“Never ye mind, lassie. He’ll get over himself.”
I nodded distractedly and slipped in beside him, wincing as Rory buckled the door, sealing us inside.
This trip just became infinitely longer and more unpleasant.
Thirteen
NORTH ROAD—APRIL 11, 1817
KIT
I had never,not once in my entire life been so furious. Not two hours before, Davina was declaring that she would never take a husband. And now she’d all but ensured I would be hers.
It was the needling possibility that sank into my very bones during the morning. Even before Mrs. Lanaham, I had struggled to see a path through this abduction forest that didn’t include a ring and a shotgun. Now… Davina’s path was still whatever she made of it. But if my mother left me in one piece, I would be a pariah in Lincolnshire. The rumors might stay there, it was possible. But unlikely.
No, I had a wife now. Or as good as.
“I really think that if you just explain what happened, everything will be perfectly well,” she said, settling beside me in my coat, which was far too big for her.
In a fit of pettiness, I chose not to say anything.
“It was just a misunderstanding. A lark. That sort of thing.” Her lower lip found its way between her teeth, trapped there while she stared with wide, dark eyes. “Do you not think?”
“Am I allowed to speak now?”
She huffed in irritation. “Yes, obviously.”
“Because I wasn’t certain that you were?—”
“Stop being obtuse,” she insisted.
I swallowed for a moment, considering her crossed arms and the pert twist of her lips. “You’ve quite possibly ruined my life. You do know that?”
“You’re being a little dramatic.”
“How do you propose I return home—ever—unwed. The whole of the county will know of my marriage by sundown.”
“You said that already,” she retorted, quieter than she usually managed.
“Davina, we’re in a bit of a situation at the moment. And you seem unaware of the gravity of it. Your brother would be well within his rights to force us to wed. And I would not blame him for a single second.”
“Xander wouldn’t. He would never force me to wed.”
The throbbing behind my eyes returned acutely. “And perhaps you’re right. But you’ve just destroyed my reputation as well. My future. Mrs. Lanaham has no idea who you are. You can disappear into the wilderness of Scotland. You can join a pirate ship’s crew and sail away to the Caribbean. You can do whatever you’d like. But now, as we speak, the entirety of my acquaintances are being informed of my wife.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“Well, you did. I cannot divorce you, one because we are not actually wed, and two because that would ruin me. I cannot wed, and any children I had would be bastards.”
“We’ll think of something,” she insisted, her tone pitiful enough that I was certainshewasn’t to be the one to think of it.
“I need you to desist with the unearned optimism, please. At least until you have an actual suggestion.”
“Because frowning at me and insisting your life is ruined is so helpful?”
I was so, so angry that words abandoned me and I merely let out an irritated grunt before turning to face the wall. It didn’t help that I was away from the window and my stomach was revolting against both my predicament and the damned carriage.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her finally heeding my request. She crossed her arms over her chest with a huff and turned to face the window.
