Enticing the Earl

“You will never hit me.”

He waved a hand at her. “We have already been through that.”

“Very well. We must wait until after I have my next monthlies. I will not let you raise another man’s child.”

Simon glanced away. While he knew she was right, he also knew if she were with child she would need his protection even more. “How long should that be?”

“Hopefully, no more than a fortnight.”

“I agree, then. Are there any more conditions?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes. Before I agree to marry you, you must do one more thing.”

“What is it?” He wondered how hard this last condition could be. It seemed to be taking her forever to tell him.

“You must kiss me.”

Chapter 6

Oh, dear Lord, had she really just asked him to kiss her? Mia Featherstone, the poor wise woman who worked the estate, just asked Lord Hartsfield for a kiss. And based on the length of time it was taking him to answer, he was just as shocked.

“A kiss?” he finally asked.

Mia bit down on her lower lip and nodded. “I would like to know if there is an attraction between us. I don’t believe it would be fair to either of us to marry solely for my protection. You need an heir. It would be much more pleasant if making this heir wasn’t a chore.”

He pressed his lips together tightly as if holding back a grin. “Very well, this is your final condition, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really believe you are up to a kiss today? Or would you rather wait until you are further healed?”

She could see his reasoning on this. If she allowed him to kiss her today and she wasn’t affected by the kiss, it might be due to her bruises. But a part of her wanted this issue of marriage settled before she changed her mind. She knew marrying him purely for the protection his name could bring her was wrong. Yet, she felt she had no choice. No other man had ever tried to shield her from harm, save her father. Every other man had used her. She didn’t see how Hart could possibly be using her. Most people would believe she was using him.

And perhaps she was.

He was certainly a handsome man and she had never heard of him hurting another person. She might come to love him.

But was might enough?

“Hart,” she started slowly, “I don’t believe this question of marriage is fair to you.”

“How so?”

Mia stared at her hands. “I am not in love with you.”

“I know that.”

She glanced up at his smiling face and cocked her head. “But shouldn’t that be an important part of marriage?”

He laughed and took her hand in his. “If I married a lady from London, do you think I would love her? It would be a marriage to make her parents and my mother happy. A chance for a woman to increase her parents’ position in Society. Or for another peer to boast that his daughter caught an earl. Nothing more. I wouldn’t love her.”

“Do you believe in love?” She hadn’t thought it possible that Hart was a cynical man who didn’t believe in such a fanciful idea as love.

“Yes,” he said, nodding. “I have been in love before.”

“What happened?”

“She...” his voice trailed off as he looked out toward the window. “She didn’t know I existed.”