Free A Heart for the Taking by Shirlee Busbee

mother tossed her title about to all and sundry, either. It would seem petty and, well, rude.
    Sighing, Fancy muttered, “I just wanted to be certain.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “If you have changed your mind, I would appreciate it if you told me now before we leave Richmond. It will be very awkward for all of us if you were to discover at Walker Ridge that you had made a mistake in your affections.”
    “I can assure you that my feelings have not changed. And if they do,” he murmured, “you shall be the first to know of it.” A quizzical expression on his face, he asked, “I do not know what you are worried about, my dear. After all, was that not the entire purpose of your visit to my home, for Ellen and me to have a chance to know our hearts? Was that not
precisely
the reason that there has been no formal announcement . . . nor any actual betrothal? If I remember correctly, it was understood that either of us
could
change our minds.”
    Fancy frowned. Of course he was right. That was exactly why she and Ellen were in the Colonies—and he had just stated that his feelings for Ellen had not changed. She should have been totally reassured, but she wasn’t. Feeling no more at ease than she had before she had spoken to Jonathan, Fancy bade him good evening and departed.
    Jonathan stared consideringly after Fancy, deciding grimly that he was going to have to tread more carefully—the baroness was far more astute than he had initially thought. If she suspicioned that she was his ultimate quarry, she would immediately whisk herself and Ellen away on the first ship sailing to England, leaving him without
any
bride.
    Marriage had never been of particular interest to Jonathan, but he had always known that someday he would have need of a wife, if only to breed him sons. His problem these days was that it had become increasingly apparent to him that the generous allowance he had inherited under his father’s will was not sufficient for his needs. He had a passion for gaming, and over the years, from time to time, he’d had some particularly bad luck such as the night he had lost those thousands of acres to Chance. His losses, however, did not deter him; if anything, they increased his compulsion for wagering large, very large, sums on the turn of a card, the speed of a horse, or a roll of the dice.
    Sam had settled his enormous gambling debts several times, but his older brother had made it clear the previous spring that he had done it for the last time—and Jonathan was going to have to learn to live within his means. Which was when Jonathan had begun to consider other ways to increase his command of ready money. Controlling his gaming habits never occurred to him. Some highly dubious schemes and marriage did.
    He had no real need of an heiress, but he did need to marry. His father’s will had left the bulk of the estate in Sam’s capable hands, including management of his portionof the Walker fortune, but there was a provision for a substantial settlement when he married. Despite a degree of reluctance, Jonathan had concluded that marriage was a simple and logical solution to his problem. After casting a critical eye over the available damsels in the colony, Jonathan had decided that a trip to England was in order. Not only would England give him a wider scope in which to search for a bride worthy of him, but it would also allow him to further along a scheme he had hit upon to increase his revenue.
    Thinking of the muskets and shot safely hidden under the layers of legitimate goods, iron axes, knives, and trinkets for trading with the Indians that had come on the ship from England with him, Jonathan smiled. Those muskets would bring him a huge profit, especially since there was already trouble in the Ohio Valley. The savages would be willing to trade exorbitant amounts of pelts for those muskets.
    His smile widened. Of course, no one would ever connect
him
with such a nefarious, deplorable practice as