“Wouldn’t you agree?”
She nodded, mostly because she was afraid that if she opened her mouth, she might scream.
“Good,” he said. “Then it’s all settled.”
It’s all settled. For the rest of her life, that would be her grand proposal of marriage.It’s all settled. And the worst part of it was—she had no right to complain. She was the one who’d run off without giving Phillip enough time to arrange for a chaperone. She was the one who’d been so eager to make her own destiny. She was the one who’d acted without thinking, and now all she had to show for it was—
It’s all settled.
She swallowed. “Wonderful.”
He looked at her, blinking in confusion. “Aren’t you happy?”
“Of course,” she said hollowly.
“You don’t sound happy.”
“I’m happy,” she snapped.
Phillip muttered something under his breath.
“What did you say?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
“You said something.”
He gave her an impatient look. “If I’d meant for you to hear it, I would have said it out loud.”
She sucked in her breath. “Then you shouldn’t have said it at all.”
“Some things,” Phillip muttered, “are impossible to keep inside.”
“What did yousay?” she demanded.
Phillip raked his hand through his hair. “Eloise—”
“Did you insult me?”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Since it appears we are to be wed,” she bit off, “yes.”
“I don’t recall my exact words,” Phillip shot back, “but I believe I may have uttered the wordswomenandlack of sensein the same breath.”
He shouldn’t have said it. Heknewhe shouldn’t have said it; it would have been rude under any circumstances, and it was especially wrong right now. But she had pushed and pushed and pushed and wouldn’t back down. It was like she’d sliced a needle under his skin, and then decided to jab just for the fun of it.
And besides, why was she in such a terrible mood, anyway? All he’d done was state the facts. Theywouldhave to marry, and frankly, she should have been glad that if she’d been compromised, at least it had been with a man who was willing to do the right thing and wed her.
He didn’t expect gratitude. Hell, this was as much his fault as it was hers; he was the one who’d issued the initial invitation, after all. But was it too much to expect a smile and a pleasant mood?
“I’m glad we had this conversation,” Eloise said quite suddenly. “This has been good.”
He looked up, instantly suspicious. “I beg your pardon.”
“Very beneficial,” she said. “One should always understand one’s spouse before one marries, and—”
He groaned. This was not going to end well.
