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Percy scowled. “What do you mean?”
Harry sighed. “I have been enlisted to become chief officer of theRoyal Albert. I leave in just three weeks.”
Percy’s jaw threatened to drop to his chest. “I—er—congratulations.” He hadn’t heard a single thing about his cousin’s plans. He rubbed the back of his neck as awkwardness hung in the air.
Harry cleared his throat. “Therefore, you are in need of someone new to look after you. I am hoping Miss Clarke’s companionship will become more than obligatory. Whether you will admit it or not, you will benefit from having someone here to offer you intelligent conversation and affection. I have arranged this marriage for your benefit.”
“Who granted you permission to arrange a marriage for me?” Percy growled. “Would you like me to arrange a marriage for you? I hear the butcher woman of Frampton is seeking a husband to skin the pigs.”
Silence fell in the air. Percy almost smiled as he imagined the frown on his cousin’s face, but then he remembered the proposition Harry had just made. He expected Percy to marry a woman he had never met, a woman that was surely hunting nothing but his fortune. How daft did Harry think he was? He did not need a silly woman fluttering about the halls, doing things, buying things, inviting guests he would never see. How many secrets would she keep? How many disgusted looks would she cast his way? He would never know. The thought rankled.
“Consider it,” Harry said. “I am certain it will be a thing of positive consequence.”
Percy gave an exasperated sigh. He gave Harry a face he hoped was resolute. “I have considered it. The answer is no.”
“You would rather sit here alone, all of your days? Going mad to the point that the sounds of this old house become your dearest friends?”
“Yes.”
Harry’s voice fell to a grumble. “You will truly refuse her? You don’t know anything about the woman.”
“I don’t need to know about her. It wouldn’t matter because I don’t want a wife.”
“I was not frivolous in my search,” Harry declared. “I spoke in great length with her grandmother, an agreeable, respectable woman. She had nothing but high regard for her granddaughter. I received word that the old woman passed on, and the girl will be left destitute. She is quite shy, I hear, and quite accomplished. She could look after you only when you wish, and you would hardly know she was here.”
“I’ve never known a woman to make herself discreet.” Percy’s voice was tight. “I doubt this one will.”
His cousin mumbled something under his breath.
“Come now, Harry, accept your defeat,” Percy said. “I will remain here,alone, until the end of my days. If it provides you with any solace, you may send me letters I will never be able to read. Do we have an understanding?”
Harry walked closer, his voice much closer to Percy’s ear. “No. No, we do not. If you do not choose to marry this woman, I will find your old nursemaid. Surely she will look after you. She will talk your ear right off your head and you will never be alone. I will do it.” Harry’s voice reflected his devious smile. “Would you prefer that?”
Percy sighed. “You wouldn’t do that to me.”
“I would, and you know it.”
Percy rubbed his jaw, feeling the scratch of a week without a shave. Was he being too stubborn? For the first time he began to doubt the wisdom of opting to live almost completely alone and care for himself. He couldn’t pretend he was capable of it. He wasn’t. He couldn’t read. He couldn’t go on a walk. He couldn’t entertain himself at all on his own. His heart ached as he pictured himself before he had caught the fever, before he went blind. He had been a rider, an adventurer, a chaser of dreams. There was nothing for him now. Nothing but black walls everywhere he turned.
Was he just being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn? He knew the interior of Wellington Manor inside and out, but he had still been disoriented at times. Just the day before it had taken him an hour to find his way back to his chambers from the kitchen. Perhaps Harry was correct. Without his cousin, Percy had no one. His parents had both died years before, and any other relatives Percy had lived on the northern end of the country, and cared little for him anyway. Having one other person in the home, closer to his equal, there for Percy to call upon if she was needed, couldn’t be so very bad. Percy had been known to be intimidating. She would not bother him if he made clear certain rules.
“Miss Fanny Clarke, was it?” Percy grumbled.
Harry was silent for a moment, as if awed that the conversation wasn’t over. “Yes.”
“You are certain she will be a quiet one? Keep to herself?”
“I have learned that she is a lover of literature. Surely if you direct her to your library she will hardly ever leave.”
Percy found himself considering it. At the very least, Harry would leave him in peace. But still, Percy didn’t revel in the idea of someone sneaking around his house unseen. How could he be sure she wasn’t a thief? He stopped his thoughts. If she were his wife, his things would become hers. He didn’t particularly enjoy sharing. He frowned.
“When would this potential wedding take place?”
“In a fortnight,” Harry replied.
“Shall we not be acquainted beforehand?” Percy’s stomach gave a nervous twitch at the thought. “Nevermind. I would prefer that we not.”
“Are you accepting the marriage, then?” Harry asked with disbelief. “I had expected it would take at least an hour of persuasion.”
