Betsy stared at him for a long moment, assessing him.“So that you might control the behavior of your future wife?”
“No.”Wesley’s expression softened as he focused on Thea.“Truly, I want to help.”
He glanced behind them at Mary and watched the children sitting at the table.
“We have a few private patrons, but anything you are willing to contribute would be most appreciated, Your Grace.”Betsy's voice was careful.
“I'll have a monthly contribution arranged through a solicitor so there's no trail back to this address.”Wesley's voice was steady, but he was still focused on the sweetlings.“No one will know where it goes.”
Thea wanted to throw her arms around his neck and thank him for what his generosity would mean for the shelter, but she remained where she stood.
“Thank you, Your Grace.That will be much appreciated.”She looked at Thea, and her lips quirked.“I like him, Thea.”
She took the pouch and Wesley's promise and disappeared back into the room.
“Thea,” Wesley started, reaching for her.
“We should go, Wes.This isn't the place.”
Wesley nodded.He opened the front door and held it for her.They stepped out into the cold night air.The street was empty.Wesley raised his hand, and a hackney slowed at the corner, the driver hunched against the chill.
Wesley handed her up into the carriage and climbed in after her, taking the seat across from hers.The door closed and the cab lurched forward, leaving them alone for the first time since the garden.
Thea sat with her arms crossed, Kit's coat buttoned to her throat.The carriage lamp threw shadows across Wesley's face, and he looked wrecked—exhausted and uncertain in a way she'd never seen him before.The proper duke was a mess.“You followed me?”
“I came to your house to talk to you.I saw you leave and, yes, I decided to follow you.”He didn't try to make it sound reasonable.“I wasn't thinking.”
“You walked into a house full of women who have every reason to be terrified of a strange man coming through the door.”
He flinched.“I know.”
The carriage rocked over a rut in the road, and neither of them reached for the strap.
“I called you selfish.”His voice was rough.“I said it was just about cards.”
“It was never about cards.”
“I know that now.”He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his gaze fixed on hers.“My mother visited me after I left you in the garden.I told her you'd been reckless, and she was thrilled.She said you were too headstrong and too wild.And I hated it.And all the more so, I hated that I had sounded just like her when I spoke to you.”
Thea said nothing.She let him talk.
“The thing I tried to stamp out of you is the very reason I fell in love with you.You make me feel alive.”
The carriage turned a corner.The lamp swung, and for a moment his face was in shadow.
“I don't want you to stop,” he said.“I don't want you to give up Kit or the shelter or any of it.”
“And the scandal?”Thea kept her voice even though her chest ached from how much she wanted him.“The danger to both our families?All those things you said in the garden?”
“I'm a duke.I have the title and the connections to protect us both.I was being a fool.”
Thea stared at him.He was sitting across from her in a hired carriage, cravat undone, telling her he'd been wrong.And she believed him—not because he'd said the right words, but because he was the best man she’d ever known.The man she’d always loved.And she wasn’t entirely without fault in what had happened.
“You were wrong about the ultimatum,” she said.“But I was wrong, too.I lied to you, Wesley.I sat across from you at that card table night after night and listened to your conversations without telling you who I was.I was going to tell you before we—before the night in the study.And then I didn't.And I kept not telling you, even after we were engaged, because I was afraid of losing you.”
“Thea—”
“Let me finish.”She held his gaze.“I won't apologize for Kit.I won't apologize for the shelter or for wanting a life that's bigger than what society deems acceptable.But I'm sorry I didn't trust you with the truth.I made the choice for you instead of giving you the chance to hear it from me.And that wasn't fair.”
