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with slow, deliberate steps and came to a halt next to her. His nearness forced her to look up.
    His towering height engulfed her, his broad shoulders and dark presence acted as a barrier. Beneath his cool exterior, she sensed some turmoil that surrounded him, a chaotic upheaval that never seemed at rest. He was the most compelling force she’d ever encountered.
    She couldn’t hide her surprise. Nor could she stop the niggling of unease that erupted inside her. “I didn’t know you were in the market for a bride, Lord Montfort. The last time we spoke, you indicated quite the opposite was true.”
    “So it was. Then.”
    “And now?”
    “Now, I have decided to marry.”
    “And who is this unfortunate female?”
    “Allison.”
    David’s warning came from behind her. She ignored him.
    The marquess smiled.
    A knot tightened in Allison’s belly. “Do I know her?”
    “Yes. Quite well as a matter of fact.”
    Her legs weakened beneath her, her mouth suddenly dry as lint. “Why the sudden change of heart, Lord Montfort?”
    “Would you believe I have fallen quite madly in love?”
    “Not for a moment. I doubt you know the meaning of the word.”
    “Allison,” David warned again. “What has come over you?”
    The marquess gave her another heart-stopping grin, this time accompanied by a suggestive tilt of his head.
    “Would you believe, then, that I have finally met the woman of my dreams, the woman I want to be the mother of my children?”
    “ That thought is even more preposterous. Your dreams are much too crowded with the scores of admirers and mistresses for any one woman to be noticed.”
    The corners of his lips curled up sardonically. “Then would you believe that I am as desperate for your dowry as you are for a husband?”
    Allison felt her knees give out beneath her and reached for the back of the nearest chair to support her. Of all the men in England, no one could be further from what she wanted in a husband than the Marquess of Montfort.

Chapter 5
     
    “Allison. Why don’t you sit down?”
    David pointed to one of the two leather chairs angled in front of his desk. “Montfort.” He pointed to the other.
    The Marquess of Montfort didn’t move. Neither did she. She stayed rooted to the spot, unable to force her body to obey David’s command to sit. Her blood thundered in her ears, her heart pounded inside her breast.
    This couldn’t be happening to her. Surely David wouldn’t be so uncaring that he’d deliver her into the hands of the kind of man she’d sworn to avoid? Surely David couldn’t be that eager to be rid of her that he would take the first offer for her hand, knowing that man possessed every reprehensible quality she could not abide?
    Surely she’d misunderstood, and Montfort’s announcement of his intentions was a mistake, a hideous joke. She flashed her gaze to David’s drawn expression.
    “David, you can’t mean to do this. Tell me you don’t seriously intend for me to marry Lord Montfort.”
    Montfort stepped closer. “Perhaps it would be best if I talked to Lady Allison in private.”
    Allison ignored him. “David. Tell me you don’t.”
    “It’s for the best, Allie. An arrangement between you and the marquess would be of benefit to you both.”
    “But the Earl of Archbite—“
    “I’ve already explained that I won’t accept a match between you and Archbite.”
    “Hartley,” Montfort’s voice interrupted again. This time his tone held an edge of authority. The single word a demand. “Leave the two of us alone for a while. I need to speak with the lady. In private.”
    David gave her an uncompromising look then left the room.
    The door closed with a deafening thud and neither of them moved. She stood behind a chair that acted as a barrier, and he stood to her left. Only the steady ticking of the mantle clock intruded on the silence that stretched like a fragile string above a flame, waiting to snap. Finally, he moved.
    He walked to the small side table