Tilting her head, she gave him a curious look before settling back in her chair with a sigh. “I want you to explain to me why everyone thinks you stole Miss Edwina Jenkins’ virginity.”
Well. There was a sobering thought to draw him out of his lust-induced state. Bryce steeled himself before saying, “Mrs. Havisham mentioned that, did she?” He’d expected her to, yet it still bothered him she had. He did not like Eve knowing about his dark and dirty secret.
“What I cannot comprehend is that you did not!”
And as she said it, he knew she wasn’t merely angry with him for hiding this from her, but also thoroughly hurt. “Eve…” He scarcely knew what to say. So he reached out toward her. When she didn’t retreat, he allowed his hand to settle over hers. “The days you and I have spent together have been incredible. It was as if you cracked open the tomb in which I’d been buried and brought me back to life. I didn’t want you to treat me with the same contempt everyone else did, but to simply enjoy the brief time we had together without judgment or prejudice.”
“You still should have told me,” she said. Her gaze rose toward his.
Framed by long lashes, her eyes blinked away tears. Bryce felt his heart break for the pain he was causing. “How could I,” he asked, without knowing precisely what to say or where this conversation would lead. His fingers closed more tightly around her hand. “Losing your respect was not a risk I was willing to take. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth.”
She bowed her head, and he imagined she might be looking at their entwined fingers. The fact she didn’t retreat was a comfort. It made him feel more grounded somehow, as if he might not fly away in the storm of emotion assailing his world. And then she raised her gaze to his, and he caught his breath as clarity brightened her eyes and eased the strain of her features. “Did it ever occur to you,” she asked, “that I might believe your side of the story?”
Stunned, he shook his head. “No.”
“Then let us start over. I want you to tell me exactly and very precisely what led to the inconceivable notion you might be capable of doing what you’ve been accused of.”
He stared at her, and he could not seem to stop staring. “Why on earth...” He blinked, shook his head, and met her gaze once more. “Why on earth would you choose to ignore what everyone else is saying when even your friend, whom I assume you trust, believes I’m a no good scoundrel.”
“Because I’ve gotten to know you these past few days, and because I believe I can say with confidence you would never force your attentions on an innocent woman, no matter how tempted you might be to do so.” She gave him a frank look. “Not unless you were willing to marry her.”
His breath hissed from his lungs, his entire body sagging beneath the weight of her meaningful words. “You’re right. Keeping my hands off of you has been no simple task,” he confessed, delighting in how easily she blushed in response. “But it would have been wrong of me not to do so.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Surrendering to her will, he gave a quick nod and said, “Miss Edwina Jenkins set her sights on me about five years ago. Every time I would visit the village, she would fall into step beside me, and every time I attended a dance, she would present me with her dance card, leaving me with no choice but to partner with her.”
“So she was determined.”
“Exceedingly so.” Swiping his palm across his jaw, he continued by saying, “I tried to show polite disinterest, but that didn’t seem to dissuade her. And then I got engaged to Viscount Trenwick’s daughter, Lady Rose.” Seeing how Eve’s mouth suddenly flattened into a firm line, he reached up to cup her cheek. “It would have been a practical arrangement with no emotional attachment. You mustn’t think…I would hate for you to suppose my feelings for her were anything close to what they are for you.”
Eve’s lips edged slightly upward at one corner. “Go on.”
Gathering his composure, Bryce did his best to tell the rest of the story. “Miss Jenkins became incredibly jealous. She wanted me for herself, but since I’d gotten engaged, there was no way to make that happen unless—”
“Unless you compromised her so thoroughly, you would have no choice in the matter.”
“Precisely.”
And now for the delicate part. There was really no tiptoeing around it if she truly wanted all the facts. Which he could tell she did. So he took a fortifying breath and proceeded.
“At the last assembly hall dance I attended, a servant brought me a note summoning me to one of the private supper rooms. It appeared to come from Lord Trenwick, with the insistence I join him for a discussion about my impending marriage to his daughter. But when I arrived at the designated meeting spot, the room was empty. No one seemed to be there until I turned around to leave and found Miss Jenkins blocking my path.” He recalled the awful sense of foreboding that had snaked its way through his belly. “She closed the door, locked it, and slipped the key into her décolletage.”
“Good lord,” Eve murmured. “She was a predator.”
If only the rest of the world had been as astute, Bryce mused. “Before I knew what was happening, she’d…” He looked away, unable to meet Eve’s gaze while he said this next part. “She tore the front of her gown, flung herself onto the table, and hitched up her skirts, exposing herself completely.” His voice strained to get the details out while rage and frustration crashed through him. “Someone came to the door and started knocking, at which point she started to make certain sounds.”
Eve had gone completely still. Her eyes were wide and stricken with horror. “She pretended you were…that you were…” When he nodded, she slapped a hand over her mouth and produced an anguished groan. “I’m so sorry.”
Nodding, he hastened to tell her the rest. “The door was forced open by Trenwick himself. He didn’t seem to notice none of my own clothing was out of place. Instead, he punched me. I fell back onto Miss Jenkins, which is what Lady Rose witnessed when she arrived in the room. Naturally, I was encouraged to marry Miss Jenkins, but since I knew misery was unavoidable at that point, I chose to face it without her. Word spread, my friends and family took her side, and…well, here we are.”
A long moment of silence followed Bryce’s admission. He didn’t know what else to say, though he tried to think of something. Eve had said she’d believe him. She’d seemed like she did while he’d given his account. But her inward contemplation unsettled him because he couldn’t discern what she was thinking or if he’d actually managed to convince her of his innocence.
Finally, when he began to fear she would stand up and leave the room without saying another word, she pulled her foot down off the stool and lowered herself to her knees before him, taking his hands between her own. “Ravenworth.” The look in her eyes was so incredibly tender. “Will you give me your Christian name?”
His chest squeeze around his expanding heart. “It’s Bryce.”
“Bryce.” It whispered across her lips with aching sensuality. And then she said, “What Miss Jenkins did to you is unforgiveable. That you should have to suffer for it, more so. You’re a good man though, a kind and generous man, the sort of man who deserves to be loved.”
