“You don’t want to hear the unseemly details, now do you? We have a good deal to make up for though, you and I.”
“You did not marry?”
He had the decency to look chagrined. “I was not always alone, but no, I did not marry. I believe that somewhere deep inside, I knew you would be waiting here for me.”
Violet simply stared at him. It was a very romantic idea. Christopher had always been able to make things sound exciting and romantic.
But she had not been waiting for him. Not really. She’d been waiting for… herself.
And when she’d finally arrived, she’d found Simon.
“But I have returned,” he continued. “And you have not married. So we can come to know one another again. Violet? You once loved me, but all is not lost. I was a good prospect for you before, but as Coventry’s heir, I’m an even better one now, am I not?”
Violet was shaking her head. Surely he didn’t expect her to pick up where they’d left off? Surely he didn’t still consider her his betrothed?
“I am back, Violet. And I’ve kept you waiting long enough,” he continued, undaunted by her silence. “Be my wife, and soon after, my duchess.” And then it struck her. Coventry was as conservative as Christopher’s father had been. Christopher must need her very much—more than when he’d left.
She watched him closely. There was a calculating look in his eyes that she wished she’d comprehended when she’d been younger.
His father had been the force behind their engagement before. Was it possible that he’d put some marriage stipulation in his inheritance? And as a suspected defector, he might not find a suitably proper lady of noble birth so easily this time.
She had always been that to him.
Suitable. Proper.
She only hoped that in the end, she wasn’t too suitably proper for Simon.
“I—”
“Don’t answer yet. All of this must have come as quite a shock to you.” He rose, and Violet followed suit. “Take some time. Come driving with me this afternoon.”
“I don’t need time, Christopher.” She moved across the rug to walk him to the door.
“I’ll speak with my uncle. He’ll be so pleased to know that you’ve waited for me. I’m all he has left, and he’s anxious I secure the line.”
It dawned on her that perhaps Coventry was insisting he honor their previous arrangement. But it didn’t matter. It was over. It had been over for a very long time.
“Oh, Christopher,” she sighed. Christopher had always gotten his way. It was what he was used to. And hearing him today revealed that he hadn’t changed all that much.
But she wasn’t going to fall for it.
Not this time.
As they exited the study, Violet wasn’t surprised to see Posy and Iris waiting in the foyer.
At the same time, Greystone stepped out of Simon’s butler chamber, followed by Simon, who then leaned against the wall looking none-too-pleased and not at all butlerish.
Always one to make the most of an audience, Christopher took Violet’s hand and bowed over it. Taking his time, he pressed his mouth against the back of her wrist, leaving her squirming.
“I shall anxiously await your answer,” he said with all the passion of a true Shakespearean.
At this, Posy giggled and her aunt pinned a curious gaze on Violet.
“It has been nice to see you again,” Violet responded in the most polite way she knew how without giving him reason to hope for more. “We are happy to have you back in England.”
Only after he’d exited onto the street did she exhale a sigh of relief.
Silence hovered once the door closed, and Violet turned to her family. At their curious stares, she barely kept from squirming to be the object of so much attention. “What?”
