"Yes, I thought so. At any rate, if you hope to survive, certainly if you want to save your family's estate, you need to marry into money—and soon. I am your best opportunity. Even a colonial nobody is better than living out your days in debtors' prison,"
"I won't go to debtors' prison."
"Oh, no, that's right. You have a sister and mother off whom you can leech." Miranda ignored Ravenscar's furious glare. "Still, I scarcely think they can give you the lifestyle you are accustomed to out of their clothes allowance. Do you?"
"There are other options."
"What? Gambling? Or perhaps you intend to get paid for leading flats into gambling hells? No, I think marriage is the only way to gain the amount you will need. And you have burned your bridges here in England. A wealthy peer has no interest in allying himself to scandal. Isn't that true? Do you have any other heiresses to choose from?"
"You know I do not."
“I would say that makes me not only your best hope but your only one."
"You have such a tactful way of expressing yourself."
"I thought that you would appreciate blunt speaking. We are, after all, discussing a business arrangement. Isn't that right? Papa and I would settle a lump sum of money on you—not too great a one, I'm afraid, because of your well-known propensities to, well, spend it quickly. We will pay your outstanding debts, and, of course, you will also have a generous monthly allowance. I will pay for the upkeep of the houses, and Papa and I will take care of the restoration of Darkwater. I understand that the estate is in poor shape, also, and I will, of course, undertake to bring that back into some semblance of repair. I would not be surprised if it actually began to make a profit before too long. I am rather good at that sort of thing, you know."
"Miss Upshaw." Devin rose, his eyes narrowed. "While you are making plans for my future, might I remind you that you will not be in control of all this once we are married? When we marry, all your money will be mine. You will not even have the right to hold property. I will be the one to decide about allowances and lump sums. You, my dear, will be in my power." He moved closer, looming over her, his face grim. "The husband rules in England, and you will do as I say. Had you thought of that in all your little plans? I could lock you up in Darkwater and take off for London to enjoy spending your money."
His eyes were fierce, his posture menacing, but Miranda held her ground. "Lord Ravenscar, I must tell you that once when I was with Papa buying furs in the wilds, I was face-to-face with a rather large black bear. Your attempt at intimidation pales by comparison." She sidestepped him and moved away.
"Whatever you may think," she said calmly, turning around to face him from several feet away, "I am not stupid. Nor is my father. First of all, the bulk of the family fortune belongs to my father. He will pay for
what
he sees fit
as
he sees fit. He will pay your debts and restore Darkwater. I can assure you that he will do exactly as he pleases in that regard. You seem to have a misconception that Americans are stupid. Or perhaps it is his friendly manner that fools you. But, believe me, you will never get a penny out of my father other than what he wants to give you. As for my personal fortune, if you think that I would give up the money I have worked to accumulate over the past ten years just for the pleasure of marrying you, you are very much mistaken. Before I marry, my money will be placed in a trust, the trustees of which will be my father, my attorney and Hiram Baldwin. As you might suppose, they will invest it as I order and distribute it as I order. Should you be so foolish as to try to lock me up anywhere—or so lucky as to be able to do so—I think you would shortly find yourself without funds."
Ravenscar's eyes flashed, and his body went rigid with fury. "Do you think that you can control me this way? That you can make me dance to your tune because you have money?"
He crossed the space separating them in two quick strides, and his hands clamped around her arms. His eyes blazed down into hers, and he was so close she could feel the heat of his body. His breath rasped in his throat. His intensity and fury were like a tangible force. "No one owns me, least of all you."
A thrill ran down through Miranda. The truth was, she generally frightened men; there was something exhilarating about facing a man who had no fear of her. She returned his gaze, glare for glare, her body taut.
"You think you are safe because you can set up trusts?" he went on. "Because your father and every other man you know jumps to do as you say? I am not one of them. Perhaps no one bothered to mention that, amid all my faults, there are a few things at which I am skilled. I am a crack shot, Miss Upshaw."
Miranda gazed back at him levelly. "Are you threatening me, Lord Ravenscar? Perhaps someday we should have a contest. When I accompanied my father on trading expeditions, we went to some of the wildest places on the continent of North America, places where there was no law and never had been. I learned how to use a gun at an early age. In fact, I was taught by one of the best backwoodsmen in the country."
Devin stared at her, then, unexpectedly, began to laugh. He dropped her arms and moved away, saying, "I am sure you were, Miss Upshaw. Anything else would be uncharacteristic. Next you will tell me that you know the art of fisticuffs, as well."
"No. That I do not. My size and strength generally kept me at a handicap. However, I was taught by trappers how to use a knife to slice and skin and kill, as well." She gazed back at him blandly.
"Toucheé." He shook his head. "You are without a doubt the most unusual woman I have ever known."
"I shall take that as a compliment," Miranda said briskly. Her breathing was still a little uneven. It unnerved her that he could affect her so, but she was not about to let him see that. "I think perhaps you misunderstand me. The truth is, I have no wish to control you. My only limit is on your spending my money, and I think you will find that limit not an onerous one. I do not force people to do what I want. I generally find I am able to accomplish that with reasoning."
He chuckled. "Still, you get your way."
"I often do," Miranda admitted. "I do not insist upon it, however, certainly not in a marriage. However, I have as little desire as you to be ruled by another, so I have taken steps to prevent it. That is all."
"I see." Devin nodded.
"Does that offend you?"
"Of course." A glint of humor flashed in his eyes. "Actually, once the slap in the face is over, I think I feel...relieved. I am, as you may have guessed, terrible with money. Witness my present predicament."
"That is understandable. You are an artist."
