He reached out, cupping her chin between his thumb and index finger. “I can tell you this,Minnie. Since I met you, I’ve barely thought of another woman. I don’t know how I could ever consider taking another to bed if I had you in my house.”
“What if I’m not in your bed?”
Disappointment laced through him, but he hadn’t proposed this to her merely to satisfy desire for her.
“This arrangement can be however you’d like it, Minnie,” he said softly.
“It doesn’t seem fair of me to ask you to stay out of other women’s beds if I do not accept you in mine,” she said. “But I’m not sure I’d be ready for that. Not right away, at least.”
He leaned in, taking her hands in his. “Then we would take things however you’d like them. As slow or as fast.”
“Thank you,” she said, her voice just above a whisper. “It’s hard to imagine that this is happening to me. It’s all come to pass so quickly.”
“I can understand that,” he said. “But I’m here for whatever you need.”
She nodded, not saying anything, but from the way her lips pressed together and her rapid blinking, he guessed that she was trying to keep her emotions in check.
“I need a night to think this over, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course,” he said, although he worried that even a night might be too long, that her father might set things in motion faster than she could even imagine. “You can find me at the blacksmith shop two streets up from here or send word through Lily or Emmaline.”
“If we did this… it would have to be done quickly. My father wants to marry me off within the week.”
“I know.”
“How would we even do that?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll think of something. I always do.”
Silence reigned for a moment, and he could tell that this might be too much for her. “Are you ready to go back?” heasked, and when she nodded, he helped her up, shaking off his coat before redonning it.
They returned without speaking, each lost in their thoughts, Tommy realizing that while he had initially proposed this as a favor to her, now that he had actually asked her, he wanted her agreement more than he had ever realized. When they entered the tavern, she turned to him.
“Thank you, Tommy,” she said softly. “For everything.”
He nodded, his gaze fixed upon her. He had told Jonny there was no reason a woman like Minnie would wish to speak to him, and now, looking into her upturned face, he could scarcely believe she had. That she might even contemplate marrying him seemed beyond all reason. Perhaps he had been a fool ever to suggest it.
“Goodnight, Minnie,” he said, even though the last thing he wanted was to walk away from her.
“You’re not staying?”
“Not tonight,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve got too much on my mind. Unless you need me?”
“No, I should be fine,” she said. She paused, looking at him, before quickly standing on her toes, placing a quick peck on his cheek, and then dissolving back into the crowd before he could even respond.
His lips curved into a smile.
As much as she likely shouldn’t, she would say yes.
He was sure of it.
Chapter Eight
Minnie stood in front of the sturdy stone building, working up the courage to push through the wooden door that she would have typically considered welcoming.
She had already seen Tommy through the large, open front, had been drawn to the shop by the smell of burning coal and the sound of hammering metal.
She took a breath before pushing open the door, instantly greeted by a wave of heat. A large forge with a roaring coal fire was the focus of the room, with a wide variety of iron tools hanging on the walls — hammers, tongs, chisels, and other implements she had no name for, all carefully organized.
