Lady Rose inhaled, sharp and sudden, as if the words were a slap. “You would keep her from me?”
“Not out of cruelty, but necessity. We’ve already discussed this, Lady Rose,” he said. “You know how these stories travel. An unmarried woman, a bastard child, a whisper here and there. Eventually, it’s a howl. I cannot protect you from that.”
She closed her eyes, gathering herself. When she spoke, her voice was level. “You are a very good liar, Your Grace.”
He laughed genuinely. “I only ever tell the truth, my lady. It is the audience that finds it hard to accept.”
He watched her as she stood in the soft green light, not willing to give ground.
“The wedding will happen,” Lady Rose said. “But after, you will not treat me as a curiosity or a pet. I am not here to decorate your home or appease your conscience.”
“You have my word.”
“And you will not take Lizzie from me.”
“No,” he said. “Never.”
She exhaled, a tremulous thing, and looked out through the steamed glass to the garden beyond. “Then let us endure this together, for as long as it takes.”
“As you wish.”
She looked up at him, her expression grave. “There is something we must discuss. About the wedding. You may be cavalier about the business of marriage, but I am not.” She took a deep breath. “I know how these arrangements go. I know your reputation.”
Felix inclined his head, granting the point. “You’ve made that crystal clear before.”
Lady Rose pressed on, voice stiff. “I do not intend to play the part of wife in the way society expects. Nor, I imagine, do you expect it of me.”
Felix stopped walking. “You surprise me, my lady. I rather thought the entire point of this exercise was to convince the world otherwise.”
She colored at that, not in a rosy flush, but a creeping stain that reached all the way to her collar. “I mean to say that I will fulfill my obligations in public. I will see to Lizzie’s upbringing, the household, and the family name. But beyond that…”
She trailed off. Felix waited, but she only stared at a line of green topiary, refusing to continue.
“You wish to clarify the terms of our arrangement. What, specifically, do you expect of me?” he asked.
“I wish only to know if you intend to treat this as a real marriage. Or if I am merely the shield for your next scandal,” she said without turning back towards him.
Felix let out a short, incredulous laugh. “Do you think so little of me that you believe I would betray your trust once we are married, Lady Rose?”
She met his eyes, her jaw set. “I simply prefer to set expectations, lest either of us be misled.” Her hands twisted in her skirt, betraying her nerves.
He stepped closer, and she stiffened, though she did not retreat. “You are a curious creature,” he said. “You come to me armed for war, yet I have never seen anyone so determined to avoid battle.”
“You think this a jest?” she snapped, but there was no real fire in it.
Felix reached out and touched a loose strand of her golden hair. It was an experiment; he wanted to see if she would flinch. She did not, though the blush deepened, visible even in the cold.
“You need not fear me, Rose,” he said, using only her name this time, in hopes of gaining some semblance of belief from her.
She drew herself away. “You can take a lover, if you wish,” she blurted, the words spilling out in a single rush. “I have no objection. I will not interfere.”
Felix’s mouth actually fell open. “You have already planned my infidelity? We are not even wed.”
She glared at him, color blooming bright now. “I only mean—You need not pretend to want me. I know you do not. And I will never lie with you.”
For a moment, Felix was lost. Admittedly, this was a first for him. He was not used to being turned down. Certainly not for a tumble in the sheets. Quite the contrary. And yet, more irritating than the refusal itself was the fact that it lingered. Not with pride, for he could have dismissed pride easily enough, but with curiosity.
So, he moved beside her, not touching, but close enough to count her breaths, and said, “You are very sure of yourself, Lady Rose.”
