“Most of us men are,” he agreed, thinking on how foolish he’d been over Guinevere.
“He did very recently give me a bit of hope,” she offered.
That wasn’t good for Asher’s cause. Unless…
“Has he done so before? Might this be a pattern that leads nowhere?”
She shrugged as if she didn’t particularly care. He needed to try another tactic. “If he never offers for ye, what shall ye do?”
“I shall become a spinster.” The steely determination in her voice made him grind his teeth. He was beginning to think his father had set him up to purposely fail.Damn the man.
“Are ye not compelled by circumstances to wed?”
She shook her head. “No. I have a fortune left to me by my mother’s sister, and I have no sister whose future hangs on mine, so I am perfectly able to make the selfish choice not to wed. I’d rather be alone than with someone I do not love. I hope you understand.”
His life would be far simpler if Lady Constantine would agree to wed him, but every avenue of persuasion appeared lost to him. “Are ye certain ye have thought this through?” he tried.
“I have spent the last few years thinking of nothing but this, Your Grace. I’m certain. I have been in love with the same man for quite some time. He is rotten. He has broken my heart, and I fear he will break it again and again, but I love him desperately. Since I do not have to wed, I will not wed unless he asks me.”
“Have ye told yer mother this?” If so, why did the woman admit him today in the first place?
Lady Constantine sighed. “Not the particulars. I could never. I have tried to explain in other ways, but she turns a deaf ear.”
What the hell was he going to do now? His father had named only three ladies who would meet the requirements for Asher’s inheritance. One lady was wed, one lady had just unequivocally refused him, and the third and final lady was Guinevere, who seemed to still be pining after Kilgore and whom he distrusted despite his lust for her.
“May I ask an extremely personal question, Your Grace?”
“Ye may, though I cannot promise I’ll answer it.” He shoved his hand through his hair in frustration.
“I assume a pressing need drove you here to offer a marriage of convenience?”
It seemed useless to deny the obvious. “Aye.”
“Why offer it to me, though?”
“Ye mean because we don’t know each other?” he asked with a low laugh.
“Well, yes and no. Of course, in our set, marriages between virtual strangers are quite common when it benefits both parties.”
“Of course,” he agreed.
“And yet—” she paused, studying him “—unless you were somehow limited in whom you could offer for, I cannot see why you would not offer for Lady Guinevere.”
He ground his teeth. “I told ye—”
“Yes, yes.” She waved a dismissive hand. “There is nothing between you and Lady Guinevere. But I believe I also told you that your face last night revealed the truth.”
Good God, what had his face shown? Lust?
“Are you in a position that you could offer for the lady?” Lady Constantine asked.
“Aye and nay.”
The half smirk she gave him told him she’d heard whispers of his past with Guinevere. She cocked her head. “My mother would say you are being purposely contrary.”
“Yer mother would be incorrect. I am being truthful.” He couldn’t say why he was having such a blunt conversation with this woman, except that he felt certain she would keep his confidence given her own secrets were revealed. But he was at a loss as to what to do now.
“So Lady Guinevere is an acceptable candidate?”
