His Impassioned Proposal (The Bridgethorpe Brides) by Aileen Fish Read Free Book Online

picked up another by mistake. You aren’t still blaming him for getting drunk on his return home, are you? The news he received, the loss of his parents together, was too much for anyone to bear.”
    “No, I bear him no ill will over it, even though I wish it hadn’t happened. But perhaps it is better it happened that way, so I will question my feelings before it’s too late.”
    They sat silently for a short time, the only sound coming from the birds in the trees beyond the hedgerow that divided their fathers’ lands. Jane looked about her and realized this could be her last fall and winter in her parents’ home. Quite possibly, her last in Cheshire. She shivered and buttoned her pelisse.  
    Whether she chose Stephen or some other gentleman, it was quite likely she would marry in the summer or fall of next year. “I must ask the gardener to set aside some of Mama’s bulbs when he divides them this winter. I can take them with me to my new home.”
    “Do you think you’ll marry soon, then?”
    “There is no reason to delay, once I’m betrothed. If I choose Stephen, we could marry next summer. He’ll have had more than six months’ mourning, and one would believe he’d want to begin setting up his nursery right away. If one of the gentlemen who’ve called upon me in London in the past were to offer for my hand, and I accepted, I might convince Mama to wait a year, but I don’t see any point in doing so. I would gain a better acquaintance with the man by marrying him than by exchanging letters and an occasional visit over the winter.”  
    She tried to imagine spending a lifetime with any of the men she’d met. Mr. Stokes was so soft-spoken it was difficult to know if he was shy or simply unenthusiastic about the idea of marrying. Sir Edgar Rhimes droned on so much about his ponies, she expected him to inspect her teeth before making her an offer. Jane shuddered at the thought.
    But Mr. Tunney was kind enough, and had an income comparable to her father’s. He didn’t overuse perfumes, nor were the points of his collars too high. He preferred the country life, he claimed, so by marrying him she might find her life quite unchanged.
    A lump rose in her throat and she stood up to pace in the grass. “Oh, Hannah, this won’t do. I find myself comparing future husbands by which would least disrupt my lifestyle.”
    Hannah giggled, but broke off sharply as if realizing it wasn’t appropriate. “You see, you do wish to marry Stephen. You would remain nearby and we could see each other nearly every day.”
    “And when you marry? Do you intend to choose a man from the village so you may also remain nearby? I understand Squire Wilburt is in need of a mother for his brood.”
    “Do not say it,” Hannah said with a gasp. “I could never marry a man so old. He must be all of thirty! And he has altogether too many children.”
    “It is not the squire’s fault they all arrived in pairs. And six is not nearly as many as your family.”
    “But there are sixteen years between the first and the last of my mother’s babies. I fear in that time I could bear the squire an entire country.” Hannah laughed. “No, he will never suit me. I shall find a husband in London and convince him to buy a country house near Larkspur Cottage.”
    Jane returned to the blanket and sat, grasping Hannah’s hand in hers. “I do hope our husbands will be friends. I can’t imagine not being able to see you often and tell you all my fears and joys.”
    Squeezing her hand in return, Hannah said, “Then once you are married, we must ask Stephen to invite his fellow soldiers to visit. I do love a man in regimentals.”
    “Now there is a perfectly unsound reason to marry a gentleman.” Jane smiled. “Will you require him to wear his uniform after he resigns his regiment?”
    Hannah’s lips tightened and she stared off in the distance. “Hmmm, I hadn’t considered that. Perhaps I will marry an officer and travel with him. I would