“My sister has—grunt—explained your agreement—grunt, click—to me: you’ve both decided on a f-f—grunt—false engagement as an excuse to spend time—click, click—finding your cousin. But,” he continued, before Jasper could correct him, “I would like to know your—grunt, click, grunt—true intentions with her.”
The man paused in his stitching to level Jasper with a meaningful stare, his soft grunts and clicks the only sound in the room, aside from the rush of blood in Jasper’s ears.
Nervous anger began to bloom just behind his sternum. He’dintendedto marry Maria. Could he have misunderstood?
A quiver of unease danced along his spine. It bothered him that Maria believed him capable of jilting her after all that they had endured together. But…mayhap a marriage was not what she truly desired.
His thoughts raced, attempting to replay his offer of marriage—and her acceptance—in his mind’s eye. Had she been enthusiastic, or did she feel obliged to accept? And—hell—they’d been intimate! Had he trapped her in an engagement against her wishes?
He cleared his throat, and opened his mouth to reply with Lord knew what, when Thomas cut in.
“What would you—grunt—do, for example, if a child should result from—click, click, grunt—your intimacies last night? Would you make g-g—click—good on your proposal, and save her from ruination?”
The words “of course” hovered on his tongue, but his brain and heart had all but entirely stopped.A child. Hope began to bloom in his chest, but the memory of Thomas’ previous words squashed it.False engagement… Jasper had wanted a marriage, and a child wouldn’t change that. But what of Maria? If she didn’t believe them to be trulyaffianced, a child mightn’t alter her opinion. He would have to convince her of his sincerity—regardless of whether their tryst resulted in pregnancy.
His pulse rushed in his ears, and he was vaguely aware of Thomas speaking, but it didn’t reach him.
A child.
His heart tripped, then began a steady staccato beat against his ribs.
She was trapped. He’d trapped her in an untenable situation, just as surely as he had trapped Juliana in her engagement to the viscount before she’d fled.Christ, what ifMariafled?
Of course she would. She was better than he could ever hope to be. Indeed, he was entirely unworthy of her admiration…which was why he’d vowed tomakehimself worthy.
Jasper took a steadying breath and attempted to slow his pulse. He couldn’t allow Maria to flee without first knowing his true intentions. If flight was her intent, he could not stop her, but at least he could provide her with the truth.Histruth.
“… I can understand why Maria—click—has such conflicting feelings—grunt, grunt—about you,” Thomas said thoughtfully, returning to his sewing, one eyebrow raised in challenge.
Jasper blinked. “Maria said that?”
Thomas eyed him with a tilt to his head, his gaze assessing. “She did.”
“Is that why she—”Is that why she wants me to jilt her?Jasper leaned closer, placing his elbows upon his knees. “What do you mean by conflicting feelings?”
The man grimaced and waggled his shoulder before returning his attention to Jasper. “Well, because you—grunt—made that wager and broke her h-h—click—heart ten years hence, I very much—grunt, grunt, click—doubt that she will ever fully trust any—grunt—man. Most particularly you. I can?—”
“Just a moment,” Jasper interjected, his pulse tripping once more. “Whatwager ten years ago? And her h-heart?” he rubbed a hand over his face, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m so confused.”
“Of course—grunt—you are.” Thomas dropped his sewing to his lap and sighed, a reproachful frown pinching his brows. “Your wager with Billingsly at?—”
“Christ,” Jasper cursed with feeling. “That is, I… Goddamn it, I turned the bastard down! He wanted me to break a woman’s heart, and I couldn’t do it. The man then attempted to offer the wager to another of our acquaintances nearby, and I wouldn’t stand for it. I called the man a cad, and approached the nearest…Hell.” A nervous, cold sweat began between his shoulder blades, and he could feel the colour drain from his cheeks. “Maria was the nearest woman. She heard Billingsly’s wager.”
* * *
“Maria!”
Maria paused at the sound of Jasper’s voice. She turned away from the Bow Street offices’ front door to eye him trotting down the main staircase.
“Maria,” he breathed as he reached the bottom. “Might I have a word before you take your leave?”
Her stomach gave a swoop, and she nodded.
They strode into the corridor and toward their room reserved for storing records. It was sparse at the moment, with only two tall tables—meant for use while standing—and the shelves that lined each wall.
Cognizant of their lack of privacy, Maria entered and turned to face him.
“I…” He cleared his throat. “I just spoke with your brother, and knew that I could not wait until this evening to clarify something important.”
