“Hardly. He was not very careful with his health, however.”
“He sent for a physician, and while we waited for the man to come, we talked a bit. When it was all done, he paid the fee, then left me a small purse too. Ten guineas. I had never seen so much before. Not in my whole life.”
He continued embracing her under the trees while the sounds of the gardens came to them, distant but joyful.
“It was good of you to care for this woman. Dangerous, though. Did she survive?”
She nodded. “Once she was better, she left.” She slipped out of his embrace and faced him. “There it is. I needed you to know.”
They continued strolling the path. They passed a lantern and she looked over at him. His fine profile had set itself into an expression she knew well. He contemplated something. Her, most likely. The rash proposal he had made.
“If you worked there, you were probably seen,” he said. “Most servants would not be noticed, but I doubt that was how it was with you.”
He had seen the problem, and why it mattered as much as it did.
“Were there misunderstandings, on the part of the patrons?”
“That is a nice way to say it, Kevin. There were a few. Two men asked Mrs. Darling about me. It was a good amount of money, but I said no. Another man saw me as I tended a chamber and he did not bother going to Mrs. Darling. I called out, and two of the women came and set him to rights. If there were others, I did not learn about it.” She stopped in her tracks and faced him. “I did not whore, even once, if that is what you are asking.”
“I wasn’t.”
“It sounded as if you were. I don’t mind. You would need to know.”
“I did need to know, but not for the reason you think.”
They had arrived back at the entrance to the path. Darkness on one side of them, and lamps and lanterns on the other. He looked down at her. “You are uncommonly brave and honest to have told me this.”
“You already knew.”
“You didn’t know that I knew. What was the question you had for me?”
She hesitated. He had accepted her at face value, so to speak. He trusted that her time at that house had been as she said. He believed her. She did not doubt that during his intense contemplation while they strolled, he had considered every complication her past might cause to him and his life.
To now ask him if he’d killed his uncle would be the worst insult. A betrayal. What would be gained by it? If he was the sort to do such a thing, he was the sort to lie about it.
It all came down to what she believed. What she trusted. Whether she accepted what she thought he was, as she had come to know him.
She hoped her better sense was not deserting her, the way it had with Charles. “I only wanted to ask if you still thought this marriage of convenience a good idea.”
He lifted her hand and bent to kiss it. “I think it is an excellent idea.”
“We should do it then, before one of us realizes we are insane.”
Chapter Nineteen
They married a week later, in a quiet ceremony at St. George’s. Rosamund wore a cream dress she had ordered upon her return from Paris.
Attendance was sparse. Minerva, Chase, and Hollinburgh were there, along with Rosamund’s maid, Jenny. No one else from Kevin’s family came, not even his father.
When Rosamund turned after saying the vows, she saw Beatrice at the back of the church. She had worried that her friend would not like this marriage, but Beatrice gave a little wave and a smile before immediately slipping out. Rosamund wondered if Kevin had noticed her.
Rosamund’s only regret was that Lily could not be with her. She had written with the news, however, and received a response in which her sister expressed excitement for her. Lily probably was relieved that her older sister had not ended up a fallen woman.
Minerva hosted the wedding breakfast out in her garden. The weather held, and a lot of joy and good wishes surrounded that table. Finally, she and Kevin rode back to her house to start this marriage they had chosen.
She was up in her chamber when Kevin entered. Jenny slipped out at once.
He took her in his arms and gave her a much better kiss than the discreet one after the ceremony. “So here we are.”
