eighteen
ENGAGEMENT. SPECIAL LICENSE. Eloping. Marriage.
All those words came out of Royston’s mouth, and Angeline couldn’t believe she listened without dismissing his idea. Maybe it was the overwhelming pleasure she’d just experienced.
“On a practical level, if we get married,” Royston said in a serious tone that didn’t leave room for jokes. “Your mother will stop making deals with dubious gentlemen on your behalf, and I’ll finally have some peace of mind. Lady Redvers will stop introducing her daughter to me, and married gentlemen are held in higher esteem than bachelors. Marriage could help me get a seat in the House of Lords. And your mother won’t need to blackmail anyone. I’ll provide for her as well. She won’t lack anything.”
“I understand the practical aspect of a marriage between us, but what about us? A marriage is forever. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with me?” She didn’t know what she wished he’d say.
He stared straight into her eyes. “Yes, I do. We know each other well, especially after tonight.” A wicked smile flashed over his sculpted lips, and a tingle started pulsing between her legs.“I respect and admire you. Your fierce spirit and sharp mind are qualities I’ll always appreciate. You give me strength and calm. You make me smile even when I’m sad. Today, many marriages are based on less than that. If you do me the honour of becoming my wife, I’ll do everything I can to make you happy. If you can forgive me for the fright I gave you tonight.”
“Well, I shot you. I think we’re even.” Right now, she wasn’t thinking straight though. She ought to take time to ponder a reply. “I feel better when I’m with you as well.”
He showed another lopsided smile that transformed his handsome face into a mischievous one. “I know different ways to make you feel good.”
Her cheeks warmed. All her body did. “There’s something else. I want children.” She had to make things clear. “Do you?”
He squeezed her hands. “Absolutely. I’m going to enjoy making them.”
She laughed again. “I think—” The rest of her sentence was cut off by the sound of a carriage stopping at her front door. “Mama,” she whispered. “She’s early.”
Before he could say anything, she grabbed his arm and led him upstairs to her bedroom. “Quick.”
“Why am I hiding?” he said once she’d locked them in.
“Do you really want my mother to know you went through her things again? We don’t have to tell her anything.”
“I don’t think lying to her will make things better.” He looked out of the window. “I can’t leave from this window. It’s too high.”
“I didn’t think about letting you out of the back door.” She looked around. “Just hide somewhere until she goes to bed.”
“Angeline?” Mama’s voice sounded closer.
“Under the bed. Quick.”
Muttering a curse under his breath, he squeezed himself under the bed. But his bulk didn’t fit.
Mama knocked on the door. “Darling?”
“I don’t fit,” he whispered.
“The wardrobe.” She waited for him to be inside her wardrobe among his scoffs and puffs before opening the door. “Mama.”
“I was worried. The lights are on. Are you all right?” Mama put a hand on Angeline’s forehead. “Are you sick?”
“No. I’m fine.”
Mama furrowed her brow. “You’re all flushed and hot.”
Yes, that was how Angeline felt. “You’re home early.”
“Oh, what an odd evening.” Mama walked inside the room and sat on the bed, pulling off her gloves. “Lord Havisham came, unfortunately. I wouldn’t have gone if I’d known he would be present. He was rather upset by your absence. He asked me a few times if I wanted to send a cab to fetch you. I told him you didn’t feel well and needed to rest, but he insisted that you should have come. After a while, the host called the evening off, claiming he was suddenly indisposed, and the earl said I should be with you since you were ill. Such an unusual behaviour. I didn’t even try the dessert.”
The door of the wardrobe inched open. Dash it. Likely, Royston’s bulk was too large for her wardrobe as well. She shut the door with nonchalance.
“Maybe Lord Havisham was only worried about me.”
Although his behaviour was further proof that he’d planned the whole evening. He’d known the police would have come.
