Althea’s eyebrows twitched up again.
“I cannot apologize for my actions before that. I will never regret sharing pleasure with you.”
Beth stifled a snicker with a cough, earning a glare from her cousin.
“I have come to understand your concerns for your reputation a little better—”
“Oh?” she interrupted. “How?”
“Does it matter?” He did not want to cause a rift between business partners and was not certain what Althea’s reaction to Charlotte’s letter would be.Damn me, why did I not consider this and think more about how to word my apology?
“It matters to me.”
“If you must know, Charlotte wrote to me—”
“What?” Her tone was outraged.
“She reminded me that by necessity, women must work harder at protecting their reputations than men. It occurred to me—”
Beth shifted and muttered, “Belatedly,” under her breath.
“—that there is a double standard, and I had not fully taken it into account when I—”
“Sulked?” shot from Althea.
Heaven save him from these ladies’ assistance with his apology. He stifled a sigh. “Right, then.Sulkedat being kept a secret.” He paused, looking for a reaction.
“Yes? And? You’ve shared your new, belated, understanding with us.”
“Not true. I led with begging your forgiveness. Please, Althea?”
“Fine. You are forgiven, my lord. Does this mean—” she slid a sidelong glance at her cousin “—you would like to resume our interactions?”
He managed not to grin at her discomfort labeling their relationship in front of the audience she’d insisted upon, but he could not resist quirking an eyebrow at her choice of words.
She flattened her lips.
“About that. I have also rethought my concerns about marriage and have decided that, for the right person, it could be worth the risk.”
“And what, may I ask, caused that change?”
He barely refrained from rolling his eyes, resisting the desire to ask again what it mattered. “A letter from my mother that her last nurse, Lucy, helped her write a year ago. She explained a few thoughts she was having as the disease…progressed.” His throat had clogged, his voice going thick by the end of the explanation.
Althea nodded, her voice softer. “Thank you for explaining. I hope the letter helped you handle her current circumstances as well.”
He shrugged and swallowed, looking away for a moment.
Beth nudged him and hiss-whispered, “How does that pertain to my cousin?”
He slanted her a look, grumbling, “Don’t you have anything better to do?”
Turning to Althea, he straightened in the chair, throwing his shoulders back and cleared his throat. “Althea, Lady Egerton, I find myself bereft without you and would prefer to spend more time with you in the light rather than sneaking through the darkness. Would you do me the honor of marrying me?”
Althea gaped at him. Undone by the silence, he glanced sideways. Beth was lounging back in her chair with a happy smile on her face.
“No.”
His gaze whipped back to Althea. “Pardon me?”
