The Heiress - Lynsay Sands [16]
“It’s possible,” Daniel agreed quietly, his expression turning thoughtful.
Suzette sat fidgeting for a moment, but finally asked, “So? Will you marry me?”
Daniel seemed startled by the question and suddenly sat up straight. “Oh . . . er . . .”
“It is the perfect solution for both of us,” Suzette pointed out anxiously. Truly, she was almost desperate to convince him. She simply abhorred the idea of having to marry Lord Willthrop or any of the others she’d danced with tonight. This man, however . . . Well, she found him attractive at least. And so far he hadn’t displayed any unbearable habits like picking at spots, though to be fair, he didn’t seem to have any spots to pick at. But he also hadn’t leered at her once, there was no incessant sniffling and she hadn’t noticed him having bad breath.
Frowning at that last thought, she leaned a little closer to him on the bench seat, put her nose by his mouth and sniffed delicately, but didn’t notice any unpleasant smells.
“What are you doing?” he asked with amazement.
“Nothing,” she said, straightening quickly. Suzette then continued with her argument, pointing out, “You need a rich wife to gain the money to repair your estate and lands, and I have that money. And I need a husband willing to allow me access to some of my dower to pay off my father’s debts and . . .” She hesitated and bit her lip, worried this next part might be an issue, but really she would have to bring it up eventually if she stuck to her plan so plunged on, “And I should like an agreement stating that I may live my own life.”
Daniel raised his eyebrows at that. “What exactly does that mean?”
“Well,” Suzette said slowly, drawing out the word as she tried to find the words to explain exactly what she did want. The truth was she wasn’t sure what she meant by it, except that she didn’t want to be stuck having to put up with a nasty, critical husband who would pick at her and make her miserable for the next forty years or so. Sighing, she said, “I suppose it means that I will be free to travel with my maid, or to live in the country while you are in town, or I may live in town while you are in the country if I wish. I mean if I find your company . . . er . . . unpleasant.”
“I see,” Daniel said dryly. “And if we are always apart, how exactly are we to gain heirs?”
“Oh.” Suzette flushed. “Well, I suppose we could arrange for occasional visits for . . . er . . . procreative purposes.”
“Occasional visits for procreative purposes?” he echoed with disbelief, and then muttered dryly, “My, how scintillating that sounds.”
Suzette frowned, for really it did sound rather cold, nothing like the passionate delirium she had read about in one of Lisa’s novels. But then, truthfully, she simply couldn’t fathom the ecstasies described in that book. She’d never even been kissed and what if she didn’t enjoy his kisses? Just because he didn’t have bad breath didn’t mean she would enjoy these visits she spoke of so boldly. Coming to a decision, she straightened abruptly, and said, “We must kiss.”
That caught his attention and he asked with amazement, “What?”
“Well, we should see if we would deal well together in . . . er . . . that regard,” she muttered, blushing hotly. Swallowing, she forced herself to add firmly, “You should kiss me. Then we will know.”
“My dear young lady,” Daniel began seeming half amused and half horrified, “I really do not think—”
“Oh, for pity’s sake,” Suzette interrupted impatiently, and then leaned forward again, this time pressing her lips to his. In her rush to get it over with, she lost her balance a bit and had to catch a hold of his jacket to steady herself as she smooshed her mouth against his. She then waited for the warm and wonderful commotion she’d read about to assault her. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any commotion. Really this was no more exciting than pressing her mouth to a cup, Suzette thought with dismay, and