“That is serious,” he agreed. “But not as serious as our marriage.”
“Of convenience,” she muttered.
Bishop grinned at the back of her head. “Did you have many suitors,Liss? Someone you might have been partial to before things took a turn?”
Her answer came swift. “No.”
He shouldn’t have felt so relieved as he did. But he did. The thought of her being hurt by Rafferty was already deuced enough to send him into a rage. He didn’t want to pile unreasonable jealousy onto that.
“I...” she added, then trailed off. “I’ve rather grown fond of the idea of becoming a spinster.”
A what? Truly? Alyssia as a spinster?
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” her grumble came.
“I just—I could never envision you as a spinster.”
“Why not? All it means is that I’m not wed. What is so un-envisionable about that?”
“Nothing.” He propped himself on an elbow, watching the way her hair tumbled over the pillow. “I suppose I merely cannot fathom you in a life of solitude. It’s rather lonely life if you don’t have a partner.”
“I had a partner, if you recall.”
Christ. He deserved that. Bishop dropped his voice to a whisper, “I’m here now, aren’t I?” And he’d spend his life making his absence up to her.
She gave an indelicate snort. “Then you must be particularly resilient. Unmatched. Which, I suppose, is a good thing. Not good for boundaries, however.”
“I’m simply determined.”
“Your determination is misplaced.”
Bishop chuckled, undeterred. “I think not. Be forewarned, Liss, I’m saving my best efforts for when you least expect them.”
“Then save them forever.” She sighed. “And I shouldn’t have said that, I’m sorry.”
“You don’t ever have to apologize to me, Liss.”
“No, I do. You didn’t have a choice in leaving. Your parents also died. You did what you needed to do. So did I, so I understand.”
“Do you wish to talk about it?” Bishop asked softly. “What happened to you, Liss?”
A short silence, and then she said, almost detached, “It’s not such a wild tale. I trusted someone I shouldn’t have, and met them in a place I shouldn’t have, and got caught by people I shouldn’t have. A common enough tale as far as compromising positions go.”
But not as simple.
And she’d almost gotten trapped into a marriage with Rafferty.
“You make it sound as though the moment didn’t hurt.”
“Hurt? I was more shocked than anything else. A man tried to kiss me, I pushed him away, and I still lost in the end.”
Damn Rafferty.
“You didn’t lose, Liss. He didn’t get what he wanted. Did you slap him at least?”
“Of course,” she said loftily. “I even kicked him where it would hurt most.”
Good girl.
