Temptation Has Green Eyes Read Free

his proposal.
    “If you agree to do this, I’ll make you my heir. It will be part of the marriage settlement.” He leaned back, his attention fixed on Max. “It’s a good offer.”
    Just as if he was offering another business deal, which, to all intents and purposes, he was. Except it involved far more personal relations than any other business deal would. Was Max ready to let a woman into his well-ordered life?
    The sound of the coffee house continued as if Max’s world hadn’t spun on its axis. The buzz of conversation went on around them, punctuated by occasional shout or laugh. Normal life revolved around him as he fought to get his thoughts into some kind of order.
    “Sophia will make you an excellent marchioness.”
    About to refuse outright, Max paused, staring at the man who had made such an outrageous offer. A cit to a marquess. But an extremely wealthy cit to a previously impoverished marquess. His title hadn’t put food on the table; his business acumen had done that.
    If he wanted a wife, Sophia was the kind of woman he’d be looking for, rather than a society maiden fresh out of the schoolroom. She had business acumen, and she was attractive enough, from what he’d seen of her.
    And the inducement—mouthwatering. He could give his mother her life back and continue with his own. After all, he knew hardly anyone whose marriage hadn’t been arranged. What was this but another one?
    What was he thinking? Max had always sworn to avoid the arranged marriage. He wanted to choose his wife for himself. But if he agreed to this, he’d have everything he ever wanted, not just for himself, but for his mother and his sister, Poppy. Not such a sacrifice. And many married couples lived completely separate lives. His heart sank and his stomach hollowed. Above all things he wanted a harmonious home, someone he could build a life with. But love—he didn’t want that. Bile rose to his throat. Not for him, never.
    Russell tapped one finger on the table, bringing Max back to attention.
    “Walk back some of the way with me.”
    Max accompanied Russell to the offices of his man of business, where his own would be waiting in a very different frame of mind to the one he’d expected. Not happy with a job well done, but in complete turmoil. Marry? He tipped back his head, sucking down as much fresh air as this crowded part of London afforded, trying to shake some sense into it.
    Russell remained mainly silent during the short journey, giving Max a chance to settle his whirling thoughts.
    Without a husband and with the gossips busy circulating the stories spread by her erstwhile suitor, Sophia would be a target for every unscrupulous fortune-hunter in the country. But no respectable men. Her reputation would be wrecked by the man she’d refused.
    Russell’s wealth ensured that she’d find someone. Max could induce his mother to introduce her. But the kind of society his family moved in contained more fortune hunters than anywhere else, because it also contained some of the wealthiest and best connected people in the country. Mercenary and vicious, they’d quell Sophia, mistreat her, and waste her fortune. Several of that breed had attached themselves to Poppy, or tried to, before Max or another of his male relatives had seen them off. Without that protection, Sophia would be achingly vulnerable.
    Max wasn’t the only man left with little fortune and a huge monstrosity of a house to care for. Many men would be glad of Sophia’s wealth to shore up their ailing finances. They’d care for her, too. Not all fortune hunters were heartless.
    But that wouldn’t help his business. Max could help Sophia find someone suitable, but that would distance him from the business he’d worked so hard to connect with.
    They walked past other coffee houses with businesses as thriving as Lloyd’s—Tom’s with its clutch of men looking for women to pass the time with. A house that infuriated the magistrates at Bow Street because no