Page 33 of The Bridal Quest

Irene shrugged. "I am sure that I have no control over what you say."

They continued in silence for a few more minutes, then Lord Radbourne began again. "You are displeased with me yet again, I take it."

She cast him a brief glance. "Why would I be displeased with you? I have not even seen you until just now."

He gave a slight nod. "I see. You are miffed, I take it, that I was not there to greet you when you arrived. My great-aunt has already rung a peal over my head about it."

"Were you not?" Irene asked, instilling her voice with disinterest. "I am afraid I did not notice."

"Did you not?" he murmured, his mouth once more curving up into a smile.

It was a very good smile, Irene noticed; she had forgotten how it lit up his eyes. He should use it more often, she thought, for it made it difficult for one to remain annoyed with him.

"It was rather rude of you—to ignore your guests."

"Exactly the sort of behavior that you are here to polish out of me," he told her.

"Lord Radbourne, I fear that there is not enough polish in the world to make you anything but rude."

He did not appear to be offended by her remark, for the smile lingered on his lips. "Indeed. You know, Lady Irene, there are those who might say that you are somewhat less than courteous yourself."

She drew breath to argue, but stopped, then gave a little laugh and said, "Well, perhaps you have the truth of it there." She paused for a moment and looked back at Radbourne. "Perhaps we should start over. After all, you and I will be working toward the same goal, will we not? Getting you married to some appropriate young lady?"

He shrugged. "I think that is more my relatives' goal than mine."

Irene looked at him in faint surprise. "Then I was mistaken and you are not interested yourself in the matter? You do not wish to marry?"

"I know I must at some point, and I suppose now is as good a time as any. But I am not driven to become a husband and father, no."

They continued their stroll along the hall, though Irene found herself studying her companion as much as she did the artwork.

"I had thought you more eager than that in your pursuit of a bride," she said after a moment.

He lifted one shoulder in a ghost of a shrug and said, "I am not certain that eagerness enters into it. I am willing to marry—and I am willing to marry a woman from their class. But it is less than inviting to think of saddling myself with a wife who will spend the rest of my life looking down on me or who will be forever schooling me on my accent, my dress, my commonness."

Gideon glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and asked, "Would you wish to be shackled to such a partner?"

"No, indeed. That is why I refuse to marry."

"But you would not be considered unworthy by an aristocrat."

"Lord Radbourne, you do not understand. Wives are regarded as inferiors by all men." She tilted her head to look up at him.

He came to a stop, looking at her in some astonishment. "That is what you believe?"

She raised her brows. "What else should I believe? Oh, I am not talking about the meaningless little courtesies such as standing until a woman is seated or walking closer to the street to protect her. I am talking about all the essential matters of married life. A husband makes decisions for his wife. He gives her an allowance to spend on her fripperies. He tells her what to do. Is that the behavior of a man toward his equals?"

He frowned. "Well, no, but—"

Irene gazed at him challenging. "But what?"

One corner of his mouth quirked up in a half smile, and he said, "But I cannot imagine the husband who would dare to tell you what to do or make decisions for you."

"I intend to make sure of that. I only wonder that a man such as you would be willing to take on the sort of wife you just described."

"I have little doubt that I will be able to take care of myself in such an arrangement. And if I am lucky, perhaps I will find a woman more ... interesting than those that have been presented to me before. Because in the end, marriage is something that will make me more acceptable in the eyes of my family." His mouth twisted as he said the words, and for an instant a certain bleakness touched his eyes before it was swallowed up in their cold depths.

"You sound bitter toward your family," Irene commented.