A Visit From Sir Nicholas (28 page)

"Well, I am exceedingly
uncomfortable
with the way you are."

"You didn't seem exceedingly uncomfortable last night," he said mildly. "Or this morning. Or just a few moments ago, for that matter."

"Regardless, I am now." She grit her teeth. "I am not used to having discussions of a serious nature with an unclothed man."

"What kinds of discussions are you used to having with unclothed men?"

"Nicholas!"

He chuckled, and she heard the rustling of covers.

"Are you decent?"

"That is an exceptionally difficult question to answer. I do consider myself a fairly moral person, although I will admit there may have been an occasional business deal in the past in which my scruples have not been entirely—"

"Damnation, Nicholas, I'm not asking if you are an upstanding member of society! I want to know if you've covered those portions of your anatomy that should be covered."

"I knew precisely what you were asking, however I did think I should take the opportunity, given our relationship, to advise you on some of the more sterling aspects of my character."

"Yes, yes, you're a blasted saint," she said impatiently.

"I do have my good points. You may uncover your eyes now if you wish." She dropped her hand and glared.

He studied her calmly. "One of said good points is that I consider myself an honorable man. Furthermore I am a man who knows what he wants, and I do not abandon the pursuit of what I want until I have achieved it. Determination is another of my good points."

"I would not call it a good point but most annoying. However, I will concede that in certain circles determination is considered an asset. Very well, then." She narrowed her gaze. "What do you want?"

"You."

"Then you have already achieved success. You have had me. Several times, in fact." He shook his head. "It's not enough."

"I have proposed that we continue—"

"I will not join you in your bed at half-past-two in the afternoon in conjunction with the examination of your accounts until Christmas and then vanish from your life." He shrugged. "I want more than that." She stared at him. "But that is my offer, and it is all I am willing to offer."

"Then you shall have to reconsider."

She snorted. "I think not."

"I want you, Elizabeth," his gaze bored into hers. "Always and for the rest of my days. I want your heart, your love, and I want you as my wife."

Her breath caught and she said the first thing that came into her head. "No."

"What do you mean, no?"

"I mean no. Absolutely not. I told you I am not interested in marriage."

"I am not proposing marriage in general. I am proposing marriage to me."

"It scarcely matters. I have no desire to turn my life over to someone else, let alone you. I like managing my own affairs."

"You will marry me, Elizabeth."

"Have you heard a word I've said?"

"Every one."

"Yet you ignore what I want in the face of what you want. You may well be the most arrogant man I have ever met and the most conceited."

He flashed a grin. "Yet another of my good points."

"Yet another reason to shoot you in your sleep," she snapped.

He was outrageous and annoying, and at once she understood he quite enjoyed this battle of wills between them that had started with their first conversation. And was shocked to realize she rather liked it as well. Quite simply, Nicholas Collingsworth made her blood race and her heart pound, and fired her veins with passion. Within the confines of bed and without. A grand sort of passion, perhaps? The abrupt realization bore further consideration, but right now there were more pressing matters to attend to. She stared at him for a long moment, then laughed. "You are far too sure of yourself, Nicholas. And this time, you shall be disappointed."

"I told you I have never failed to achieve what I have wanted, and I shall not fail now. Mark my words, Elizabeth, you will marry me."

He smiled that smug, self-satisfied smile, and for once she didn't wish to smack it off his face. That would be entirely too easy and he'd probably like it. But she would find a way to remove it nonetheless.

"We shall see." It might well be that the only way to play this little game of his was to play it with his rules. An overwhelming sense of calm and assurance filled her. Very well. She smiled back, a slow, knowing smile, and for just a moment, the confidence in his eyes faltered.

"Now." She adopted a brisk manner, turned away from him, and plucked her undergarments from the floor. "Do help me get dressed. I cannot manage it by myself, and it would be most inappropriate to call one of your staff. And I certainly can't return home wearing only a sheet with my clothes bundled in my hands."

