His smirk disappears. For one moment, I see that look before he made love to his bride. “Ummm. That I do. I’m not sure—”
“And Scarlett will have a whole year of being with her husband. She’s determined to go with you and Lydia to St. Petersburg. That’s the commitment she has to you. She’ll leave her new husband to make sure you two are well.”
“Katherine, this must be some sort of growth, you encouraging a new wife to not abandon her husband.” He looks at me or the ceiling as if thinking about my words. “You truly wish to be my servant, a sick man’s mistress?”
“And I’ll serve Lydia, too. I can think of no other way to try to make up for the pain I’ve caused.”
I can’t quite make out the new expression on his face. But my attention isn’t always on his countenance. Though leaner than ever, the man feels solid, with the kind of arms and chest you’d curl up to in a storm. “If you’re hungry, I can see if Georgina is done making your favorite kartoshka.”
“Fattening up my stomach as much as my ego, Katherine.” He shakes his head and closes his eyes.
Then he chortles when I rub his stomach.
That laughter, this easy way of reclining against one another, returns more of the best memories of forty days of pure joy. Jahleel and I were free, loving, and together. The world kept away.
Then he got sick. I knew the signs like a recurring nightmare.He lay quietly like this when I bathed him in cold water from the river. We broke his fever then.
“You have promise as a mistress. I’m sure I could get some friends to teach things that can make your aim more effective.”
“What? What friends?” And what aim?
When I look at where my hand has landed … I become flustered. My cheeks roast like fat on mutton. I lift my wet fingers to the side of the tub. “Sorry. I … ah …”
“The mistress business, we could try on a month-to-month basis.”
My pulse roars. He’s softening, softening about believing me, but I must push for more. “That wasn’t an option, Jahleel. The deal was six months or a year.”
He sits up. “What time is it? It looks dark outside.”
“A little after eight.”
With his hand, he does that dismissive wave. “I can finish my bath. Let me soak alone for a minute, then get Mr. Steele to help me out and dress.”
I’m stunned. Something about the smartest man in the world dismissing our deal irks me. “I’ve promised Scarlett that I’m not leaving you. And you’re not shy. There’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”
His smile broadens. “This is true. But this is the first time you’ve seemed interested in looking, not in a long time.”
Upping the stakes may regain his attention. “I need six months or a year to give you enough time to think of marriage.”
“Ahh. That’s your game. You’re being nice to get me to marry you.” He laughs in my face. “Nyet. I’m not marrying you. Not now, not after—”
“Nyet!” My loud tone makes those gray eyes get big. “I’m not marrying you again, but I thought you should have plenty of time to pick my groom. As you said, the marchioness can help me become respectable so a new husband will not mind my past.”
His mouth drops open. He never imagined a third option, that I’d want his help to marry someone else.
Smiling in his face, I lift his jaw, closing his lips.
“I need you to pick my next husband so he’ll be someone you will trust around Lydia. You’ve shown me that you know what makes a good match. You’ve picked great men with Lord Mark and Stephen. Choose someone for me.”
His eyes shift. Knowing I will marry a stranger and that he’d be the one to pick the man to be my husband and a stepfather to Lydia shocks the duke.
And I’m pleased.
Giving the smartest man in the world something new and crazy to ponder will agitate Jahleel enough to make sure he survives until dawn.
Chapter 14
JAHLEEL—WATERBATTLES
