Arabella searched his face for hesitation. She found none.
“You have changed,” she said.
“No.”
“Yes,” she insisted. “Once, you would have been tempted.”
“Perhaps that was because I had not yet chosen my wife. Perhaps it was because I never cared before, and I would have chosen anyone that asked.”
The certainty in his voice seemed to catch her off guard. For the first time, something like irritation crossed her expression. He hoped that meant something, and that she might realise that she was not going to get what she wanted.
“You are making a mistake,” she said.
“Possibly.”
“You always hated loneliness.”
“I still do.”
“And yet you leave her alone. Not only are you cruel to me, but to your wife, too. Perhaps that is simply your nature, Your Grace.”
Nathaniel’s eyes sharpened. She was trying to anger him, she had to have been, and it was working.
“I will remind you,” he said as calmly as he could, “that I am not as cruel as you pretend I am. A cruel man would not be caring for your family the way I am.”
At that, she seemed to understand at last. Nathaniel had not been certain whether or not she was aware that he had continued to send funds to her father, but he hardly cared about such details. What mattered was that she understood her place. He moved past her and turned to the door.
“Tonight ends this conversation,” he said.
Arabella spoke again before he could open it.
“If your marriage collapses,” she said softly, “do not pretend I did not warn you.”
Nathaniel paused. Then he turned back toward her one last time.
“My marriage,” he said calmly, “will not collapse.”
“You sound very certain.”
“I am.”
He turned back to her.
“And if the ton questions it,” he continued, “they will have to question me directly.”
Her gaze shifted– not to him, but just past his shoulder. Toward the doorway. It was quick. Calculated.
Nathaniel’s instincts sharpened immediately.
“Arabella–” he began.
She moved before he could finish.
In a sudden motion she stepped forward, one hand gripping his coat, and pressed close enough that he could feel the movement of her breath. Her lips brushed the side of his neck.
Nathaniel froze. Not from hesitation, but from shock. The contact lasted barely a heartbeat.
But he heard it. A sharp intake of breath behind him.
