Only Marriage Will Do Read Free

her head. “Surely you heard them. The ton could talk of nothing else last year.”
    “I am but lately come from the colonies. We hear very little of London society’s scandals there.” He should not distress her more. “If you would rather not speak of it—”
    “No. I don’t mind. Everyone else knows.” She sighed and returned to the sofa. She sat in a rose-colored companion chair and motioned for him to take a seat opposite her. “Over a year and a half ago, Earl Ferrers shot and killed a man. He was arrested and charged with murder. Our family name is the same as his title, although we are connected only through marriage. The earl pled insanity, although it did not save him, despite several genuinely mad family members.”
    She stared at him intently then continued. “Several rumors surfaced that I had inherited the Ferrers insanity. My brother called out the man who started them and killed him in a duel. He…” She swallowed hard. “He killed two men for my honor and dueled with others as well. Duncan also suffered horrible allegations.” She shifted in her seat and tried to smile. “So you see, the Ferrers family was hardly a bargain in the marriage mart last year. My brother thought he was acting in my best interest, sending the proxy for our marriage.”
    “Did you not wish to marry the viscount?”
    She tensed and avoided his eyes. “At that point, no, I didn’t. We had quarreled bitterly just before he left London.” Her voice softened until he had to lean toward her to hear. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she turned her head away. “And he was not always kind.”
    Amiable stood it for about five seconds. “My dear.” He rose, gathered her into his arms, and settled her head against his chest again. “I demand the right of a temporary husband to comfort you,” he murmured in her ear. “Stay still with your head just there.”
    He slowly stroked the bright hair that had escaped her cap. The blond curls cascaded down over her shoulders, so like the riotous copper beauty of Katarina’s hair. He stiffened at the thought. He must remember his original purpose.
    “My lady, can you tell me where I may find Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam? I beg pardon, the Marchioness of Dalbury? I received a letter from her in April and though my sisters informed me she had married Lord Dalbury, I would like to speak with her if I may.”
    “You know Kat?” Juliet squealed and stepped away from him. The genuine smile that lit her entire face transformed her from a harried, fearful woman to one of the loveliest he had ever seen.
    “Indeed, I have known Lady Katarina for some years now,” he said, enchanted by the change in her. “In Virginia. I was a captain in her father’s regiment for the past five years.”
    “She is wonderfully forthright, is she not, Captain Dawson? I have loved her since I met her, which seems an age ago, though really only about three months. I met her on her wedding day, when she married my brother, Duncan.”
    His heart lurched, but he set his features to betray nothing save slight interest by his raised eyebrow. He steeled himself for an onslaught of the retelling of Katarina’s marriage, so puzzling given the letter she had sent in March accepting his suit.
    Juliet turned her frank gaze on him. “What must I do, Captain Dawson? Philippe will return with those detestable papers and try to force me to accept our marriage. I am only a woman alone here. As I told Philippe, Duncan sailed to Italy only yesterday and is not expected to return until December.”
    His stomach plummeted into his shoes. “The marquess has just sailed for Italy? And the marchioness?”
    “Of course she sailed with him. He is taking her to study fencing with a Signore Fucile. Kat is apparently quite a good swordsman, or swordswoman.” Juliet frowned and shook her head. “I’d never heard of such a thing.”
    “That I can vouch for, Lady Juliet. I fenced with Lady Katarina at least once or twice a week