Griffin stared at her. “But you must!”
“Why?”
He blinked. “To save your reputation. To—”
“My reputation is of little consequence to me because of the life I have chosen. I live remotely, away from London society. Considering my age, I am also firmly on the shelf and very unlikely to become the focus of any gossip monger’s attention. No one besides my mother, sister, and aunt witnessed our kiss, and they will not breathe a word about it since that would ruin Laura’s prospects. Furthermore, only my friends and your brother are aware of the fact that you accompanied me here, and I don’t believe any of them will say a word about it to anyone.”
“But…” Griffin searched his brain for a logical argument that might rival hers. “I cannot leave you here on your own. It would not be safe.” There. Perfectly valid.
“On the contrary, I cannot think of a safer place considering the last crime committed in these parts involved the theft of a chicken, took place long before I ever moved here, and was discovered to be nothing more than a misunderstanding.”
“Very well, I will concede that you have a point, but I’m still not letting you stay here alone.”
Her pleasant smile dropped from her face, and she leaned toward him so she could glare at him properly. “You are notlettingme stay here alone?”
“Any number of things might happen,” he explained while doing his damndest to ignore the quickening of his pulse and the tension now simmering between them. “What if you fall and hurt yourself?”
“I have never done so in the past.”
“Accidents happen.”
“And I am starting to pray that one might befall you,” she grumbled beneath her breath, though not quite low enough for him to miss it. He pressed his lips together to hide the surge of laughter bubbling up inside him. Her eyes sharpened. “I know you have plans to return to Vienna and I would hate to be the cause of any delay. Cassandra will join me here soon enough, so you need not worry on my behalf.”
He frowned. “When, if I may ask, do you expect her to arrive?”
She clenched her jaw as if trying to trap the answer in her mouth. “On the twentieth.”
“But that’s at least two weeks from now.”
“And I shall be fine until then.”
There was no denying the fact that she was now trying to rid herself of his company completely, andthatrealization instilled in him an inexplicable stubbornness. It was as if she’d thrown down a gauntlet and challenged him to a contest of wills.
“That is not a chance I’m prepared to take. If I were to leave and something happened to you, I would never forgive myself. Nor would I be able to face your friends or Caleb again after promising them that I’d see to your safety.” He paused for a second to consider the choice he had already made. Somehow returning to Vienna held less appeal than it had three days earlier, though he refused to consider the reason for that too closely at present. Instead, he forged ahead with his decision. “If you insist on staying, then I shall remain here with you until Cassandra arrives.”
Miss Howard’s mouth dropped open. Her eyes widened with dismay. “But…You cannot. I mean… It would not be proper.”
“By your own account a few short minutes ago, propriety is not much of a concern to you.”
“If you leave!” The glare was back in her eyes, even fiercer than before.
He understood her completely. “You worry what the locals will think if they discover that you and I are living together.” It was a fair point, he had to admit. And since ignoring it would defeat his reason for staying, it was also one he could not deny. Least of all if he was to call himself a gentleman.
Seeing the look of despair in her eyes, the compulsion to keep her safe grew alongside his longing to stay, so he grasped at the only plausible option that came to mind. “None of the locals met me when I was last here, so I would suggest we allow them to think that I’m Caleb.”
She shook her head as if trying to rid herself of an itch attacking her brain. “What?”
“We look identical to each other, save for the scar, which Caleb could have sustained a couple of months ago while fixing something or other on his London home.”
“But why on earth would you…Caleb…be here instead of there with his wife?”
“Because some of the rooms here need a fresh coat of paint,” he explained, warming to the idea. “Getting the work done while the children are away would be safest as it prevents them from being exposed to the fumes. And you have kindly agreed to oversee the project.”
“But wouldn’t Mary have come with you?”
“Not when she is expecting. It wouldn’t be safe for her or the child.”
Miss Howard did not look the least bit convinced. “Even if we managed to sell such a fib, there is still the matter of you and me living together.”
