“Something else for the children?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “Something for you.”
He had gone back and forth about whether he would actually give her the gift he had chosen. It was the kind of gift a man gives to a woman he’s courting, and he knew that. It wasn’t a gift for someone who had helped you look after your child for a while. There was even a chance she would reject it because of that, and he knew that he would be humiliated if she did. Perhaps it was better not to even take the chance.
But he wanted her to have it. The idea of keeping it, or of giving it back to the shop, was worse than humiliation.
He couldn’t write her letters. He couldn’t keep in contact. But this was a way of ensuring that she would take a piece of him away with her, and that she would never forget about him entirely.
At least, that was what he hoped.
He turned back to her and held out the small, thin box. “I thought about giving this to you this morning, for the ball,” he said. “But I decided to keep it for a farewell gift.”
She opened the box and let out a gasp. “Reeves…”
It was a necklace of silver, a simple chain that she would be able to tuck under a dress and keep out of sight. “I wanted something you could wear at the orphanage,” he explained. “Something that wouldn’t be too gaudy for your life there.”
“Still, it must have cost a fortune…”
It had been expensive, but certainly no more than she was worth. He lifted it carefully from the box. “May I?”
In response, she turned her back to him.
He fastened the clasp carefully, almost reverently, his fingers brushing against the bare skin of her neck. He lingered there for a moment, wishing that moment could be longer. Wishing that he could make something more of this last moment the two of them would ever be together.
And then caution abandoned him.
This truly was his last chance with her. She would be gone forever after today. He would never see her again, would never have another opportunity like this one.
He turned her in his arms.
Her eyes were wide. Her breathing was ragged and shallow, and as his gaze dropped to her lips, he saw that they were slightly parted. Her face was flushed with desire, and he felt sure that she was thinking the same thing he was.
He bent to her and pressed his lips to hers.
Immediately, the kiss went from exploratory to passionate as the taste of her drove him into a frenzy. He wrapped his arms around her and crushed her body into his, needing more of her. Needing this tobemore. If he kissed her hard enough, deeply enough, maybe he could keep her beside him. Maybe that would make her stay.
Maybe…
What am I doing?
He broke away from her and held her back at arm’s length. Her lips were swollen from his kiss, and that sight was so alluring that he very nearly dove back in, but he managed to restrain himself.
This isn’t right. She might marry one day. She might leave the orphanage and find a husband—someone who can love her the way she deserves to be loved. Someone who isn’t a terrible brute like me, grabbing women and kissing them inhis chambers. She doesn’t want this. Not with me. And she shouldn’t.
“You ought to go,” he said, hearing the gruffness in his voice, unable to control it. “You’ll need your rest if you’re going to be leaving in the morning.”
“Oh…” she sounded startled, maybe even sad. He ignored that. She wanted to go—she had said as much. If she were having second thoughts because of that kiss, that was all the more reason to put distance between the two of them.
“I’ll make sure a carriage is ready in the morning,” he told her. “One of my footmen will escort you back, so you’ll be sure of being safe on the road.”
He saw tears come into her eyes and wondered whether she had expected him to take her back. But she must have realized he couldn’t possibly leave Emma even if he wanted to. It simply wasn’t an option.
He turned away from her, unable to bear watching her tears. “Get some rest,” he told her. “Someone will come to wake you early in the morning so that you’ll be able to make the whole trip in one day. You don’t want to have to stop on the road.”
“All right,” she said softly, and despite the tears, her voice was even. “Thank you, Reeves. I appreciate your help in this.”
And then she was gone.
