“Are you alone?”
She gave him a look. “Can you think of anyone who would agree to accompany me here?”
“Fair enough,” he said, whistling for a hack to stop for them. “I should take you home.”
“You should, should you?” she said, lifting a brow.
“Yes. But we have much to discuss,” he said as he helped her into the hack after giving the driver his address.
“To your place then?” she said, hoping her voice didn’t waver as she thought about what had happened last time the two of them had been alone together in his rooms.
“Nothing will happen,” he said firmly.
“Right.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the seat behind her. They must have had very different experiences the last time if he wanted nothing further to do with her, even if it had likely been a mistake.
They sat in silence until the hack pulled to a stop in front of the building where Jonny lived. As he paid the driver, the man tipped his hat.
“Good night to you and your wife, sir,” he said before driving away. Ada said nothing as she noticed that Jonny didn’t correct him.
Why did the thought of being a wife not seem to matter so much when Jonny was the man in question?
He opened the door and ushered her in, then crossed the room to light the gas lamps and coax a fire to life.
She decided to make herself at home, sitting in one of the two chairs on either side of the small table.
He finally sat across from her, and Ada tried not to be distracted by the sight of his bare forearms crossed on the table before her after he had pushed his sleeves up to just below his elbow, having removed his jacket before stoking the fire.
“Well?” she said, deciding that she had no wish to make this conversation easy on him. “What did you want to talk about?”
“You need to keep your distance from Sharpe, from Will, from the docks, from that entire organization,” he said, his words clipped, almost harsh. “Stay with your family. Do as your father says. Marry Carter and get on with your life.”
Her mouth gaped as she fisted her hands and placed them on her hips. “I’ve had quite enough of you telling me what to do and who I should marry,” she said through tight lips, tryingnot to allow her anger to overwhelm her. “How is that any business of yours?”
He cocked his head at her. “I believe it became my business the other night.”
“So, because we were together, I am now yours to do with as you wish?” She shook her head with a snort. “I don’t think so.”
“It is not as though I’m telling you to do anything you weren’t going to do already,” he said with an indifferent shrug. “I heard Carter telling you that it was time to marry.”
“Did you hear my response?” she said, wondering why she was even bothering, but she needed to get this all out.
"You asked him why now.”
“I did. Because I wanted more information. I wanted to know what was happening. But I certainly have no interest in marrying him, which is exactly what I was about to tell him before you waltzed in and basically answered for me.”
He said nothing as he sat there, staring at her.
“Why?” she said, splaying her hands out to the side. “Why would you want me to marry him? Do you want to get me away from you, off your hands? Is that it? Have someone else to take on the responsibility if… if something should come of us being together?”
“No,” he said with a muttered curse as he dropped his head into his hands. “That’s not it at all.”
“Then enlighten me.”
“You are not safe with me,” he bit out, leaning forward on the table, his face slightly contorted, although it was hard to tell how much was anger and how much was despair. “Carter offers you respectability as well as safety. You can have a good life with him.”
“Can I?” she asked, her brows rising. “Do you know anything about him? About how he treats me? I can see youdon’t, so I’ll tell you. The man basically ignores me. He far prefers other women. The reason we haven’t married before now is that he has been trying to get out of this as much as I have. How does a life between two people who want nothing to do with one another look to you? I know it is not nearly as impossible as what Minnie was facing before Tommy married her, but I should still have the opportunity to choose for myself, and I would appreciate you not trying to choose for me.”
He was silent, stroking the stubble on his face as he focused on her.
