Marry? How could he marry when he bore the responsibility for her, Kat, and their mother? He’d never even considered it until Rose. And now…well, he’d never marry. If he couldn’t have the woman he loved, he didn’t want any substitute. “None of your business.”
“There are scads of pretty maidens who adore you, but you’ve never given any of them a look. But the way you looked at Lady Rose…”
“Tricia, I’m only going to say this one more time. There is nothing between Rose—er, Lady Rose—and me. And you’re only fifteen years old! This isn’t any of your concern.”
She smiled. “You know, many maidens marry at fifteen.”
“You won’t, however.” Not while I live.
“Perhaps I should. There’s no shortage of men vying for my favors, and then there would be one less mouth to feed around here.”
“You are far too young.”
“Perhaps I could find a wealthy young lord who would take care of all of us. Lady Rose’s brother, for instance. He is dashing.” Tricia closed her eyes.
“Good God, the man is my age!” Cameron shook his head. “And when the hell did you ever meet him, anyway?”
“A few days before the duke’s wedding. I was out riding and I met the duke and Lady Lily. The duke’s horse is the most beautiful black stallion. Anyway, Lady Rose and Lord Jameson, that’s his name, were with them, and Lady Lily remembered me and introduced us.”
“How do you know he’s not already married?”
“Lady Lily mentioned that he wasn’t.”
Cameron rolled his eyes. “You’re too young to marry, Tricia. I won’t have you tied down during the dawn of your youth. And you may as well accept the fact that you won’t marry an aristocrat. None of us will. It’s not our place.”
“What if I think we’re better than”—she motioned around the room—“this.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does. Cameron, you’re as talented as any contemporary composer. More so even, because you’ve had no formal training. If you’d had the advantages that are available to the peers, or even to the more wealthy—”
“But I haven’t. This is my life. It’s where I belong.”
“No, it’s not. And it’s not where I belong, either. I want to learn. I’m smart. Did you know that, Cam?”
“Of course.”
“And so is Kat. I taught her the multiplication tables. She memorized them in two days. And she can do complex equations in her head. She’s only seven!”
“I’m afraid that’s our curse, Tricia.”
“It’s a curse to be bright?”
“When you’re limited as to what you can accomplish due to your station in life, yes, it is a curse to be bright.”
Tricia shook her head. “I’ll never believe that.”
“Well, if you’re so inclined to use your intelligence, tell me, why are you so eager to marry yourself off at such a tender age?”
“I’m not really. I just thought it would make things easier for you.”
“That’s silly.”
“No, it’s not. You were going to go to London and write music, do you remember?”
“Yes.”
“But then Papa died, and you had to stay here and take care of us. You could have been famous by now.”