Flirting with His Forbidden Lady--A Regency Family is Reunited by Laura Martin (good novels to read txt) 📕

would he forget her. That left marriage, and even if you took away all the obstacles that prevented her from saying yes to him he still wasn’t sure that would be the right thing for them.

‘Why can’t you marry her? Aside from the fact her mother wants my money, my reputation?’

‘Aside from that?’ Josh had to laugh at the easy way his brother dismissed the main factor driving Beth’s actions these last few weeks. ‘I have to return to India.’

‘I know very well men have wives in India.’

He couldn’t argue with that. Of course they had wives, English wives. Perhaps not daughters of earls, but gently bred women.

‘I need to focus on the business. My guardian...’ It wasn’t fair to use his guardian as a reason. Mr Usbourne cared about his business, but he also wanted Josh’s happiness and had often remarked Josh might be happier with a wife by his side. It was more complicated than that, more nuanced.

Josh fell silent, watching his boots as they walked across the beach, feeling the faint suck each time he lifted his foot up from the wet sand.

‘It wasn’t what I pictured for myself,’ he said eventually, feeling like a cad. He wanted Beth but he wasn’t prepared to change his own image of the future for her.

Leo nodded, his expression remaining serious. ‘It isn’t what you expected, what you thought would happen. When you have planned your life, planned your future, for so long it can be difficult to accept when something comes along unexpectedly and makes you consider your choices.’ He paused, coming to a stop and facing Josh. ‘Let me make this easy for you. I will make some excuse, leave the house party for a few days. You consider whether you want to try for a future with Lady Elizabeth.’

‘What will you do about a wife?’

‘I’m sure I’ll find one before Lord Abbingdon shuffles off to face his maker. The man is remarkably robust for an invalid. And if you decide Lady Elizabeth is not the woman you wish to spend your life with—’ he shrugged, looking at the horizon ‘—I still have a debt to settle.’

Chapter Sixteen

‘What have you said to him?’ Lady Hummingford was red in the face and Beth knew it was taking all of her mother’s self-control to whisper the words instead of shout and scream as she really wanted to.

‘Nothing at all, Mother. He apologised and said he needed to travel urgently to see Lord Abbingdon. I don’t think it was an excuse.’

‘Of course it is an excuse. You have spent no time with him. You have ignored him, neglected him. A man wants to feel valued, the centre of your world. This is the most important thing I have ever asked of you, Elizabeth, and you’ve treated it with contempt.’

‘That’s not fair.’

‘Do you know what will not be fair?’ Her mother leaned in close, her mouth drawn into a tight line and her forehead puckered with a frown. ‘It will not be fair when your sister is turned out onto the street. No one will marry her. She will be penniless and homeless and you could have prevented that.’

Beth felt the tears well up in her eyes. When she had been with Josh or Annabelle she had begun to believe they were right. It wasn’t fair to blame her five-year-old self for the accident that had disfigured her sister, but standing here with her mother she felt the familiar guilt, the familiar sense of duty.

‘Go,’ her mother said harshly. ‘I need to try to see what I can salvage from this mess.’

Beth pressed her lips together to stop her from saying something she might regret. However cruel her mother’s words, there was truth in them. Beth hadn’t committed fully to making Leonard Ashburton want to marry her and the consequence was his lack of interest. The lack of interest that would see them lose their family home.

With as much dignity as she could muster Beth fled her mother’s private drawing room, hoping none of their guests were in the hall as one kind word, one friendly smile, and she would dissolve in a mess of tears.

She’d almost made it to the stairs, head down and teeth biting her lip so hard it was nearly drawing blood, when she barrelled into Josh.

‘Slow down,’ he said, gripping her by the upper arms to steady her as she bounced off him. She looked up, which was a big mistake. The concern blossomed on his face as her tears began streaming. ‘Don’t cry, Beth,’ he said softly, and even though they were in the middle of her mother’s house, even though anyone could walk past, anyone could see, he drew her into his chest and held her.

His arms were strong and reassuring wrapped around her and the thump of his heart in his chest soothed her and after thirty seconds she felt strong enough to pull away.

‘It’s all over,’ she said quietly, hearing her voice catch in her throat. Even now, even with the feeling of devastation at what she had caused, a small part of her still felt relief, and that was probably the worst part. She would always have to live with knowing she could have done more, could have put more effort in.

For a long moment Josh didn’t say anything and then he took her by the hand and pulled her silently through the house. It was only luck they didn’t see anyone else as they left through the open doors in the library, skirting round the edge of the terrace into the garden. Josh remained quiet as he led her zigzagging backwards and forwards over the scraggy garden paths to the summer house.

Once inside they sat side by side on one of the benches, facing the direction of the house to better see if anyone was approaching their private sanctuary.

‘I hoped to catch you before you spoke to your mother.’

‘You knew?’ It was a pointless question. As enigmatic and aloof as