“Me?” She had never shown evidence of that before.
“I cannot bear our separation. People are talking, Gerald. They say I have snared you, that I’ve captured you. It’s the jealousy, that’s all. So many women have you in their sights. Did you not notice that town is unusually busy?”
He shook his head. “It seems the same to me.”
“Gerald, I cannot bear to lose you.” She took a step forward. Gerald planted his feet firmly on the ground to prevent himself stepping backward.
He should really get hold of himself. He’d kissed her before, on the event of their private agreement to marry. True, it had been nothing like—damn it all, he was off again. This comparison nonsense had to stop. “Please,” she went on. “Bring the date of the marriage forward.”
“The contracts,” he said numbly. “We have to ensure they’re in order.”
“We could do that later. As long as the main bones are in place, I’m sure that will be fine.”
His antennae went up. Was something wrong with her family? How could there be, when her father was a byword for wealth and power? Something else, then. He would definitely consult with his sisters. “What is wrong, my dear?”
“I’m worried.” That sounded like her. Since their agreement Elizabeth had consulted him constantly, even on trivial matters like the kind of hat he preferred on a woman. He’d answered sharply that he didn’t care, and immediately felt sorry when she’d turned away and dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief. A woman of delicate sensibilities was Elizabeth. Or so she liked to present herself, but under her air of fragility lay a woman of steel.
Nothing like—
He would obviously have to cut these thoughts short as soon as they appeared but even as he chopped it off, a vision of Annie appeared in his head. She was laughing, hair disheveled because he’d been running his fingers through it.
Dear God, was he in love?
“We must consider the matter closely,” he said to Elizabeth. “Perhaps if we set a date sometime at the end of May—the middle of May,” he amended when her face fell. “That would give the lawyers time to agree what they have to, and society time to marvel at your extreme good fortune at snaring me.” He smiled, meaning the last comment as a joke.
Elizabeth failed to pick up his mild sally. “Indeed, I am fortunate and I know it very well. That is my concern. I truly understand my good fortune, and I cannot wait.” She moved closer. Gerald held his ground as she pressed against him. “That kiss. I cannot wait for more.”
He didn’t believe her. How could he, when her eyes held no warmth, and her mouth smiled with chilly acceptance? She had not enjoyed their first kiss, which was why he had not been inclined to repeat it. Was she telling him she wanted another?
“You have woken me to a new understanding,” she said softly, meeting his eyes. “I want this, Gerald, and I cannot wait to warm your bed.”
That first phrase sounded familiar. In a moment he had it. Delphi had read it aloud to them at dinner the other evening. It was a quotation from the latest literary masterpiece by a novelist Delphi did not hold in high regard. The passage had turned to more lurid language. Delphi had read the book to them until she had dissolved in laughter. In the end, the heroine had died of a broken heart when she’d seen the hero flirting with another woman.
He tried to be gentle, but he needed her to understand this was a marriage of convenience. She’d seemed perfectly aware of the fact before. “You do realize our union is one arranged for our greater good?” He could have put that better. “I had not thought your feelings engaged.” He still didn’t, for that matter.
The light left her eyes. ”I want more,” she said.
One thing he knew. “I cannot give it to you.” He hated to do this to any woman, but he had no choice. She could not foster any false illusions about him. “Elizabeth, I will do my best, but the bargain, as it was presented to me, was to assure my sisters of their welcome and help us settle into the place we should occupy.” Like buying a new sofa.
He hated this betrothal, hated the necessity, and hated behaving in this way to a woman. But he had promised honesty, and he would at least do that.
She took a step back. “Yes, I understand. But I need a man in my life, Gerald. I want a man to give me children, and lend me countenance. I cannot dwindle into an old maid, I cannot bear it!”
She confused him with her changes in mood. But perhaps this was the time to broach the uncomfortable truths lying between them. “Do you wish for my fidelity? I will not ask it of you after the heir arrives.”