They lay in comfortable silence for a while, hands exploring lazily, neither willing to break the spell.
"Was it worth it?" James asked suddenly. "The wait, the propriety, the almost-scandal?"
Catherine considered. "Ask me again in fifty years."
"I will," he promised. "Every day for fifty years and beyond."
"And I'll tell you the same thing every time."
"Which is?"
"That you were worth everything. The scandal, the waiting, the danger. All of it."
"Even Miss Worthing?"
"Especially Miss Worthing. She proved something important."
"What's that?"
"That you'll fight for me. Lie for me. Protect me even when it risks everything."
"Always," he said seriously. "I will always protect you, Catherine."
"And I'll protect you."
"From what?"
"From yourself, mostly. You have terrible impulses."
"Like what?"
"Like throwing pebbles at my window while drunk. Like proposing in the middle of ballrooms. Like kissing me in front of archbishops."
"Those were excellent impulses."
"They were dramatic impulses."
"I'm a dramatic person. You knew this when you married me."
"I knew it when I seduced you at an inn."
"You seduced me? I seduced you!"
"We seduced each other," Catherine decided. "Mutual seduction."
"I can accept that." He rolled over, pinning her beneath him. "Speaking of mutual seduction..."
"Again? Already?"
"Catherine, my darling duchess, we have three months of separation to make up for. We're going to be here for days."
"Days?"
"Weeks, possibly."
"James, we can't stay in bed for weeks."
"Watch us."
