Surprised by the change in topic, she shrugged in his hold. “I have. It’s no different from running the household,” she replied on a sigh. “Arrange goods and services where needed. Pay the invoices. Keep a ledger.”
Chuckling softly, Jack asked, “Will you help me with mine?”
She angled her head in the small of his shoulder so she could better see him. “Of course.”
He kissed her on the lips and then settled his head back into the pillow.
Once again, Persephone was sure he had gone to sleep when he said, “Am I mad to think I should give Kravets some sort of gift when I pay a call on him later today?”
Persephone lifted herself onto an elbow and stared down at him. “Whatever for?” she asked in alarm.
Jack shrugged in the pillow. “Well, if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be here. Like this,” he said.
Scoffing, she stared at him as if he were mad. “If it wasn’t for him, we would have found one another during the ball tonight,” she countered. “We would have danced—twice—and we would have ended up in the gardens, where I would have invited you to join me in my bed before the supper was served.” She huffed. “We could have made love two or three times by now.”
Jack regarded her for a long moment, a grin spreading over his face as he pondered her words. “All right. So no gift for the baron,” he said. He lifted himself onto an elbow and kissed her. “Maybe I’ll plant a facer on him instead.”
A snort erupted from Persephone. “If you don’t, I will.”
He let out a guffaw. “I’m so glad I ended up in your coach. And I promise I’ll make up for the lost time later,” he murmured.
Giving him a prim grin, Persephone lowered herself back onto the bed. “I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to life with you.”
He chuckled again as he collapsed back onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her. “I’ll remember you said that when you learn the state of my earldom,” he murmured.
A few seconds later, and he was sound asleep.
Persephone would have joined him in slumber, but his last remark had her worried. Concerned. Nervous and excited.
Challenge accepted, she thought as she dozed off.
