“Then wouldn’t it have been appropriate to have them billed to you instead of me?”
She didn’t understand why he was being so calm about this. “I—I meant to, but I forgot.”
“No, you didn’t,” he replied, making her heart sink, only to confuse her by adding, in what was unmistakable amusement, “You’re not very good at bargaining, my dear. I could have found these items for half the price you paid for them.”
He stuffed the bills into his own pocket, annoying her, because it was just what she would have expected him to do. “Those aremypurchases,” she reminded him.
“They gracemyhouse.”
“I bought them,” she insisted. “I’ll bloody well pay for them.”
“No, you won’t. You had no intention of paying for them to begin with, so let’s just leave it as it is, shall we?”
He was smiling at her. Smiling! “Don’t be stub-born about this, Anthony. You have enough creditors already. I want to pay for what I—”
“Be quiet, sweetheart,” he interrupted, his hands resting on her shoulders. “I suppose I shouldn’t have let you go on thinking I was just struggling by, but you were having so much fun trying to put me in debt, I didn’t want to spoil it.” He chuckled when she lowered her eyes guiltily, and lifted her chin back up. “The truth is, you could have redecorated a hundred households, and I wouldn’t have raised a brow.”
“But you can’t be rich!”
He laughed delightedly. “It pays to have a brother who is a genius where money is concerned. Edward has a golden touch, you might say. And he handles the family’s finances with our blessings. If the town house still doesn’t suit you after all the trouble you’ve gone through to redo it, I have several estates in the outlying vicinity, as well as in Kent, Northampton, Norfolk, York, Lincoln, Wiltshire, Devon—”
“Enough!”
“Are you so disappointed I didn’t marry you for your money, my dear?”
“You’ve still got some of it, as per the marriage contract. I put the money into an account for you this morning.” There, at least that was out of the way.
So was his amusement. “You’ll take yourself back to the bank and put it in a trust for our children. And as long as we’re on this subject, I support you, Roslynn. Your clothes, your jewels, anything that adorns your body, I pay for.”
“And what am I supposed to do withmymoney?” she demanded sharply.
“Anything you like, as long as it’s nothing to do with clothing, food, or shelter, or what is my prerogative to buy you. You might do well to discuss withme first what you decide to spend your money on. We just might avoid future arguments in that way.”
Her independent spirit was infuriated. Her woman’s heart was delighted. And that word “children” kept buzzing in her head. It implied an eventual end to their difficulties, though she couldn’t see that end in sight.
“If this discussion is going to continue, shouldn’t we take it inside?”
Anthony grinned at her neutral tone. He had made his point, and his earlier pleasure that she had given up her spite against him returned. For whatever reason, it was a peace offering, and he could make one too. That what he had in mind was more of a necessity after that close ride with her was just plain luck.
“This subject has run its course,” Anthony said, leading her inside the house. “But there is another that needs immediate attention.”
Roslynn’s heart skipped a beat, but she couldn’t be sure she had grasped his meaning correctly. So she didn’t allow herself to hope until he took her arm and escorted her upstairs to his room. Even then, as he closed the door behind them, she still wasn’t certain of his intentions. He crossed the room, removed his coat, and tossed it into that cursed chair they had occupied last night.
She frowned at the chair. Oh, she had learned her lesson in it, as he had promised she would. Resentment bubbled up in her chest, to fight with the powerful arousal she felt just by being in this room again.
“Come here, Roslynn.”
He had moved to the bed, was sitting on it, was slowly unbuttoning his white cambric shirt. Her heart picked up double time. He was a temptation beyondimagining, but she didn’t think she could bear it if he was going to be “perfunctory” with her once more.
“You—you feel capable of simulating desire, I take it?”
“Simulate?” Both brows shot up. “Oh, I see. You still don’t believe in spontaneity, do you, sweetheart? Come here and help me with my boots, will you?”
She did, only because he hadn’t answered her question yet, and she didn’t feel like running until she knew for sure. The nastiness she could take, but not the lack of passion.
“You’re nervous,” he noted when she wouldn’t turn around after dropping his second boot on the floor. “You needn’t be, my dear. You have to take advantage of me when the opportunity presents itself.”
He saw her back stiffen and immediately regretted those words. He had made his point last night. She wouldn’t forget it. But he couldn’t go through that experience again to save his soul.
