CHAPTER 5
Robert was at White’s, waiting for Sonia’s brother, Edward, who would be arriving at any moment. Robert thought that even though Sonia liked him and trusted him he had to do the right thing for the both of them. He needed the money from her dowry and he could not stand the thought of her making the same proposal to another man. He did not understand why, but it felt like a kick in the stomach whenever he thought about it.
Edward arrived late and immediately sat down to talk with Robert. As always he went straight to the point.
“Well, Wilmington, tell me why you arranged to meet me here in the most private part of the club. It must be something serious and if that is the case you should have gone to my house to talk about a future marriage with my sister.”
“It’s not what you think, Edward.”
He looked at him curiously. “Then?”
“I asked you to come here because I do not want Sonia to hear about this conversation. What I’m going to say is something I do not want to leave this place.”
“Good God, Wilmington! You’re worrying me already.”
“Give me your word of honor that you will not tell Sonia and you will not rush to write your father either.”
Edward looked at him very seriously. He seemed to think for a moment and then nodded. “Very well, you have my word.”
Robert relaxed a little. He did not want Sonia’s family to say that she was a shameless hussy or any number of other things. “I want to marry her.”
“I thought so but I still don’t see the reason for giving you my word.”
“I have not finished.”
Edward was silent while he waited uncomfortably.
“I do not want Sonia to know I want to marry her.”
Edward looked at him inquisitively. “Could you explain that to me?”
“We both know her very well and we know she’s an impulsive young woman who still believes in fairy tales. She does not think marrying is her next step but wants to live alone with no one to control her.”
“It’s true. I know my sister well and where does that leave us?”
“Yesterday Sonia told me that she did not want to marry, but that she wanted to know what intimacy was.”
“Excuse me?” Edward interrupted him and almost choked on his drink.
“You heard me, Edward.”
“I can’t believe the audacity of that girl. She’s completely shameless.” Edward raised his voice.
Robert motioned for him to lower his voice. “Please, no one has to know about this and if I am telling you this, it is not because I want to, but because I need you to understand my plan.”
Edward tried to reassure himself by taking a drink. “I understand if you no longer want to know anything about her.”
“Did you not hear me when I said I want to marry her?”
“But ... how is that possible? If a woman told me that I would just think that she is a ...”
“Please do not finish, Edward. I do not want to be forced to hit my future wife’s brother.”
Robert shook his head, unable to fully grasp the whole situation. “Well, let’s start again. You want to marry my sister.”
“Yes,” Robert said.
“It doesn’t matter to you that she doesn’t want to marry?”
“True.”
Edward laughed. “You must be more desperate for money than I thought.”
“I will not deny that I need Sonia’s dowry, but it is no sacrifice for me to marry her. She is beautiful, educated, and she can give me an heir. I do not ask for anything more.”
“That’s fine, but what’s the catch?”
“I want to make her think that I agree with everything. We will be secret lovers, but somehow you will find out and you will make her and me marry. I will tell her that I hired a fictitious priest and that as soon as your father and you leave we can divorce each other and go our own way. Obviously, if it were true, it couldn’t be done easily, but she does not have to know that.
“What will you do so she doesn’t demand a divorce until it drives you mad?”
“Well, I trust in my ability to make her love me and I think that after we’re together for a while and get to know each other better, no divorce will be necessary anymore.”
“Remember that they will only be a short time in your house and that will not be more than three or four days. After you get married, my father will want to leave about a week later, when he sees that you are both doing well. It will be very little time for you to make her fall in love with you.”
“We can come up with a very long honeymoon that your father will gift us and I’ll say that until we’re back, there’s nothing we can do. After that, her mother can come for a while and we will gradually lengthen the issue until she no longer wants to leave.”
“It might work,” Edward said with some satisfaction at the thought of his sister married to a marquess and that it would open doors to him and his father concerning the business they planned to do in England, “but you must understand that we will have to have a kind of contract. Where you agree to marry Sonia and it will be stipulated that only after marriage will you receive the dowry.”
“I agree and you’ll agree not to say anything to her until I broach the subject and explain everything.”
“Very well, but I still have to talk to my father and see what he thinks of all of this. Only when he has the last word can we do this.”
Weeks later, Robert and Sonia were at the Duke and Duchess of
