“Do you miss living in the country?” he asked.
“Very much. I could do whatever I wanted there, but then Papa remained alone in London after my elder siblings got married, and I decided to keep him company. As the youngest daughter of thirteen children, no one supervised me in the country. I mean, our governess and nanny were so busy they didn’t control me as they should have. My sisters and I loved running around without shoes. Papa hated that, but Mama said it was good for the feet. In fact, I have strong feet.” She kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes. “I can pinch people with my toes. Do you want to see it?”
He lowered his glass, perplexed. She had always been bubbly and talkative, but her speech was now a little slurred. The two empty glasses of wine in front of her pointed at the obvious, although the glasses hadn’t been full to start with, and she’d been eating while drinking.
He put down his glass. “Are you used to drinking wine?”
She laughed. “Of course. Mulled wine, every Christmas.”
Bloody hell.
She went to fill her glass again, but he stopped her.
“Let’s stop drinking wine for now.”
She pouted. “But I want another glass. I haven’t finished the cheese.”
“What about some fresh air?” He rose and helped her out of her chair.
She staggered on her feet. “Fine, but I’m not putting my shoes on.”
“Lovely.” He held her by the waist and led her to the set of double doors opening to the garden.
The fresh air carried the scent of the honeysuckle and wet soil. London contributed to the bouquet with the smell of coal.
She sighed and sagged against him. “It was a little warm inside. This is better.” She snuggled closer to him, triggering a shower of shivers down his back.
“Yes, much better.”
They went down the short flight of stairs to the paved path. The starry sky was generous with its silver light, and the fresh breeze was heavy with the scent of the flowers.
“Do you feel sick?” He caressed the top of her head.
Her eyes looked droopy. “Not at all. But my head is a little light.”
“I’ll take care of that, too.”
He walked along the paved path through the flowerbeds. The movement and the fresh air should help her feel better. He would ask for some strong herbal tea as well.
Her soft body pressed against his. She probably wasn’t aware of what she was doing. Certainly, she had no idea of the hot turmoil her casual closeness ignited inside him. Guilt stung him because he was enjoying a gift she didn’t mean to give him.
“Do you still want to marry me?” Her voice came muffled.
“Yes, although you don’t know everything about me. If I learnt something about myself and you in the past months, it’s that, while I still wish to marry you, I might not be the right person for you.”
She raised her big eyes to him. “Why? What big secret are you hiding?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret.”
She exhaled. “If it’s your visits to the disorderly house, I know everything about them.”
“That’s interesting because I don’t know anything about them.”
“You can tell me the truth.”
He helped her sit on a marble bench under a willow tree. “I don’t go to a disorderly house. That’s the truth.”
“So you lied about having a mistress. She’s the Duchess of Norfolk, isn’t she?”
