She looked up at Morgan, startled by the sound of her name, her real name, from his lips.
“Is that what you would like to be called?” he asked with a smile. “PerhapsYour Grace?”
“I am just Eliza,” she said quickly. She gestured vaguely at herself, at the wedding dress she still wore, at the carriage carrying them away from London.
Morgan nodded slowly. “Eliza, then.”
Silence settled between them, heavy with unspoken words. Eliza twisted her new ring around her finger, the gold band foreign against her prickly skin.
“Morgan, I… Well…” She took a shaky breath.
“No need to be nervous with me, Eliza. Please, tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I need to apologize. Again.”
“Eliza—”
“Properly. I never wanted to entangle you in this mess. I never meant for any of this to happen. If I’d known that Lady Fairfax would…that the ball would…” Her voice cracked. “I’m so sorry. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I’ve repaid that kindness by dragging you into a scandal and forcing you into a marriage you never wanted?—”
“Stop.”
Morgan’s voice was firm but not unkind. He shifted to face her more fully.
“Eliza, look at me.”
She did, reluctantly.
“I don’t believe for one moment that you orchestrated any of this to trap me into marriage,” he said. “If that had been your goal, there are far more traditional methods. Getting caught alone with me at a ball, for instance. Manufacturing a compromisingsituation that would require me to offer for you. You didn’t do any of those things.”
“I would never?—”
“I know.” His expression softened. “That’s precisely my point.”
Eliza’s throat tightened. “But you’re married to me now because ofmy mistakes. Because I was too cowardly to tell you the truth from the beginning! Everything happened so fast and now I…”
Morgan was quiet for a long moment. Then he leaned forward, his emerald eyes intense.
“Yes, you are right. You should have told me,” he said quietly. “On your first day, when I hired you. If I’d known what you were running from, who you were running from, I could have taken more appropriate measures to help you. Protected you properly. Instead of…” He gestured vaguely. “All of this.”
Eliza felt tears prick her eyes as she blinked them back. “I didn’t want to involve you. The position was supposed to be temporary. I was planning to save my wages, get a reference, and go somewhere far away. Scotland, maybe. Or the north. Even America! Somewhere I could start over completely. A new name, a new life.” She swiped her eyes, frustrated by the tears. “I never meant for you to become… entangled.”
“And yet, here we are.”
“Yes. Here we are.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And you’re stuck with me.”
“Eliza.” Morgan’s tone made her look up, something urgent beneath the surface of his tongue as he spoke. “I proposed to you. That was my choice.Mine. You didn’t force my hand. You didn’t manipulate me. You were cornered, exposed, and terrified, and I made a decision. I never make decisions I do not want to.”
“A decision you might regret.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. I am not a soothsayer.” He leaned back, his expression thoughtful. “But either way, it’s done. And I need you to stop apologizing for surviving.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“What you did… running away, hiding, taking work as a maid… you did it to survive,” Morgan continued. “To escape a man who terrified you. A man who, if your suspicions are correct, murdered your best friend. You did what you had to do. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“But the lies I told!”
“Were necessary. I understand that now.” He paused, his gaze holding hers. “But Eliza, I need you to promise me something.”
