Page 110 of A Troublesome Circumstance

A tear slipped down her cheek. “Don’t you see I must go? It is the only way to protect you.”

He shook his head, his voice rough. “I am an earl. My reputation will survive. Yours matters to me more. Trust me.”

In a soft voice, she said, “I want to go home.”

“Josie…”

“Please,” she pressed, slipping her hand out of his.

He sank back in his seat. “Very well,” he murmured, though every part of him rebelled against the words. “I will take you home.”

Josephine sat rigidly in the carriage, staring at her clasped hands until her vision blurred. She willed herself not to cry. She had done enough of that already. The leather seat beneath her felt cold, too cold, and every bump of the wheels rattled straight through her bones. Across from her, Jude watched her with that steady, unyielding concern in his brown eyes.

He wanted to help her. To save her. She knew it as surely as she knew her own name.

But she would not let him destroy his life for hers.

When that article was published, she would be ruined. She would be given the cut direct. Her reputation would be shredded beyond repair. And not even the shield of his title could stop the whispers… the looks… the judgment.

She loved him too much to let him be dragged down beside her.

She was so lost in the spiral of her own thoughts that Jude’s voice startled her.

“I will get a special license,” he said, leaning forward, his tone decisive—almost fierce. “We could be married this evening.”

Her heart plunged. “And then what?” she whispered.

“Then we would ride out the storm… together.”

Josephine shook her head, fighting the tightening in her throat. “Don’t you understand? If we marry now, and I were to start increasing…” She swallowed. “Everyone would question the child’s parentage. They would assume⁠—”

Jude’s gaze softened, but his jaw remained tense. “I would never question it.”

She gave him a weak smile. “I know that. But what happens when I am given the cut direct? When women you’ve known your whole life turn their backs on me in public?”

“I would not stand by and let that happen,” he said firmly.

“You wouldn’t be able to stop it.”

His fists tightened on his knees. “My father is a duke. I am an earl. No one would dare be rude to you.”

Josephine let out a shaky huff. “Oh, Jude… what about the rumors?” she asked. “You can’t stop those. No one can.”

“Josie…” His voice cracked. “There must be a way for us to be together.”

Her gaze dropped to her hands. “I can’t ask you to save me again,” she insisted.

“Then don’t ask. I will do it gladly.”

Her throat constricted. “For what purpose? So you can enter into a marriage of convenience?”

His eyes flashed with something wounded. “Is that what you think I am offering?”

She finally lifted her chin, meeting his gaze. “Isn’t it?”

“No.” The word burst out of him. “I… care for you. Greatly.”

There it was. The truth she had been dreading. Jude cared for her—of course he did. He was honorable, noble, unfailingly protective. But this wasn’t love. Not the love she wanted. Not the love she needed him to have.