Behind her, she heard him get up from the bed with a rustling of fabric that hopefully indicated he was covering his delightful, but distracting, naked state.

"I am not a lady's maid," he said with a distinct note of indignation. "I haven't the vaguest idea what to do."

"You managed to take everything off." She pulled on her drawers and buttoned them, then tossed her chemise on over her head. "Simply reverse the process."

She turned toward him, grateful to see he had pulled on his trousers. She never noted before how terribly, well, tempting a man clothed in only trousers was. And while Nicholas might well look like a Grecian god completely nude, he was even more appealing partially clothed. The image of a pirate from a romantic novel popped into her head.

He plucked her corset from the floor and stared at it ruefully. "I don't think I can."

"Honestly, Nicholas." She snatched the corset from his hands, wrapped it around her midsec-tion, then fastened the front. She held the garment firmly against her sides and glanced at him over her shoulder.

"All you have to do is tighten the laces in the back."

He took the laces and pulled tentatively, muttering all the while. "I can't believe you would rather be my mistress than my wife."

"Tighter. I do need to get back into my dress, you know. Oh, and I have no intention of being your mistress."

"Then what will you be?" He yanked harder on the laces.

She gasped. "I don't know, but a mistress usually receives some sort of recompense or financial support or something of that nature. I want nothing from you."

"Save that I should vanish from your life after Christmas as if I was never here," he said under his breath. Something rather sharp and painful stabbed at her that had nothing to do with the corset. Guilt, perhaps?

Doubt? Regret? "You're pulling the laces entirely too tight."

"A minute ago I wasn't pulling them tight enough," he muttered.

"I can't believe you've never helped a woman into a corset before. Do they all go home with their undergarments in hand?"

"Yes," he snapped and blew a short breath. "If you refuse to be my wife and don't wish to be my mistress, how do you view your position in my life?"

"I don't know. Your," she bit back a grin, "your friend perhaps?"

"My very good friend." He tied the laces snugly.

"If you wish."

"My very good,
special
friend." Nicholas kissed her shoulder and she shivered. Would he always have that effect on her?

"Stop it." She shrugged him off and stepped away. She found her stockings and shoes and slipped them on, noting that she could not recall having removed them in the first place. "However," she scanned the room for her discarded gown, "if that's what you prefer, I shall be happy to be your very good special friend."

"Dear God, Elizabeth." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared. "You make it sound like you're the invisible playmate of a small child."

"Rather appropriate then, as you act very much like a small child insisting on his own way. I am used to dealing with small children, you know, and I shall not permit it." She located her dress, arranged it on the floor, stepped into it, then pulled it up over her arms. "Fasten the back, if you please." He rumbled with the fastenings. "This is impossible. There are hundreds of these hooks. I can unhook them but fastening them again is a different matter. My fingers are entirely too big for this."

"I thought your fingers were extremely dexterous," she murmured. He paused, then continued in an irritated silence. "There," he said at last. "That shall have to do."

"Your efforts are most appreciated." She turned toward him and smiled pleasantly. "Now then, if you have no intention of abiding by my •conditions, I take back my proposal. You may put it completely out of your head." She waved at him as if she could magically erase all memory. "Forget all about it." He glared. "And I suppose I should forget the last few hours as well?"

"That would be best." She nodded firmly even while realizing she would never be able to put the last few hours from her mind if she should live to be a hundred years. "Although you may cherish them as a fond memory if you wish. I know I had a delightful time."

"A delightful time?" He sputtered. "That's it? A delightful time?" She nodded. "Most delightful."

"As you wish, Elizabeth." He crossed his arms over his chest and studied her. "If your proposal is withdrawn, I withdraw mine as well."

"And which proposal is that?" she said lightly. "If you're referring to your offer of marriage, then I suppose I would be willing to reconsider my proposition."

"Oh no, my dear, my proposal of marriage stands."

