“No, I don’t want a divorce,” she snapped. “Are you mad? That would bring an avalanche of shame on both our families.”
He narrowed his eyes on her. “Are you having an affair with thecomte?”
She gave Mark a condemning glare. “That is none of your business, but if it makes you feel better, no. Any child I bear would be yours without doubt if you agree to my condition.”
Mark paced away from her and scrubbed his hands through his hair again. He wanted to pull out his bloody hair. What she’d just said was so unexpected, he was having trouble comprehending, it, and he sure as hell didn’t know how to respond, which was the antithesis of how he usually handled things. Normally, he knew precisely what his opponent was going to say. How had he not seenthiscoming of all bloody things? A baby? A baby meant they would have to make love. But she hadn’t said that, had she? She had used the word “sex.” Which was curious. What in the hell was going on?
He rubbed his eyes with the balls of both hands and faced her. “You want ababy?” The word felt oddly foreign.
“Yes.” She nodded matter-of-factly. Her throat worked as she swallowed.
“From me?” It was an asinine thing to ask, but his surprise was making him asinine today.
She cocked her head and replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm, “You happen to be the only husband I have.”
Jesus Christ. Mark pressed his fingers against his throbbing temples. “Why has this never come up before now?”
She actually rolled her eyes. Rolled them. “Because you’ve been avoiding me for ten years. Or didn’t you recall that?”
“I havenotbeen avoiding you for ten years. You’ve been in France for ten years.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Oh? You’ve never visited France in the last ten years?”
He flared his nostrils. “You haven’t visited England?”
“There’s little use arguing about this.” She slashed an arm through the air. “The fact is that you know my condition and it’s up to you to say yes or no. The cards are in your hands. It’s your play, General.”
He paced away from her. Damn it all to hell. He’d thought about a divorce. He’d been prepared for a divorce. He’d been ready toaccepta divorce. A baby? He had no bloody idea how he felt about a baby. He’d never considered one, had just accepted the fact that he would remain childless. Given the state of the rest of his family, it was probably best that way.
“Why?” he finally demanded, pacing back toward her.
“I want a baby. You happen to be the only means by which I can respectably get one.”
“Butwhydo you want a baby? There’s no title to secure.”
She clenched her fists against her sides, her arms straightened and shaking with what he could only assume was pent-up rage. “Oh, yes, of course, you would think that’s the only reason I would want a baby.”
“Tell mewhy,” he demanded through clenched teeth.
“What does it matter?” She looked away, the stiffness draining from her arms. Was it his imagination or did he see a flash of vulnerability in her eyes before she glanced away? She swallowed and her throat worked.
“I’m curious,” he replied, tempering his angry tone.
She turned her back to him, facing the doors. “Curiosity isn’t part of this negotiation. Suffice it to say I want to be a mother. What do you care? You’ll get an heir and I’ll care for the baby entirely. You won’t have to lift a finger.”
He studied the graceful line of her slender neck, the little wisps of russet hair that had escaped her chignon. “You expect me to rut with you, produce a child, and never see the babe again?”
Nicole took a deep breath. Her shoulders lifted and settled back. “You may visit, if you choose. A child should know his father. I simply wouldn’texpectit of you.”
An odd mixture of hurt and outrage shot through Mark’s chest. What kind of monster did she take him to be? He stalked in front of her to see her face, and force her to see his. “You think I’d leave my son in France of all places?”
She raised her chin to look him in the eye. Her cheeks were flushed. “I would be willing to stay in England until he’s, say, ten years of age.”
“And go where afterward?”
She splayed her hands wide and shrugged. “Back to France? Anywhere.”
“What if the babe is female?” he added.
