Page 71

“Then what are you concerned about?”

“That I won’t...” he began.

She didn’t respond, seeming to catch his words in an instant. “Charles, are you⁠—”

“Quiet down over there!”

Marie jumped at the man shouting from the corner.

Charles scowled at him, though he knew he wouldn’t be able to see it. He had a mind to tell the man off for shouting at a lady, but when he caught Marie’s smile, he stopped.

“You’d better get in this bed now before we are kicked out of the room altogether,” she said in a voice barely audible.

Charles sighed, knowing she was right. He didn’t want to subject her to a night of sitting in an upright chair downstairs, so he set aside his reservations and climbed into the bed.

He first tried lying on his back, but his shoulder hung halfway off the frame, so he shifted to his side away from Marie. The bed, however, had no support in the center, so he naturally sunk toward her.

With a heavy sigh, he resigned himself to his other side facing her, holding himself away with a hand between them that rested on the inner lining of his jacket. Her hand also relaxed between them, a mere inch from his.

“Comfortable?” she asked, clearly amused with his movements.

“Indubitably.”

She stifled a laugh.

“You?” he asked.

“I’ve been better.”

He eyed her hand next to his, her long, slender fingers against his jacket. A lady as lovely as this ought not be subjected to such sleeping arrangements—in the inn or with the man who’d promised to give her an annulment if she wished for it. How could he ever live with himself if he made it so the annulment was not possible, if he trapped her within a marriage she didn’t want?

He winced. “I’m s⁠—”

His words were cut off by her finger against his lips. “If you attempt to apologize one more time for any of this, I shan’t forgive you.”

Their eyes met. He didn’t say a word. Her eyes focused on his mouth until she gently slid her finger away, caressing his bottom lip in the motion.

His breathing shallowed.

Think of something else. Anything else besides those lips so close to your own. Think of the three men in the room with you. Of seeing your mother tomorrow. Of Marie wanting an annulment.

Please, Heaven, do not let her want the annulment.

“How did you know I was going to apologize?” he asked, their voices far softer now.

“You have this look in your eye,” she explained. “Regret, I believe. It came when I mentioned that I overheard your conversation with your parents, and that day at the church.”

Charles had no idea he was so expressive. “Well, at the risk of offending you, I am sorry. A lady like you ought not be subjected to sleeping like this.”

“I thought you said I needed adventure?”

“I’m far too opinionated. Surely you know that.”

“That is the first thing I learned about you.” Her eyes swept across his features. “And that you do not hesitate to take charge when something is wrong. That is why you need not apologize. With you, I do not have to worry if a carriage wheel falls off. Just as I do not have to worry about sharing this bed with you now.” Her eyes softened. “Because you are as honorable a man as they come, Charles.”

If she could only read his thoughts—how desperately he wanted to pull her toward him, to place his lips to hers in a kiss that ended with both of them agreeing to remain wedded. That was his greatest desire, and there was no point denying it any longer. How he cursed the fact that he ever presented the option of an annulment to her.

“Do you know what I used to call you?” she whispered dreamily, her eyelids heavy as she blinked, as if she were half asleep already.