"Then—"

"I am speaking of my original offer to simply oversee your accounts until Christmas and then turn them back into your capable hands."

She stared in disbelief, although she should have expected as much. "You wouldn't dare."

"I most certainly would." He shook his head in feigned regret. "Upon reconsideration, I have decided to fully undertake the responsibilities placed in my hands by your late husband. Starting today, my dear Lady Langley, I shall handle every aspect of your finances. Every expenditure, every penny, every shilling, every pound."

He was baiting her, waiting for her to fly into a rage. Well, she would not give him the satisfaction. She drew a deep breath and chose her words with care. "Am I to assume if I agree to marry you, my finances would be placed back into my hands?"

"You do jump to assumptions rather easily, but in this case you are essentially correct. As your husband, of course, I would expect to have some say, and legally your assets would be mine. However, you have proven yourself to be more than capable—"

"Brilliant," she said firmly.

He ignored her. "—in regards to finances."

"Then I would go on as I have? Managing the estate, my investments, and the boys' inheritance?"

"Not exactly." He clasped his hands behind his back and paced the room. He would have been most imposing had it not been for his naked chest and bare feet. "Until my return to London I had not seriously considered exactly what I wished for in marriage. I admit, the very idea of marriage had never more than fleetingly crossed my mind, but now I understand I do not wish for such a union to be a dictatorship but more a partnership."

She raised a brow. "Oh?"

"You are competent and capable and clever and amusing. And something of a challenge as well, which I find both stimulating and exciting. In short, you have everything I would wish for in a partner, and I wish to be partners with you, Elizabeth. In finances and in life."

"Equal partners?"

"Don't be absurd." He scoffed. "I am a man after all. In spite of the enlightened age we live in, even with a woman on the throne of England, no one in their right mind would propose being equal partners with a wife. I'm thinking more of a," he thought for a moment, "seventy percent to thirty percent partnership."

"And I would be the thirty percent partner," she said wryly.

He nodded. "It is an excellent offer."

"Perhaps in the business of steamships or other investments, but it does not strike me as being especially advantageous." She shook her head. "At the moment, I am one hundred percent in control of my finances and my life. My decisions are my own and not dependent on the approval of anyone else."

"That's not entirely true, as I will be in control of your finances."

"And I admit that will be both awkward and most annoying. However, the rest of my life is still entirely in my own hands."

"I shall not be unreasonable as to your expenditures."

"How magnanimous of you."

"However, I shall draw the line at frivolous expenses."

"I'm certain of that." She struggled to remain calm. "This is blackmail, Nicholas."

"Nasty word, blackmail, but yes, I suppose it is."

"You leave me no choice."

"I thought you would see it that way." He grinned. "I vow that I shall make you happy, Elizabeth. Every day for the rest of your life."

"No, Nicholas, you would drive me mad every day for the rest of my life and I would have to cope with that." She started toward the door. "Now, if you would escort me downstairs, I can certainly make my way home by myself."

"Elizabeth?" For the first time uncertainty sounded in his voice. She ignored him, strode down the hall to the stairs, and did not lessen her pace until she reached the front door. Her cloak and gloves were conveniently, and discreetly, placed on a bench by the front door. Edwards was indeed efficient.

"Shall I make the arrangements then?" Nicholas said, as he helped her on with her cloak. "For the wedding?"

She scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Of course. You should probably do it. I have no idea how much trouble is entailed in the arranging of a wedding."

"No trouble at all really, as I have no intention of marrying you," she said coolly.

"But you just said I gave you no choice."

"Now who is making assumptions?"

He stared in utter disbelief. "You'd rather give up total and complete control of your finances than marry me? Do you dislike me so much?"

"I don't dislike you at all." She slid her arms around his neck and pressed herself close against him. "In fact, I find I am really somewhat fond of you. And I am more than willing to be your very special friend." He glared down at her but wrapped his arms around her nonetheless. "Then why won't you marry me?"