And yet with each breath and slowing beat of her heart, she sank back into her body and the reality of the man beside her.
She turned her head and found his gaze already upon her. “You’re no longer a virgin.”
She could see it was weighing on him. “It’s different for us.”
His eyebrows crinkled together. “Uswho?”
“The riff-raff.”
His jaw clenched. He didn’tlike that answer.
“A woman’s maidenhead isn’t as important to my class.”
It was mostly true. If there was a babe, well, that was a different matter. But, thankfully, he’d taken precautions.
Her words, however, did seem to assuage him a small bit as he gathered her close and snugged her into the curl of his body. “We’ll discuss it tomorrow,” he muttered into her hair. Not long after, his breathing became even in the cadence of sleep.
But Valentina’s gaze remained obstinately fixed on the canopy above.
We’ll discuss it tomorrow.
And with which Lord Archer would she be discussingit?
The one always on the lookout for a lark and a laugh?
Or the one whose arm was presently providing a pillow for her head? The one with hidden depths?
Or was it possible they were one and the same?
Chapter Eleven
Next day
Archie knew before he opened his eyes.
She was gone.
Morning sun peeking through parted bed curtains, he slitted his eyes open. The space beside him—where Valentina should have been—lay empty, no longer even warm. She’d been gone a while, that cold space told him.
Last night…
She’d been a virgin.
This morning…
She wasn’t.
Right.
It’s different for us.
That simply wasn’t true.
Everyone had feelings and desires, wants and needs. Class made no difference.
No, Miss Valentina Hart had been deflecting. She hadn’t wanted to have a difficult conversation. And though he wasn’t exactly known for wading into waters fraught with difficulty—clear, smooth-running streams were much his preference—he wasn’t letting her not have this difficult conversation. Surely, they could come to some sort of arrangement.
The instant the wordarrangementformed in his mind, he feltimmediate revulsion. That word put him on a level with certain lords he didn’t particularly like, or respect.
