Free Rose In Scotland by Joan Overfield Page A

say?”
    Caroline gave a jerky nod, all but seething with resentment at his hard implacability. “He said it was the only way to foil Uncle Charles,” she said. “Grandfather said he could hardly force me into marriage with Sir Gervase if I were already wed to you, and as my husband, you would be my legal guardian, not him. He could only commit me with your consent.”
    A look of obvious skepticism stole across his face. “Then he truly did threaten you with such a thing? You weren’t exaggerating the matter to win your grandfather’s support?”
    Knowing he’d seen through her performance was disconcerting, but matters were too serious for Caroline to care. “Did you know my uncle, sir, you would not ask such a question,” she said, her lips thinning in a grim smile. “There is nothing he would not do to get his hands on my fortune.”
    He still looked far from convinced. “Your fortune?” he repeated, tilting his head to one side as he studied her. “You’re so rich, then?”
    Caroline wasn’t certain how to answer his question. Although the size of her fortune had been a matter of much speculation since the day of her coming out, she couldn’t remember anyone ever asking her straight out the depth of her pockets. Perversely, she decided she preferred his blunt demand to the mendacity displayed by most of her suitors. She tilted up her head to meet his gaze. “I am,” she said, watching his face to see how her admission struck him. “Does that matter?”
    He gave an indifferent shrug. “To me, no, though I cannot help but wonder why you should still be pressing for marriage with a stranger. If you are as wealthy as you claim, I would think there would be more than enough men eager to wed you. So I ask you once more, my lady, why me?”
    Knowing it was useless to prevaricate any longer, Caroline surrendered to the inevitable. “Because of the Scottish divorce laws,” she said quietly. “Grandfather says if we wed and remain married for one year and then divorce, I can gain legal control over my money and my person. Uncle Charles would never be able to threaten me again.”
    If hearing she wished to wed him had shocked him, it was obvious her plans to divorce him left him reeling. He stared at her as if she were indeed the madwoman her uncle threatened to name her. “Divorce!” he exclaimed, his hands tightening about her upper arms. “You cannot mean it!”
    Caroline pulled herself free. “Of course I mean it!” she returned crossly. “I have no desire to be wed—not to you nor to any other troublesome man—but because of British law I have no other choice in the matter. If I am to be free of Uncle Charles and his vile threats, I must marry. What is so difficult to comprehend about that?”
    “Aye, the marriage part I ken well enough,” he said, his expression darkening. “ ’Tis the divorce part I am finding a wee bit hard to swallow. A divorce would cause a devil of a scandal, and I’ll not be dragging my name and my clan through such muck.”
    “But that is precisely the point!” Caroline exclaimed, recalling her grandfather’s careful explanations. “Scottish law provides for the dissolution of a marriage for a variety of reasons, with no scandal attached to either party. And even if there were to be some talk, it seems to me
I
am the one who would likely suffer the brunt of it. If I am willing to take such a risk, can you not at least consider the matter?”
    He remained visibly skeptical. “And you are willing to live with society’s censure?” he asked, folding his arms across his broad chest. “Even knowing it could well make you an outcast, and ruin forever your chances for a proper marriage?”
    Caroline had already considered and accepted the dangers of her grandfather’s shocking proposal. “As I never desired to marry in the first place, I do not see that I have any chances left to ruin,” she said, her chin lifting with quiet resolve. “I want only my freedom, and