Devin let out a derisive snort. "Hardly that. No, I fear that I am just a gentleman of leisure, and I am not terribly good at anything except a number of 'gentlemanly' pursuits. Riding, hunting, card playing."
"Oh, there are places where you might find those things would stand you in good stead," Miranda remarked. "So, my lord Ravenscar, do you wish to rescind your offer? Or will you accept this marriage 'contract'?"
He thought with amusement of what Leona would think once she found out what her 'mouse of an heiress' was really like.
"No domination by either of us, eh?" he said thoughtfully.
"That is correct."
"I think I would be agreeable to that." It was, he told himself, the only sensible thing to do. His reluctance stemmed from nothing but a pride that was, frankly, too large for his present circumstances. He had to marry, and irritating as Miss Upshaw was, well, as Richard had pointed out, at least life with her would not be dull.
And getting an heir with her would be anything but an onerous duty.
“Good. I would hate to have to make another search for a suitable spouse," Miranda said.
"That won't be necessary," Devin replied curtly, a little surprised to find how much the idea of her marrying someone else displeased him. "My offer still stands. Will you marry me, Miss Upshaw?"
"Yes, my lord, I will," Miranda replied promptly, then went on, "I think we should do it quickly, don't you? There is little point in waiting. We need to start clearing up the debts and restoring the estate. I think a short engagement is preferable."
"That's fine." He felt a trifle dazed by her brisk, businesslike manner. It seemed that an engagement should entail something more—some celebration, a kiss, at least....
He reached for her, but Miranda neatly turned and walked away, saying, "Now, as to the details...I think a wedding away from London, don't you? There will doubtless be enough gossip as it is, without giving them weeks and weeks to build it up."
Devin resumed his position at the desk and watched her thoughtfully.
Had she seen the kiss coming and skillfully eluded it, or had she not realized what he was about to do?
"You know, Miss Upshaw," he began, "one has to wonder. This is all very well for me. The advantages of marrying you are clear. But why do you wish to marry me? Given the fact, after all, that you find me arrogant and—what was the other quality? Unlikeable?"
"It is more the idea of an arranged marriage that appeals," Miranda explained calmly, sitting down in a chair facing him. “At first I did not like the idea, as you know. But then, as I began to think about it, I could see the wisdom of marrying not for love or passion, but for practical reasons. As I mentioned the other night, I would like to restore your estate. The house and the lands. I enjoy dealing in real estate. There's nothing quite as much fun as taking a piece of land and making it turn a profit."
"Indeed?" He looked doubtful.
Miranda chuckled. "It appeals to me. I would like to restore Darkwater to its former beauty. And I would like to see what can be done to turn your estate around, modernize it, whatever it takes to make it begin to produce again."
"Odd reasons to marry. One would suppose you could simply buy an old house and restore it."
"Ah, but then it would not be one's own. I would have no real, personal connection to it. That makes it much more special. Besides, there is the allure of your social standing. My stepmother would greatly enjoy seeing Veronica have her debut here in London. It would be nice to be able to do that for her. Veronica will enjoy that kind of thing."
"So you are marrying in order to bring out your sister in a few years, thereby making your stepmother happy, and to restore Darkwater."
"Partly. But as I told you before, those things were not enough to make me willing to marry you. But as I thought about it, I realized how freeing the whole arrangement is."
"Freeing?" He looked puzzled.
"Yes. You see, I have been plagued by fortune hunters, both here and at home. I never know whether a man truly likes me or just wants to get his hands on my money. With an arranged marriage, there is no uncertainty. I know you do not care for me—indeed, I think we have established that you find me odd and off-putting. That makes it much easier than hearing honey-sweet words and wondering constantly if they are false. I much prefer plain dealing."
"You prefer to be without love?"
"I prefer to know where I stand. I despise lies. I hate people trying to fool me, deceive me. An honest emotion is always better than deception, I think, even if the emotion itself is not the most pleasant. At least one knows how to deal with it, how to act. And one doesn't feel a fool afterward when one learns the truth. Besides, I have no intention of being without love. It is simply that in such circumstances, love, if one finds it, comes outside of marriage."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said that love is separate from marriage when the marriage is an arranged one, and that is really much easier, don't you think? Once I thought about it, I saw that the European way is much more practical. You and I marry for our own practical reasons, and then, in our daily lives, we simply go our separate ways. You will do what you want, live as you want, and so shall I. Then you have none of the jealousy and petty feelings that can infect a marriage made for love. You will have your lovers, I will have mine. You will—"
"What!" Devin bounded up from his easy, relaxed pose, his face drawn into a scowl. "What do you mean, you will have lovers?"
"Why, simply what I said. Is something the matter? I was talking about the business sort of marriage that we are entering into. Isn't that what you had planned? That you would marry me for money but keep a mistress for pleasure? Or love?''
"Well, yes, I would," he retorted, then stopped short, realizing how his statement sounded.
Miranda raised one eyebrow. “You expect different behavior from me than from yourself?"
"Well, yes," he admitted, looking a little uncomfortable. "It's one thing for a man, but for a woman—''
"Yes?"
"Well, women just don't go around having affairs outside of their marriages."
"They do not? But I had heard that Lady Vesey was married."
"Leona? Leona has nothing to do with this."
"But I understood that she was your mistress."
"What?" He looked stunned. "How do you— Where did you hear that?"
"From Lady Westhampton."
"Rachel?" He gaped at her. "My sister? What possessed her to tell you—"
"Oh, she didn't volunteer the information. I asked. When I saw you together with Lady Vesey, I suspected that was the case, so I asked your sister. She could scarcely deny it."