But he had not. He had chosen this. Chosen her.
The realization settled in her chest, warm and uncomfortable and altogether too dangerous.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "For the dresses. For understanding about Veronica."
"You do not need to thank me," Gregory replied. "This is what marriage means, does it not? Supporting each other. Protecting the people we love."
The people we love.
Did he count her sisters in that? Or?—
No. She would not let herself think about it. Would not let hope take root when it would only lead to pain.
"Still," she said. "It was kind of you."
"I am not kind," Gregory said. "I am practical. Happy sisters-in-law mean a happy wife. And a happy wife means—" He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a murmur. "Well. I suppose we will discover what it means soon enough."
Anthea refused to look at him. "You are incorrigible."
"You say that as though it were an insult."
"It is an insult."
"Strange. It sounded rather like affection."
She turned to glare at him. "It was not affection. It was exasperation."
"If you say so," Gregory said, but he was smiling.
She forced herself to focus on practicalities. On anything other than the warmth in his eyes.
"There is something else," she said. "Something that might benefit us both."
"Oh?" His tone suggested he was thoroughly enjoying this conversation. "Do tell."
"You need to establish yourself among the ton's gentlemen," she said. "The best way to do that is through a gentleman's club. White's, Brooks's, Boodle's—any of them would give you access to the men who hold real power in London."
Gregory's amusement faded, replaced by genuine interest. "Go on."
"The investors you need for your estates," Anthea continued. "The political connections that could help with Parliament. They are all members of these clubs. And more than that—" She glanced at Veronica's sleeping form. "You could meet men who might be suitable for my sisters. Men of good character who would not be easily swayed by my stepmother's manipulations."
He studied her for a long moment. "You truly have thought of everything, have you not?"
"I try to be thorough."
"Thorough," he repeated. "Is that what we are calling it? Here I thought you were simply desperate to keep me occupied so I would stop tormenting you."
"You do not torment me," she said, proud of how steady her voice remained.
"No?" He shifted closer, until his thigh pressed firmly against hers. "Then why do you keep looking away whenever I compliment you?"
"Because your compliments are absurd and I refuse to encourage them."
"Absurd," Gregory mused. "You think it absurd that I find my future wife beautiful? That I enjoy her company? That I look forward to every moment we spend together?"
"You are attempting to fluster me," Anthea said coolly. "And I am not so easily flustered."
"I don't need to attempt anything." He chuckled, catching a loose strand of her hair, tucking it behind her ear. The touch was gentle, deliberate, maddeningly intimate. "Your racing pulse does all the work for me."
