The Bridegroom's Bargain. Sylvia Andrew

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СКАЧАТЬ eyes and frowned again at a vague memory of Richard’s voice, asking her to talk to him, and her own agitated refusal before seeking refuge in sleep again… She opened her eyes and looked at Lady Honoria. The old lady had sat down in the chair next to the bed, but her expression was not encouraging. Lexi said with a touch of defiance, ‘I expect you hate me for wanting to shoot Richard.’

      ‘Nothing so dramatic,’ Richard’s aunt replied. ‘You were obviously out of your mind at the time! But I don’t find it easy to forgive the fright you gave us. Richard is very dear to me, and I thought for a moment you were going to shoot.’

      Lexi lay silent. ‘I should have!’ she said at last. ‘I planned it so carefully. I promised myself I would. But when it came to the point… Why couldn’t I?’

      Lady Honoria got up. ‘Stop this nonsense at once, Lexi! You are no murderess. Of course you couldn’t kill Richard! Unless you stop talking such rubbish I shall get Murdie to come to sit with you. I’m not staying here to listen to any more of it.’

      ‘No! Don’t go! Please don’t go!’ Lexi grasped Lady Honoria’s hand. ‘I have to know. Is he…? Does he…? Are we really married?’

      ‘You are certainly married. But it would surprise no one if Richard sent you away. I should imagine that a wife’s threat to murder her husband would be unquestionable grounds for divorce. I for one wouldn’t even blame Richard if he sent you to a madhouse.’ Lady Honoria removed her hand from Lexi’s grip. ‘You certainly fooled me. I would have sworn you loved him.’

      A tear rolled down Lexi’s cheek. ‘I…did…’ she whispered sadly. ‘It was all I ever wanted, to marry Richard. I loved him so much…’

      Lady Honoria snorted scornfully. ‘A fine way you have of showing it!’ she said. ‘And a fine mess you’ve created, too! If you hated Richard so much, why didn’t you simply leave him alone, you stupid girl?’ She gazed angrily at Lexi for a moment, then went on, ‘There isn’t an eligible female in the county who wouldn’t have jumped at the chance of being Richard’s wife. Why the devil did he have to settle on you?’

      Lexi shook her head. ‘I don’t know any more why Richard wanted to marry me. I don’t know anything any more!’

      ‘Well, I’ll tell you why I think he did!’ said Lady Honoria, unmoved by Lexi’s obvious distress. ‘It’s all of a piece with his present behaviour. Because he was sorry for you, that’s why! He thought he owed it to your family to protect you. He even set Rawdon on its feet again for your sake, and I dare swear that cost him a pretty penny!’ She ignored Lexi’s cry of protest and went on, ‘And what did you do in return? Threaten to shoot him! I don’t know what maggot got into that head of yours, Lexi Rawdon, but I hope you’re satisfied. You may not have managed to kill Richard, but you’ve certainly ruined his life—’ She stopped short, then went on, ‘To think that just two days ago we were all at his wedding, all so happy for him—safely home from the army, about to settle at last with his wife at Channings…’ She made a gesture of impatience. ‘Richard has asked me not to be unkind to you, but even if he’s a saint, I’m not! I can’t stay here—if I do, I’ll only say even more than I should…’

      Lexi’s eyes were huge pools of darkness. ‘I’m sorry you’re so angry,’ she said, ‘but I didn’t want Richard’s pity. He’d have done better to save it for my father. You don’t understand.’

      ‘No, and I don’t suppose I ever will. Why this should happen to Richard of all people… How could you? How could you, Lexi?’ She stared at the girl in the bed for a moment, then shook her head and said, ‘It’s no use. Murdie will have to sit with you. I can’t.’

      She went out and the door shut behind her. Lexi closed her eyes. She was trembling again. The feelings of panic and loss, which had plagued her ever since her world had turned upside down, returned in full force. Why had Richard asked her to marry him? At the time she had thought that he loved her as deeply as she had loved him….

      She remembered the occasion with painful clarity. How foolish she had been! When Richard had come into the library at Rawdon, she was standing at the desk where she had found her father the day before, slumped over his papers. The papers still lay there in an untidy heap. She had been making an effort to gather them together, to put them into some sort of order, but tears had made her progress slow…

      ‘My poor girl! You shouldn’t be here alone.’

      At the sound of Richard’s voice Lexi turned to him blindly, and he took her into his arms, holding her close, her head pressed against his chest. She felt safe, as if she had reached some kind of refuge. In the confusion and distress of the day before she had been aware of Richard’s presence, taking charge, issuing orders. He had made sure she was being looked after, but there had been no opportunity for them to talk.

      He held her now, giving her time to recover a little, then led her to the fire. ‘You’re cold. When did you last have anything to eat?’

      ‘I don’t know. Does it matter?’

      ‘Of course it matters! Let me send for something.’

      Richard waited till she had eaten a little of the food he ordered and drunk some wine. ‘Isn’t that better?’ he said. She nodded and he smiled, the special smile he seemed to keep for her alone, warm and affectionate. It worked its usual magic, and for a moment she forgot her heartache in its glow. He took her hands in his and held them in his own, gently warming them.

      ‘What were you doing when I came in?’ he asked after a moment.

      ‘I was…I was trying to sort out some of Papa’s papers.’

      ‘That was foolish,’ he said. ‘They would be better dealt with by your father’s lawyers. I’ll put them in some sort of order for you, and then you can leave everything to them. You need to rest.’

      ‘I can’t!’ she said. ‘If I don’t do something with them, Mark will think he has to. He was here this morning when I came in. I don’t blame him—he is the next in line, after all. But he is still a comparative stranger. And those papers were the last things…the last things Papa was reading when he…he died. I want to be the one to deal with them.’

      ‘Would you let me do it for you?’

      She stared at him. ‘I would,’ she said slowly. ‘You were as close to Papa as anyone. But you’ve already done so much. And I have no real claim on you or your time. How could we explain it to Mark?’

      ‘Easily,’ he said, his grey eyes serious. ‘Because you’re wrong, Alexandra. You have every claim on my time and on everything else of mine.’

      She looked at him, wide-eyed, uncertain of his meaning.

      He went on, ‘I always wanted to marry you—your father knew that. And now I want us to marry as soon as it can be arranged. Will you? And will you trust me?’

      Lexi did not hesitate. A flood of joy drowned her heartache and she threw herself into his arms again. ‘Richard! Oh, Richard! Of course I will! You know I will! I’ll marry you as soon as you like. But won’t we have to wait? The neighbours will be shocked… Papa’s death…’

      ‘They’ll get over it. Your father would have wanted you to be safe. If things had been different, you would have been my wife long ago—we both know that. And now you need someone to look after you, to keep you happy and secure. We could marry СКАЧАТЬ