He would have to think it over as he decided how to proceed with his rival in residence. What would Isabella want him to do? How could he prove himself to her? Or perhaps, more importantly, how could he convince her to follow the heart she claimed not to have?
The answer coalesced in his mind, and he didn’t like it one bit. If he truly wanted to win Isabella, he needed to give her whatshe was asking for and let her see if she could hook Lord James. He needed to give her the freedom to pursue what she thought she desired and pray that she came to her senses and chose him. She would never trust him if he tried to force her to stay tethered to him.
As he entered the great hall, Lord Christopher was seeing the last of his petitioners. Two farmers were in a heated argument about who a new calf belonged to, as one farmer’s bull had impregnated the other farmer’s cow when a fence between their properties broke. Both blamed the other for the broken fence and laid claim to the offspring.
Ah, the joys of being a lord.
Martin stepped around Lord Christopher and leaned toward Lord James. “My lord, might you be able to spare me a moment? There is something important I wish to discuss with you.”
God’s teeth, he did not want to do what he was about to do.Isabella.He was doing this for Isabella. If his gamble paid off, and she cared for him, she would be his, and he would be the happiest man in Christendom. But it could all fall apart. She could still choose Lord James.
The earl nodded and murmured a few words to Lord Christopher before following Martin to a quiet corner of the hall.
“Well, my lord, what is it?” Lord James ran his hand through his blond hair and turned his bored brown eyes on Martin.
“I have something important to tell you regarding Lady Isabella.” He might as well dive straight in, even if he’d rather go for a swim in the North Sea in February.
“How could anything related to your wife possibly concern me?”
Clenching his hand into a fist, he steeled himself. “Truth be told, she isn’t quite my wife yet.”
The earl frowned. “What do you mean?”
“We haven’t uh… Well, you see we haven’t consummated.” God’s wounds, this was agonizing.
“I do not wish to be privy to your marital troubles,” Lord James said, frowning and turning to go.
“Wait. Please. This concerns you.”
The earl chuckled quietly. “I can’t possibly see how.”
“Because she’d rather marry you than me.” There, it was done. His heart hung by a thread, but he’d made himself speak.
“Lady Isabella wants to marryme.” Lord James was staring at him, incredulous.
“Yes. Please don’t make me say it again.” Martin would rather have cut his own tongue out with his dagger than utter those awful words a second time.
“Why are you telling me this?”
Martin might as well be truthful. “Because Isabella will never truly be mine if I trap her in this marriage. If I’m going to win her heart, I must risk mine. She needs to choose me freely.”
The earl’s brow furrowed. “Good God, man. Just get her drunk and tup her ’til she’s bowlegged. God knows if I had a wife that looked like her, I’d swive her until she thought rainbows came out of my prick.”
“And that right there is why she’s going to choose me in the end, of her own free will.” Because Martin would be damned if he was going to lose Isabella to this man.
“And if I have no interest in pursuing your wife?”
Please, God, let that be true!
But in his heart, Martin knew it wasn’t. “You’re interested. I saw the look on your face when she came in. And I have no doubt she’s concocted some tempting offer to lure you into a match. In the end, if I cannot win her heart, I will go through with an annulment and let her go. You can even have her dowry. You have my word. But I do not plan to let it come to that. Her heartmay be better defended than the Tower of London, but I will find a way in.”
Lord James narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Martin. “It just so happens I have been thinking about marriage recently, and Isabella was on my list of potential candidates. Her family is powerful, and her father is close to the Duke of Normandy. And, the woman has appeal in her own right. She knows the inner workings of Lady Eleanor’s devious mind, and I suspect being on our potential queen’s good side will be of immeasurable value, given what I’ve seen of Lord Henry’s court. Beyond that, Isabella is a damned good kisser. I had the pleasure once when I was visiting Falaise. I would have gone a lot further than kissing if she hadn’t run away when I reached for her skirts.”
God, Martin wanted to punch him in his smug face. “You touch her without her permission again, and I will run you through with my sword, earl or no.”
Lord James chuckled. “I’d like to see you try.”
“And I’d like to see you die, but alas, we cannot all have what we want.”
