“We’ll hire one for you.”
“How? It’s the middle of the night.”
He frowned. “We’ll borrow one. I have friends.”
“And do you have money for lodging? It’s November. We can’t just sleep out in the fields.”
He tightened his grip on her hands. She was ruining the moment with her questions. Didn’t she see that? It was like being examined by an Oxford don. “We’ll figure it out along the way.”
“And what about my family? How will they survive if I disappear?”
“Your mother will have to find her own solution. That’s what mothers are supposed to do. They shouldn’t sacrifice their daughters to—”
“If there isn’t an influx of money, then my brother will have to leave school. Elliott is just a boy. And who will take care of my sisters?”
“Your mother—”
“Picked this solution.” Diana shook her head. “I can’t abandon them.”
Loyal. He couldn’t fault her for that, and frankly, he was ashamed of himself for not thinking of that sooner. “I have some money,” he began.
“Enough to keep Elliott in school?”
He winced. It wasn’t enough to keep the two of them in food beyond a month. “My parents will help us.”
Diana stared at him, her eyes sheening with tears as she clutched his fingers. “And my family? Will they help them as well?”
Doubtful. His parents hated anything they labeled “untoward.” Marrying Diana before he turned twenty would definitely qualify. It would be hard enough to get them to accept the marriage. They certainly wouldn’t aid her family, especially since it included her by-blow half-sister. Lilah changed Diana’s family from “untoward” to “regrettable,” and his mother would never touch anything that was so unseemly.
“How much money?” he asked.
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“How much money do you think it would take to free you from this marriage, to support your family, and keep Elliott in school?”
“I don’t know. Five thousand pounds per year? Something like that.”
He shuddered. Even at half that amount, he couldn’t do it. He hadn’t inherited yet, and his allowance from his father was barely a thousand per annum. He wanted to promise that he could manage her family’s estate, but he knew nothing of farming. In fact, he’d gone out of his way tonotlearn about sheep, crops, and whatnot. It just wasn’t in his nature.
“What if I brought you three thousand tomorrow morning? Would you run away with me then? It would be enough, yes? We’d figure out the rest. Would you do it?”
She swallowed, obviously torn.
“It won’t be easy,” he pressed, “but we could do it together. We’re in love, Diana. Anything is possible with love.”
He believed that. Indeed, the feeling burned hot inside him, but her eyes widened in shocked surprise. “What?” she whispered. At least that was the word he read off her lips.
“We’re in love,” he stressed. “Aren’t we? Don’t you love me?”
“You love me?” she echoed without answering his question. “I…”
She was in doubt, but he knew exactly how to change that. He surged upward and captured her mouth with his. He teased her cold lips and slipped between them with his tongue. And while she gasped in maidenly surprise, he plundered her mouth. He thrust inside and tasted every part of her.
“Diana,” he whispered.
She clutched his shoulders in response, then drew him closer.
It was the most natural thing to press her backward, to move over her so that he could lay her down on her bed.
