"I was happy to do so."
“I never realized heathens could be so nice.”
He chuckled. A provincial like her would think him debauched. He only hoped his mother didn’t come to think him a heathen.
"If I weren't here, what would you be doing with your day?"
"I'd be at my bank. Yesterday was the first time I've ever missed going since I took over the bank when my father died."
"How old were you?"
"Same as you are now." Thank God she was getting her mind off her troubles. "Ten years ago."
"Then I feel doubly guilty for stealing you away."
He placed his knuckles beneath her chin and eased her face closer to his. "Do you not think I've earned a day of fun?"
She burst out laughing. "This cannot have been fun!"
"Ah, but it will be when I show you my city."
The coach had stopped at Nick's, but he'd sent the coachman back to the box. He removed his arm from her. He had gotten far too intimate. He must show Miss Hastings he was a gentleman.
"I should like that," she managed in a whimpering voice. "I have always wanted to be in London.” She began to cry again, all the while trying to articulate, “Where will I live?”
Where would she live?
Her melancholy was like a hammer to his already broken heart. He hated to see her pain. He'd been in pain when Maria left. Still was. At this moment, making Miss Emma Hastings happy was the most important thing in his life.
And he had the means to do so.
"I know how you can stay here.”
“What could you possibly think of to allow me to stay in London?"
"I propose to make you my wife."
Chapter 5
Good Lord! What had come over him? For more than a decade he'd skillfully evaded scheming fortune hunters. Beautiful debutantes, aristocratic ladies from ancient families, and a never-ending stream of opera dancers had all tried to snare him—and his enormous fortune—since the day he reached his majority nine years previously.
His firm resolve not to wed had now been shattered by one bawling female.
Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened into a perfect oval. That melancholy countenance which had captured his sympathy was replaced with one of utter shock. "I cannot have heard you correctly, Mr. Birmingham. Surely you did not just offer for a woman you met only last night?"
He shrugged as casually as one who'd just suggested a spring-day stroll. "I did. If you knew me better, Miss Hastings, you would know that Adam Birmingham never deceives. When I ask for something, I go through with it." He managed a grin. "And I always get what I want."
Her eyes met his. Hers looked almost gray in the carriage's dim light. And they were intense. "Except for Maria," she murmured.
Maria's name was like a swift kick to his gut. If there had been any hope of rekindling his affaire de coeur with Maria, he would never have asked for Miss Hastings' hand. But Maria was now happily married to her count and returning to the country of her birth. He frowned. "Except for Maria."
"How can you offer for one woman when your heart belongs to another?"
He could not deny that he was still in love with his former mistress. "If I can't have Maria, I want no other. I'll not love again. I'll never marry. Why not solve your problem instead? That would lessen my melancholy."
"As much as your proposition would solve my problem, I cannot allow you to throw yourself away on an unsophisticated woman of modest means."
"But Miss Hastings, the means of my wife matter little. I'm an extremely wealthy man."
"Look at me, sir. I must be a far cry from the beautiful, fashionable women you are accustomed to."
She spoke the truth. He had always associated with beautiful women, women far lovelier than she. They had all been fashionable, too. As his gaze locked with hers, he realized that while she was not a stunning beauty, she was subtly pretty. With fashionable clothing and accessories, she might become something quite above the ordinary. "As my wife, you would possess the most beautiful clothing, jewels, and furs in the kingdom."
Her eyes widened. She swallowed hard. "You make it very difficult to refuse."
"Good. Shall we set the date?"
"But I do refuse."
He did not respond for a moment. "You wound me, Miss Hastings. Spurned by two women in the same week. I shall have to do myself in."
"You're making this very difficult, Mr. Birmingham. Your offer is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me." She blew an impatient breath. "You've been so kind. I would never hurt you."