A Merchant's Daughter by Arabella Sheen

Author:Arabella Sheen
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781949300468
Publisher: Beachwalk Press, Inc.
Published: 2019-08-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Aaron was enraged. In fact, he was furious. Much to his annoyance, and quite illogically, he felt he’d been pipped at the post. Lord Stratton had walked away with the prize, and there was nothing he could do about it.

When he’d arrived at the door of Mr. Brentry’s residence that evening, he thought he’d overcome his moral boundaries of right and wrong and was, at last, prepared to approach Emma with an offer of marriage. The only problem was that deep in his heart, he believed the marriage, which was so right for Windhurst Hall, was also so wrong for Emma.

Aaron knew marriage to Emma would come at a price. If they married, her dowry could be used to pay off his cousin’s debt and win back Windhurst Hall, but it would also cost him his freedom. With her settlement in the bank, he could return his home to what it once was: a comfortable gentleman’s residence. But in the process, he would become leg-shackled and tied for the rest of his life to someone he had only just met. Someone he had no true understanding of, even though there was an intense attraction of sorts. And there would be no escape from that commitment or from that binding union.

Edward Templeton’s advice was ringing in his ears. “You’ll have to take a chance like the rest of us.”

Aaron knew it was sound guidance, but he wasn’t sure he could make the ultimate sacrifice of losing his independence on the flimsiest of chances that he and Emma might be happy together.

When they first met, he’d admired her for her resourcefulness and her ability to overcome her difficulties, but he’d not really gotten to know her. There had been no chance and no time. There had been so much more to discover about Emma but no opportunity in which to do so.

When he’d left her at the door of her house a week ago, he thought they had said goodbye for good, but with unfinished business between them, he hoped tonight, that business could be resolved.

He’d intended to find the right moment to put his plan forward, but that seemed pointless now that Lord Stratton was here.

Throughout the week, Aaron had diligently researched the Brentrys. He had been fact-finding, and to his surprise, he discovered that while Mr. Winston Brentry was known to be of a good and generous disposition, the man had also gained a reputation as that of a demanding taskmaster. Quick-witted, there wasn’t much that got past Mr. Brentry, and that was one of the reasons his considerable fortune had been amassed so successfully. Mr. Brentry’s wealth was reputed to be quite substantial, and his residence was said to be reasonably grand for a common glass merchant. When Aaron looked about, he thought this assessment of his host to be all too true.

The grand hallway in which he was standing screamed money, although not necessarily taste. It was a good indication Mr. Brentry certainly had the means with which to indulge his opulent preferences, but not necessarily the finesse.

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