“She did.” Lady Brilliance was smiling broadly.
He thought of those ladies gawking at his private space, examining his pillow to see if there was an indent from his head, perhaps even finding a stray stocking or cravat.
“But that’s my personal space. She cannot —” Vincent stopped and took a breath. “Why didn’t you go with them?”
“Because I would far prefer spending my time with you.”
Putting his head back, he laughed from deep in his belly. She was a gem, indeed.
Brilliance spread her hands. “After all, if things turn out well between us, then I’ll be seeing your bedroom for myself when it is only the two of us.”
He sobered quickly. They were thinking along the same lines, but it still was alarming to be in the company of an absolutely plain-spoken female.
“I take it you can imagine it beingourbedroom,” he said.
“I don’t see why not,” she said. “Although it would be nice to have a chamber of my own, to get away from you.”
“Get away?” He felt almost affronted. “Why would you want to do that?”
It was her turn to laugh. “When we have an argument, for instance, and you are too pigheaded to see that you’re wrong.”
“I’m not sure I care for the termpigheaded. Maybe I wouldn’t be wrong.”
“See,” she said, “that sounds pigheaded to me. Of course you would be wrong. Why else would I need to get away from you? My mother oft needs a break from my father.”
She nodded sagely. “Or I might simply need a place to collect my thoughts, perhaps to quietly read a book or take a nap. This room, for instance, seems ideal.”
Lady Brilliance glanced around, and they both ended up looking at the bed.
Vincent’s imagination had them naked and entangled on the counterpane in under two seconds.
“Would I be allowed to come find you in here?” he asked. “Perhaps to apologize for my pigheadedness?”
Together, they still looked at the bed. He had never noticed how comfortable it appeared, nor how inviting.
“I think that would be acceptable,” she said, her tone a little husky.
He wondered if her thoughts matched his, with him rising over her, his knee nudging her legs apart before his body settled between her thighs. He longed to see her smooth stomach bowed with anticipation and her breasts arching ripely for him to worship.
“Then that would be a good compromise,” he agreed, not having expected to be discussing living arrangements. But that, he realized, was quintessential Brilliance, taking him on a path along which he knew not whether it would end.
“Where would you go?” she asked.
Vincent frowned. “Where would I go when?” he retorted.
“There might be some situations in which I might make you want to tear your hair from your head.”
“How clever of you to deduce that you might not always be right,” he said.
She shrugged. “You might simply not see the rightness at first. In any case, if we were sharing a bedroom, then where would you go?”
“There are plenty of other rooms, including my study. Would you like to see it?”
“We ought to catch up with the others,” she said. “We have been alone long enough to shred my reputation should anyone spend a moment thinking about how we vanished from the group. Time enough that we might have reclined upon that bed and been very improper.”
Now he wished he hadn’t wasted the time jabbering when they could have been behaving improperly. But he had promised his cousin something. He couldn’t recall, except he wouldn’t blurt out a marriage proposal.
“Will you come visit again?” he asked as they stepped into the hallway. “Without the others, I mean?”
