An Infamous Proposal

the long version

Emma, having gone at seventeen directly from her papa's home to her husband's arms, is now widowed at age twenty-two--and quite naive in the ways of the world: in particular, how to find herself another match! Thus, she proposes to Lord Hansard, eyeing him as a husband who would let her enjoy her freedom and discourage the presence of interfering relatives. His blunt refusal is both surprising . . . and oddly disappointing. Nick, however, has taken it upon himself to procure a suitable man for this outrageous miss, though none of the candidates are nearly as qualified as . . . well, himself. Thus Emma begins to suspect that when it comes to a decent proposal, even a gentleman has the right to change his mind.