Dare dropped his fork and stared openmouthed at his wife. “Charlotte, I am not playing a game with you.”

“Well, no, of course you’re not. It’s not quite a game, it’s more…” Charlotte waved a buttery knife. “…more a role. You protest you have no money, I pretend to believe you, then you give me what I want and everyone is happy.”

Dare was shaking his head even before she finished her sentence. “Charlotte, I am not playing a role. I am not lying to you. I am not misrepresenting the truth. I am being honest, completely and utterly honest when I say that I do not have the money to pay for a new gown, let alone a whole wardrobe. I’m sorry to be blunt, but it’s imperative you understand me once and for all. I…have…no…fortune.”

Charlotte looked from her husband’s tense jaw and glinting sapphire eyes to her sister-in-law. Patricia was nodding, her face twisted in sympathy. Charlotte felt a cold, clammy feeling in her midsection, as if someone had dropped a bowl of blancmange on her.

They couldn’t be serious, could they? No money? Dare had no money? But that was ridiculous. He was an earl, and everyone knew earls inherited fortunes with their titles.

“No fortune?”

He shook his head.

“Nothing?”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Nothing.”

She looked down at her plate of ham and potatoes, then back up to her husband, her mind too benumbed to take it all in. Nothing? “How can that be? How can you inherit a title but not a fortune? I don’t understand! You’re not just pinch-paring?”

Sadness, regret, and guilt flickered across Dare’s handsome face. Ire that had built up under his outrageous claims thinned when she saw the last. Perhaps he had been telling her the truth when he said he hadn’t wanted to marry her because he couldn’t support her. Perhaps he truly hadn’t wanted to marry her. She quickly pushed away that horrible thought. Even if it was true, they were wed, and he would soon learn that she was an excellent wife, ideally suited to him, just as he was to her.

“I wish it were that simple, Charlotte. I inherited the title, true, but I also inherited my uncle’s debts, a great many debts, which I am honor bound to cover. Our only hope of financial security lies in my success with the steam engine.”

“That’s where David comes in,” Patricia added. “If Dare can sell his engine to David’s uncle Edward, Dare will be able to pay off the debts.”

Dare nodded. “With enough left over to begin recovering the estates. It will take time, but I’m confident that with hard work on all our parts, we’ll see it through without too much damage.”

“I don’t wish to work hard and be damaged,” Charlotte cried. “I wish to have a new gown for Patricia’s wedding!”

Dare pushed his plate away and rubbed at his forehead. “Can’t you wear the gown you wore for our wedding?”