What the earl offered was a fantasy, a fairy tale, for they might decide to be happy for a time, but what happened when tragedy struck? Her father had buried four wives, all of which he claimed to care for deeply. Could she endure such heartache?
Or perhaps they both lived a long life together. Would it be fraught with strife once the excitement wore off? Dare she take a gamble on such a risky endeavor?
She rolled onto her side and put her hands beneath her cheek.
She wasn’t leaving this room. She wasn’t going to think about him any further, and when the dawn came, she would be grateful that she’d made the rational decision to stay right where she was.
The clock chimed the half hour. Eleven-thirty. She clenched her jaw and blotted out the image of him waiting in his carriage, waiting for her…
She wasn’t coming.
Grey could feel it in his bones, and yet, he couldn’t yet tell the carriage driver to take him home. He didn’t want to concede defeat, that he hadn’t been enough of a temptation for Lady Araminta to ease the strictures she’d placed upon herself. He didn’t want to admit that she wasn’t willing to take a chance on him, so that he might prove that they could have a rather satisfying life together.
So here he sat, parked on the infamous Scandal Lane and feeling more foolish with each passing moment.
He shoved a hand through his hair and realized that it must be well after midnight by now. If Sebastian were here, he’d likely have a good laugh at the merry chase Grey had set for himself. “Why don’t we go have a drink and drown the loss of your pride, old friend?” He could hear his mocking voice even now.
He gritted his teeth together. There were plenty of eligible ladies in the ton who would eagerly accept his attentions. He should turn his focus toward one of them if he was set on finally setting up his nursery. But then, he hadn’t even known he wanted to marry until he’d looked across the theatre and saw the woman in red. If he couldn’t win over Araminta, then he would concede defeat graciously and likely turn back to his bachelor ways.
He leaned his head back against the seat and decided he would give her five more minutes to appear. After that, he would honor his vow to bow out.
The sound of a carriage pulling to a halt outside caused him to sit back up. He opened the door to his coach and his heart began pumping wildly when he saw a cloaked figure descend from a hired hackney. He knew it was her even before she turned her head and her lovely face come into view.
She said nothing as she came forward, although the hired hackney remained where it was. “Lady Araminta,” he murmured softly when she paused before him. He held out a hand to her and she accepted it as she climbed into the carriage with him.
She sat on the opposite seat from him and before he could say anything, she spoke. “This doesn’t mean that I accept your proposal.”
He inclined his head. “I see.”
“I was lying in bed, telling myself all the reasons why I should stay there.” She glanced up at him with those enchanting gray eyes. “But I kept picturing you sitting here all alone and I realized I couldn’t do that to you. You have paid me the highest compliment in your pursuit for my hand so I felt I owed it to you to come here and talk.”
He watched her intently, but said nothing as she continued.
She returned her gaze back to her clasped hands in her lap. “You see, I made a vow to my sisters that I cannot break. I promised that I would be there for them under any circumstances. If I were to marry you, then it would erase their trust in me.” She took a deep breath. “So I am here to offer a proposal of my own.” She lifted her eyes once more.
He lifted a brow, intrigued. “And that would be?”
“While a union between us may not be possible, I have always been… curious about what happens between a man and a woman in the…bedchamber.”
Grey stilled, but didn’t dare speak.
“So, if you are willing,” she continued matter-of-fact, as if they were speaking of something as inconsequential as the weather. “I’m offering a brief affair for one night only. I firmly believe that what you feel toward me is mere physical attraction and if you purge yourself of me, then your desire will be satiated. You will have what you want and I will have kept my word to my sisters, while enjoying that which shall be denied to me in the future as an independent lady.” She visibly swallowed. “Do you agree to my terms?”
Grey admired her boldness as well as her devotion to her siblings. Both qualities weren’t often found among the debutantes he’d encountered in London. But then, Araminta was a grown woman of six and twenty. She was old enough to know what she wanted and that was him, although perhaps not as fully as he would wish. But at least it was a start. And if it came to pass that a single night of passion was all they would share, then he supposed it would have to be enough.
“If we do this,” he began. “When would you like this…event to take place?”
She considered for a moment and then said, “Next Friday.”
He lifted his brows. “That’s Christmas Eve, the night of the Gravesend ball.”
“It is,” she agreed. “But what better time to embark on such a magical night?”
He inclined his head. “Indeed. I shall make the arrangements to ensure it’s not one to forget.”
Her cheeks flushed adoringly, and then she said, “I suppose that’s it then.”
She reached for the handle of the carriage to depart, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Don’t you think a demonstration of what you can expect is in order?”
