Marriage of Inconvenience by Cheryl Bolen

Owing to the fact she had not anticipated his lordship's absence, she hadn't given a thought as to how she should proceed were he not at home. 'I would convey that to Lord Aynsley were he here, but he is not. She drilled him with her most haughty stare (though he was nothing more than a blur, due to her deficient vision) and said, 'You must inform his lordship that I come from the foreign secretary, Lord Warwick.' Which was true, but misleading, given that her sister was married to Lord Warwick, and Rebecca made her home with them. Perhaps the butler was merely protecting his master from tarts. And to make matters even more regrettable, the hackney driver had left! She fought against tears of utter frustration. All likelihood of ever again disengaging herself from either her sister, Maggie, or Pru would be nonexistent. Such an opportunity might never again be possible once it was discovered she'd sneaked out the back of her dressmaker's, stranding her poor maid there. She had not reckoned on Lord Aynsley being away from home. There was not a shred of remorse on the man's face or in his voice. 'I regret to say he's out,' the butler said. One simply did not bring one's maid when one wished to propose marriage. But, of course, she could hardly have brought Pru with her today. Though her dress was considerably more respectable than a doxy's, he must still believe her a loose woman because no proper lady would come to his lordship's unescorted. She had particularly selected this time of day because she knew it was too early for Parliament. 'Is Lord Aynsley in?' she asked in a shaky voice.

Soon, a gaunt butler with a raised brow opened the door and gave her a haughty stare. She felt rather like a convict standing before King's Bench as she waited for someone to respond to her knock. One who wished to persuade a virtual stranger to marry her must, after all, make every effort to look one's best. Though she abhorred going without them due to her inability to see, she had decided just this once it was necessary. Almost as an afterthought, she pulled off her spectacles and jammed them into her reticule.

She paid him, glanced up at the impressive four-story townhouse, then climbed its steps and rapped at the door's shiny brass plate. With her heart pounding prodigiously, Miss Rebecca Peabody pushed her spectacles up the bridge of her nose and drew a deep breath as the driver assisted her from the carriage. The hackney coach slowed in front of Lord Aynsley's townhouse.

Marriage of Inconvenience by Cheryl Bolen