Marcus stood blocking her way to the entrance hall, his blue eyes alive with humor.
“Don’t say it,” Arabella warned as she brushed past him.
“Say what, love?” he asked innocently as he followed her inside and shut the door.
“Whatever you intended to say. No doubt you meant to remind me of your superior qualities as a bedfellow.”
He chuckled but shook his head. “You malign me unjustly. I merely wanted to invite you to accompany me on a picnic tomorrow.”
She gave him a curious glance. “A picnic? I would not have expected you to be fond of picnics.”
“I am in this instance, since it’s how I wish to spend some of my allotted time with you tomorrow. I’ll order a lunch packed, and we’ll drive my curricle instead of riding. That way you won’t be able to gallop off and leave me to eat your dust.”
Arabella hesitated. The prospect of a picnic with Marcus was indeed appealing, even if it afforded him another opportunity to seduce her into accepting his proposal. Yet she had agreed to his terms, promising him a sporting chance to woo her. Moreover, she owed him for his kindness to her pupils this afternoon.
“Very well,” Arabella replied evenly. “I would be pleased to accompany you on a picnic tomorrow, my lord. For now…good night.”
When she mounted the sweeping staircase, however, Ma