Free Never Miss a Chance by Maureen Driscoll Page B

And they all thought they
now stood a chance to win her fortune.  Nothing else could’ve have shown her
just how low she’d fallen than that group of suitors.  The only decent one of
the bunch had been the Earl of Stalford.
    Until Marcus had arrived.  She’d finished dressing quickly,
anxious to see him, only to arrive in the breakfast room to hear the most
dispassionate declaration she could ever imagine.   She knew from their
discussion the previous evening that he’d resigned himself to a marriage of
convenience.  But it had never been her dream to be just a convenience to
anyone.  Especially not to her husband.
    And now he was looking at her, expecting an answer.
    She raised her chin and met his eyes.  “My lord, I cannot
allow your sacrifice.”
    “And what sacrifice would that be, Lady Elizabeth?”
    “To give yourself in marriage simply to save the house of
Lynwood.  I realize you and Liam are friends, but even he wouldn’t expect such
an act.”
    “This has nothing to do with Liam.”
    Which somehow made it worse, thought Lizzie.  She could see
how helping out a friend could lead one to make such a dispassionate plea for
marriage.  But if he was taking his feelings for her into account and still
couched his proposal in such terms as might be found in some sort of scientific
journal expounding on a species of plant, it was depressing beyond belief. 
Actually, worse, since she’d had the misfortune of attending a most boring
lecture at the Zoological Society a few months earlier and the scholar had been
positively euphoric.  About a plant.   
    She was determined to get a reaction out of Riverton,
similar to that nice-but-boring Mr. Turnbridge and his flora of the Amazon.
    She took two steps closer to him, breaking the standard
barrier of propriety.  She noticed he somehow stilled his initial reaction to
back up.  “May I call you Marcus?  You did just propose, after all.”
    “I didn’t propose.”
    “So you’re going back on your offer?  Are you jilting me,
Marcus?”  She knew she was twisting his words, but didn’t care.
    “Of course not.”  He was maddeningly calm.  “I only made my
intentions clear to your brother.  If given permission, I intend to court you
for a reasonable amount of time, then ask for your hand.”
    “Ask me or Liam?”  His eyelashes were long enough to be the
envy of any woman.
    There was a momentary pause, as if he knew it to be a trick
question.  Which was wise, since it most definitely was.  “Both.”
    “And whose answer would be more important?  No, don’t tell
me, Marcus.  I fear the answer would be demoralizing.”  Lizzie slowly circled
him.  He remained perfectly still, giving her a gratifying view of all sides of
him.  Including a most intriguing look at his bottom.  Unfortunately, the sight
caused her to blush slightly, a fact he didn’t miss when they were once again
face to face.
    The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. 
    She went on the verbal offensive again.  “Will you really court
me, Marcus?  I mean, no man would simply walk into a lady’s house, express an
interest to wed, then expect the transaction to be ratified without further
effort.  I am not that horse I spoke of earlier.”
    “Lady Elizabeth….”
    “It’s Lizzie, Marcus.”
    “Lizzie, I am well aware that you’re not a horse.”
    “I am all aflutter at such romantic words.”
    He paused again, refusing to take the bait.  He responded as
calmly as ever, rooted to the floor, despite her incremental approach.   “You
are the one who brought up the horse comparison.”
    “Because I was hoping to get some sort of reaction out of
you.  Raise your voice!  Make mad passionate love to me!  Do something other
than stand there like I was nothing more to you than a chore to be done.”
    Riverton looked non-plussed.  “There are servants nearby,
not to mention three of your brothers no doubt lurking outside the door. 
Raising my voice would bring