She wrinkled her brow and stopped in the path. Turning toward him, she fought to keep her rising emotions at bay. Perhaps he could sense them and that was why he pushed her away.
“I don’t think it would be for show,” she said softly. “We are not engaged in some kind of sham, Duncan. We knew the parameters of our union before we made promises in your parlor. They are no one else’s business, only ours.”
He held her gaze a moment. “I suppose that is true.”
She stepped a little closer, moved as always by the warmth of him, the nearness. She hadn’t expected that, but there it was. Standing in front of her, daring her to keep her heart separate from his. Telling her it would be impossible.
She swallowed hard and said, “I’m not trying to change things between us, Duncan. I hope you know that.”
His jaw set and his eyes hardened. “I know it.”
She wrinkled her brow in confusion. She would have thought her reassurances that she wasn’t becoming some silly ninny, pining for what he’d made clear he wouldn’t share, would alleviate some of the tension between them. Instead, he looked more irritated than ever.
Did he not believe her? Did he see something in her, out here in the bright sunshine of the park, that revealed the truth she was trying to deny even to herself?
She’d have to do a better job controlling that. Reminding herself that this was all she could have, and God knew it was more than she’d dared to hope for when her father began shopping for a husband for her.
Duncan cleared his throat. “Have you had enough of your fresh air?” he asked, his tone a little gentler.
She worried her lip. “Are you saying you’d like to go back?”
He nodded. “Your mention of the invitations reminds me that I have a few things of my own to go over. I have neglected my responsibilities, much to my great pleasure. But I cannot forget them.”
“Certainly,” Hannah said, making her voice falsely bright. “I would not wish to cause you to forget. We can return to the house. I have my own duties to attend to.”
He inclined his head, and they moved back toward the townhouse across the street. And though they had not quarreled, Hannah still felt an odd emptiness in her chest. Like something had shifted between them. Something that could never be the same again. And deep inside, she mourned it.
