“Is there anything the matter?” He asked.
“It depends. Nothing and everything are both valid answers in this situation.”
Despite the bizarre situation they were in, Gerald couldn’t help but find himself chuckling.
“That is, in fact, a correct answer to all situations, my lady,” he responded.
“But it applies admirably to ours. Where do you think you are going?”
The informal question managed to retain the smile on his face. Arabella was not a meek lady, not a quiet one. And he found himself terribly inconvenienced and intrigued at the same time. Which was, in fact, a problem.
“I am retiring for the night,” he answered her question.
“But you can’t.”
“Unless there is some physical obstacle I am not aware of,” Gerald said, almost amused, “I am sure I can manage getting to my chambers just as easily.”
“Because this is the appropriate time for one to be precise about figures of speech.”
“I wasn’t aware there was an allocated time for correct expression.”
Arabella gave him a look that was bordering on murderous, and he suddenly felt alive. He had gone from anxious about the outing, to hot leaning over her, to cold disappointment, and now to amused in seconds. He was sure that life with Arabella rarely knew a dull moment.
“I will indulge you, Your Grace,” Arabella hissed through her teeth. “What I meant to say is that you shouldn’t go.”
“I shouldn’t?” Gerald frowned. “I am pretty sure it is the exact opposite. I should absolutely go for both our sakes.”
Arabella looked at him, and he was sure at this point that she knew exactly what she meant by that. He was expecting some kind of retreat, but instead he saw resolve.
“There are,” Arabella coughed, obviously distraught, “some expectations for a couple’s first night and especially of a man of your station.”
She was speaking of marital duties. Every lady of the ton was indoctrinated in the “expectations” of her station, which distilled down to this moment. It was hard, even for a willful woman such as her, to completely escape that.
“The expectations of my station are mine to manage. You should rest. I am sure tomorrow you will need to acclimate-”
“They are also mine to manage, as you said. This is, after all, my title too now.”
Gerald had tried so hard to be polite, gentlemanly, and calm, and it seemed that Arabella wouldn’t want to have a civil conversation. So be it.
“What do you want, Arabella?”
The question seemed to really catch her off guard. She really hadn’t thought about what she wanted to do, what she wanted him to do.
“All I know is that you can’t go. It is expected of us to-”
“To hell with expectations!”
His voice thundered in the room and echoed around, making the glass on the windows shake.
“I am asking you, what do you want?”
Arabella looked down, not because she feared him, but because she didn’t know what to tell him. Beyond expectations.
“I thought so,” he said and made his way to the door.
“Your Grace!”
“I will have you know, Arabella,” he said, his back to her, his hand on the handle of her door, “that despite what you and the whole ton think, I am not a savage. I know that you are now bound to me. You swore this morning to obey me. That doesn’t mean I will enforce such rules in my household.”
