“You trust me to an extent,” he said softly. “But you are unwilling to place yourself in a position that requires you to depend fully on that trust.”
She opened her mouth and closed it just as quickly.
“Give us a chance, Jillian.”
“Very well,” she said quietly. “When do we leave?”
###
She had accepted too readily. He should be elated, but something in her response held his triumph at bay. They were halfway to London, and somehow he had imagined the trip differently. Instead of the comfortable companionship they had slipped into at Whittington, they sat across from one another in awkward silence as the carriage put more distance between them and the place they had become lovers.
He resisted the urge to sigh and turned to look out the window. Periodically, he stole a glance at Jillian, who was focusing her attention out the opposite window. How the devil did he go about convincing her to marry him? He couldn’t accept that she didn’t love him. She had to feelsomething. She wasn’t the sort of woman to have given herself freely to him if she didn’t love him.
Maybe Case could offer some insight. Case. He hadn’t had time to send Case word of their plans. He and Jillian had left with haste the morning after she had been shot. He wondered at his brother’s reaction to his impending nuptials, or at least thestoryof his impending marriage. He grimaced, not wanting to contemplate the possibility that Jillian would refuse to marry him.
###
They rode into London in the dead of night. The streets were deserted and the sound of the horse’s hooves echoed sharply down the alleyways. Shrouded in darkness, they entered Justin’s home. It was just a few hours before dawn, and Justin sent a footman to deliver a message to Case. He arrived just an hour later and Justin met him at the door.
Case slipped in from the cold, shivering as he shrugged out of his overcoat. He raised enquiring eyes to Justin.
“Thanks for coming so quickly,” Justin said.
“I could hardly ignore such an intriguing summons. I assume Jillian is with you?”
Justin nodded and beckoned Case in the parlor. “Jillian’s in the study. We’ll join her shortly. I wanted a private word with you first.”
Case looked curiously at him but followed him into the parlor.
“Jillian is no longer safe at Whittington,” he said as he poured Case a drink.
Case accepted the glass and sipped slowly as he waited for Justin to continue.
“Someone took a shot at her.”
Case’s head immediately came up. “Was she hurt?”
“Fortunately, the bullet just grazed her arm.”
Case set his drink down on the small table that housed the decanter. “How the hell were her whereabouts discovered?”
“Good question,” Justin said grimly. “We came to London in hopes of flushing out the culprit. I’ve persuaded her to go through the pretense of an engagement so that I can remain nearby at all times.”
Case cocked an eyebrow at that revelation. “And is it a pretense?”
Justin paused a moment, fingering the rim of his glass. “It isn’t a pretense as far as I am concerned, but as of yet, I have been unable to convince Jillian to make it a reality.”
“You love her,” Case said matter-of-factly.
“I do.”
“But she hasn’t agreed to marry you?”
“Correct.”
“Surely you aren’t giving up.”
Justin gave him a look that suggested he was crazy for suggesting such a thing.
