“You’re my wife,” he told her.
“But that doesn’t mean the same thing to you that it does to some.”
“It means that I respect you. I honor you. I would never do anything that would cause you harm or shame,” he said. “Youplaced your trust in me when we married, and I am a gentleman. Whatever there may or may not be between us, I don’t take that trust lightly, Caroline.”
She sighed. “I should return to my room.”
“Do you mean that?”
“Yes, there’s no need to post a guard at my door. I won’t try to sneak out again, I promise.” She turned toward the door.
He reached out and caught her by the arm.
She tensed, looking back at him, her breathing erratic.
Levi hadn’t known he was going to do that. He didn’t know what he meant by it. “Wait,” he managed.
“Yes?” She was breathless, her gaze searching his.
He didn’t know what to say. He could hardly think. All he could do was look at her and wonder what it would be like to have her in his arms—what it would be like to kiss her.
She’s my wife. I could kiss her. I don’t have to remain wondering.
But if he did—if he allowed himself to take her in his arms, to press his lips to hers and finally get a taste of what, up untilnow, he had only allowed himself to look at—it would change everything.
It was too dangerous. It wasn’t what he had married her for. And if she ended up resenting him forever, the way his mother had his father, they would both be miserable for the rest of their lives.
Though it made him half mad to do it, he forced himself, once more, to let her go.
CHAPTER 20
“You’re here,” Caroline said in surprise, coming across Levi in the sitting room one afternoon a few days later. “I didn’t know you would be.”
“I do live here,” he pointed out, unable to suppress a smile.
“I know that.” She blushed. He never failed to notice it when her cheeks colored—it made his pulse quicken. It made him want to agitate her all the more, to try to draw that flush out of her if he could. “But you usually go out during the day. I’m used to being on my own at this time.”
“I decided to invite my guest here this time,” Levi told her. “We’re going to so many events this season that I don’t feel the need to get out of the house as much as I might have in past years.”
“Who’s coming here?” Caroline asked.
“My friend Gregory. You remember him, of course.”
Caroline nodded and looked down, leaving Levi to wonder what she was thinking. He had never perceived Caroline to be particularly snobbish, but of course, Gregory was not a member of the ton. Who was to say what would happen when the two of them were on their own together with only a few others for company? Maybe Caroline didn’t understand why he would associate with someone she was bound to perceive as beneath his station. Maybe she would think he should stick to friends more befitting a duke.
If she says anything of the sort, I’ll just have to remind her whose house this really is. She may be my wife, but I’m not going to allow her to make rude comments about my friends.
That was preemptive, of course. She hadn’t said anything out of line yet. He worried about it, but maybe he ought to give her a chance to do the right thing before assuming that she would disappoint him.
I must admit, she’s never disappointed me yet.
“You’re welcome to join us for tea, at least at first,” he told Caroline somewhat grudgingly.
She raised her eyebrows. “You would allow me to stay and socialize?”
“I can’t see the harm in it. Gregory knows that I’m married, of course. I’m not trying to hide you away from him. It makes sense that you stay and greet our guest. In fact, I would like you to.”
She was silent for a moment. He wondered what she was thinking, but she didn’t offer anything. Even her facial expression remained carefully neutral. “If that’s what you would like, I’d be happy to be a part of things,” she said. “I should go put on something more suitable for receiving guests, and then I’ll be right back.”
