Page 26 of Always the Lyon Tamer

“I cannot believe it is you,” said John weakly. He was sitting up now, still utterly naked.

Rebecca attempted not to look at his…well, at all of him. When she did, she saw everything she had always wanted in a husband.

“I-I would never have guessed—” John began.

Rebecca laughed bitterly. “Yes, no one believes that silly Miss Darby could be elegant, or womanly, or…or…”

Betrayal rushed through her heart. She had thought he would fight for her—fight against his expectations of her—and see her for the woman she was.Had she not just given him proof that she could be the wife he wanted?

But the last hour or so had done nothing to make her more of a wife in his eyes than the last year. Even after making love to her, John did not believe she was worthy of him.

“No, ’tis not that,” said John hastily. “It is more…well, you are not normally…you were always…”

His voice trailed away as his gaze dropped to his hands, seemingly unable to look at her.

And it was that which pushed her over the edge. She did not have to put up with this. She had done her best, and that was not good enough.

Time to leave.

“I should have known this was a mistake,” she said quietly, moving off the bed and stepping toward the ridiculous gown Mrs. Dove-Lyon had insisted she wear. “I will be gone in but a moment, and then you can—”

“Gone?” repeated John as though he had been hit over the head. “What do you mean, gone?”

“Gone,” said Rebecca shortly. She did not want to spend another minute in this room, the room where she had gambled so much and lost. She had to get as far away from John as possible.

She could never see him again.She would have to trust that he would never reveal the truth of their encounter to the world—more, she would have to pray that, in her foolishness, she had not just created a child.

The rush ofemotions crowding John’s thoughts prevented him from understanding what was happening before him.

Rebecca Darby!

It could not be. His eyes must be deceiving him—it was only because Miss Darby was always so much on his mind that he was seeing her before him.

And yet, no matter how much he blinked, Miss Darby had not disappeared.

He was the world’s biggest fool.Miss Darby!The woman had been the one person to steal his heart, even if he had never admitted it to her, and yet she was miles away from the confident, sensual being who had teased him…

John needed to do something. He needed to say something, but his breathing was as uncontrolled as his thoughts.

“Wait, Rebecca—Miss Darby—wait!”

She ignored him. John swallowed, his mind still racing.

Was he…he had agreed to marry Miss Darby!

It was like all his dreams had come together and provided him with a solution he could never have conspired to create.

And yet, she seemed so upset, so confused by his shock.What was so surprising about it?After the chattering Miss Darby he had thought he knew so well, was he not to be surprised that the Titania who had teased him with her gentle touches and silences could be the same person?

A headache was starting to throb in his temple, but John pushed aside the pain.Marrying Miss Darby.It was a heady thought, one that gave him as much joy as the confusion of her real identity.

If their married life could be full of that lovemaking…

“Miss Darby—Rebecca,” he added hastily. It did not seem right, somehow, to speak in such a formal way. “Please, wait, I want to talk to you.”

“There is nothing to talk about,” Rebecca said hurriedly, pulling her gown above her breasts. “I should never have come here. I should never have hoped that…”

Her agony was evident, but why? He had said nothing, done nothing wrong?