‘The business made as much as any other during that time. “When will it be enough?” my mother used to ask him.’
‘And what was his reply?’
‘Silence.’
Harlan dragged her closer by the hips, enjoying the way her breath changed. ‘Was it because she was born in the nobility borough?’
Blake nodded and glanced towards the stables. ‘I think so. He was trying to give her a life he was in no position to offer.’
He pushed her hair back and kissed the soft skin beneath her ear. ‘I’m sure she knew what she was giving up when she married him.’
‘She knew it was the end of grand feasts and fine dresses, but I don’t think anything could have prepared her for the sudden loss of family and so-called friends.’
He knew something of that.
Her eyes returned to him. ‘Do you think the class divides would be the same if they had never built the walls?’
Harlan rubbed her cheek with his stubbly face. ‘The divide between rich and poor has always been there—and it’s not going away with the removal of a few stone bricks.’
She thought on that for a moment. ‘I think the walls deepen the divide considerably. The poor have fewer options, leading them to resent those with a clear advantage. Look at the farmers. They were no better than us, and now they’re treated like royalty.’
‘Hardly. They have their own struggles and pressures, trust me.’
‘They have control of the food, the food every merchant is prepared to die for, that my brother died for.’
He blinked, guilt eating at his insides. He should have told her everything about that day. She deserved to know the truth. But he knew the second he told her, she would push him away. Her eyes would fill with hate instead of desire. ‘You must know by now I won’t let you go hungry.’
Her gaze travelled down his face to his lips. ‘Of course you say that as I sit naked in your lap.’
‘I would say the same thing to you if you were fully clothed.’
She breathed out. ‘I know what this is. I’m not a fool. When we return to the merchant borough, it’ll be as if today didn’t happen.’
‘That right?’
‘And noble fathers with too many daughters will continue to throw them in your direction until one sticks.’
‘None have stuck so far.’ Blake had though.
‘Well, you still have plenty of years ahead of you.’
He did not want to think ahead to a future she was not part of, but she was right. He had witnessed first-hand what happened when a man of noble birth took a merchant from her family and thrust her into this environment. The consequences were unthinkable. Plus, even if he were selfish enough to try, he knew Blake would never leave her family.
‘What’s going on in that mind of yours?’ she asked.
‘Just thoughts.’
She touched his jaw. ‘Tempting, isn’t it? To waste the precious time we have together wallowing?’
He drew her closer. ‘What do you suggest instead?’
She pressed herself against him. ‘Evenyoumust be hungry by now.’
‘Starving.’
His mouth found hers.
* * *
