“Why not?” Goldie asked. “He knows you are not in need of protection any longer.”
“Because…” Nia dropped her gaze to her hands. Not because she was ashamed, but because she was humbled. “We made love.” Her voice came out little more than a whisper.
“Ah…I wondered,” Goldie said, surprising Nia.
“You wondered?” Nia’s gaze shot to her sister. “But…how… why?”
“One chamber? And the bed had not been made up. It was obvious two had slept in it. But even more than that, you look… different. You seem different. I should have realized before we left Gretna Green. We need to fix this, Nia,” her sister said.
“I don’t want him to marry me out of duty.”
“I have an idea.” Goldie touched a finger to her chin. “But you might not like it.”
“What if it doesn’t work?” Nia frowned.
“Then you will be devastated. But you will be able to move on.”
And that was when Nia realized that if she didn’t try, she’d regret it even more.
“Tell me your idea,” she said. “I’m willing to try anything.”
Wallowing
While not the most elegant of inns along the north road, later that night the two couples took dinner in a private dining room where the food was tasty and the drink was strong, but the conversation, awkward and stilted. From across the table, Jasper couldn’t help but watch Nia, who had been unusually quiet. He shouldn’t be angry at her choice, and yet resentment all but burned inside him.
She had every right to wish to live with her sister—away from London—away from men who would marry her. Jasper downed a glass of wine, hardly tasting it.
Perhaps she simply needed time. Jasper could give her that, could he not? How long could he wait? He watched her push some food around on her plate, very unlike when the two of them had dined alone.
She belonged with him, dammit.
He should have married her when he’d had the chance—insisted the announcement and Dewberry’s death hadn’t altered their circumstances at all. But then, he’d be just as bad as every other man who’d ordered her life to his liking.
His only choice was to wait—and hope she felt the same as he did.
And so, he sat silently while Nia’s sister and Standish filled in most of the conversation. And after finishing dessert, when Nia’s sister suggested she and Goldie retire for the evening together, Jasper and Reed withdrew to the taproom.
“A bottle of your finest whisky,” Jasper signaled to the barmaid as soon as they’d settled at the same table they’d sat at earlier. Matters had resolved themselves with a most favorable outcome for Nia. They ought to be celebrating.
It didn’t matter that he felt quite the opposite.
“It seems you’ve finally settled in as Standish,” Jasper said, turning to conversation that wouldn’t remind him of Nia.
“With the help of my countess,” Reed answered, looking far too satisfied. And that was not to be the end of it. His old friend, normally a reserved fellow, went on and on about the weeks spent on the beach teaching his new countess how to swim, showing her the sights, and discussing the renovations she might want to make at Seabridge Manor once they returned.
Making several toasts to Standish’s connubial bliss did nothing to lift Jasper’s mood.
“But I am happy she will have her sister with her,” his friend added. “Crossings never cared if he hurt his daughters—treating one like a piece of property, treating the other like a servant. I fully intend to spend my life showing my wife she deserved better.”
A vice squeezed Jasper’s chest, and he didn’t know how to escape it.
He’d been disappointed when Nia admitted that she wanted to live with her sister. He’d been more than disappointed, he just didn’t like admitting it. Listening to Standish go on and on only made it worse.
And yet, it also made him… curious.
“You love her.” Jasper deduced. He had judged the couple to be compatible when he’d met with them the few times before they’d left London. He hadn’t, however, realized the extent of it. And although he normally didn’t discuss this sort of thing with cohorts, while deep in his cups, he found himself intrigued.
And Standish, a man who’d literally been forced to choose between Newgate and marriage, appeared happier than one would have expected.
