They tumbled to the floor, and as he tried to regain his footing and assist her up, he slipped, falling into her yet again. As she did to him, he reached out, grasping at whatever he could, only to be greeted with a sickening ripping sound when the material from her gown tore in his hand.
Even in the dim light, he could see the sleeve of her gown hanging loose from the bodice. Things looked very bad indeed. “I beg your pardon.”
And as if things couldn’t get any worse, they did.
She began to cry, and Colin’s acrid panic seized his throat.
“Please, Miss Weatherby. Calm yourself.”
“Calm myself?! We will be left in here and starve to death. All they will find are our bones!”
He couldn’t help it; he rolled his eyes. “Are you always this dramatic? Why, the worst that will happen is someone—other than one of the girls—will find us, and with the state of your gown, and our tight confines, it will only end one way.”
She sniffled, seemingly somewhat comforted that they wouldn’t die of starvation. “Which way will that be?”
Snorting a derisive laugh, he answered. “I will have to marry you.”
CHAPTER 12
All the terror Anne felt from being confined in the tight quarters and thoughts of rodents or starvation evaporated like breath on glass, replaced by a new and more terrifying prospect.
Her mind stuttered to a stop, and she choked out the word. “M-marry?”To Lord Grumpy-Trousers!Oh, no, no, no, no!
“I see no other option. Not if we wish to save your reputation and my honor.”
How could he sound so calm when her heart beat against her ribcage like the pounding of a battle drum?
“I don’t care about your honor.” Callous? Yes. But at that moment, she didn’t give a fig about anything that had to do with the man trapped beside her in the shadows. She needed to get out of there!
“I do. And I also care aboutyourreputation. I hold myself responsible for this debacle. If I hadn’t agreed to play this ridiculous game or had made my presence known the moment you entered this—this level of hell we’ve found ourselves in, your dress would not have ripped, and we might have extricated ourselves without anyone being the wiser. Our only hope is that one of the girls has mercy and releases us.”
An audible sigh, deep and heavy, filled the darkness before he continued. “But even then, with the state of your gown, someone is bound to ask questions.”
“I’ll say I fell. Which I did.”
He barked a dry laugh. “Your naïveté astounds me.”
“I am not naïve. I’m optimistic.”
“And I, my dear, am a realist.”
A warm, comforting sensation flowed over her at his use ofmy dear.
“Let’s examine the facts, shall we? First, the simple matter that the two of us are alone in such close quarters is enough to condemn us. Add on thetinydetail of your torn gown, and it screams that I have taken advantage of you.”
“But we still have the hope that Indira will release us.”
He grunted like the ogre he was. “A minuscule hope at best. Until then, I suggest we make ourselves as comfortable as possible and wait.”
After taking a seat on the floor, he held out his hand. “Unless you want to stand and wait for what may be hours?”
Her skin already itched with the thought of remaining in one spot for hours on end. She needed to move, to feel free. To breathe. Tightness constricted her chest again as the panic surged. With another valiant effort, she pounded on the door. “Indira! If you don’t let me out of here, I will tell your father about the broken vase.”
Silence engulfed her, and with the overpowering fear of being trapped, tears welled again. She crumpled to the floor beside him, all the more conscious of his proximity when her shoulder brushed his. “I hate this.” Barely a whisper, she regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.
“Are you afraid of the dark?”
Surprised, not so much by the question, but by the gentleness in his tone, she shook her head. “Not the dark. I hate not being able to move.”
