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Boyd bit back a smile. "Probably a great deal of what you did with her last night."
"Probably. That's the only time I can be sure she's not in danger." Rem gave Boyd a measured look. "Samantha trusts Cynthia implicitly. I gather you do, too."
"I do. I'd also stake my life on the fact that she's never worked in a brothel before, and wouldn't have this time if the circumstances hadn't been dire."
"I could ask Samantha about Cynthia's history."
"You could. But I'd rather Cynthia tell me herself. I'm a patient man, Rem. Especially when I want something. And I want Cynthia. Badly. So I'll wait. Besides," Boyd added quietly, "many of us have pasts we'd prefer to forget. The present is all that matters ... and the future."
"Did you make plans to see her again?"
Boyd's eyes sparkled. "Today is her day off. I'm going to close Boydry's early and take her to a coffeehouse for dinner."
"Good for you."
"What about Samantha? Are you seeing her tonight? Or are you going straight to Allonshire to talk to the duke?"
"I'm taking her for a carriage ride this evening. After that, we’ll see. If I can't make it to Allonshire and back in time for tonight's meeting at Annie's, I'll visit Drake tomorrow. Either way, Samantha and I will be married within a week."
"A week? Why?"
"Why not?"
"Surely you realize a woman like Samantha will have dreamed of a church wedding, an elegant gown, lots of guests; not to mention what her brother will want for her."
"Surely you realize how impractical that is, given the circumstances."
"What circumstances? The fact that planning your wedding might detract from our bloody mission?"
"The fact that Samantha could be carrying my child."
"Not a likelihood after being together one night. And, even if she is, no one will be able to notice for several months. Which gives you more than enough time to give her the kind of wedding she deserves. In the meantime, just keep your hands off her for a month or so and your heirs will arrive without scandal."
"I can't."
The fervor of Rem's admission made Boyd start.
"You have no idea what happens when Samantha and I are together. Trust me, Boyd, abstinence is not an option; for either of us. The sooner I put a ring on her finger, the better. Moreover, I'll be in a better position to protect her when I'm her husband. No, the wedding must take place immediately."
Boyd gave a low whistle. "You're even worse off than I thought."
"I'm also exhausted." Rem rubbed his hand over the shadow of a beard that darkened his face. "So, if we're finished, I'd like to get some sleep."
With a knowing expression, Boyd rose. "See you at Annie's." He paused. "Oh ... and Rem? Good luck with Samantha."
Samantha was praying for much the same. Retying the velvet ribbon in her hair for the third time, she glanced at the clock and frowned. Unfashionably early, even without the benefit of Cynthia's able assistance. But that wasn't surprising. She'd had hours to select her gown and arrange her hair. In fact, aside from taking a bath and nibbling at her lunch, she had done naught but sit at her bedchamber window all day, gazing out at Abi
ngdon Street and thinking of Rem.
'Twas just as well that it was Cynthia's day off, Sammy thought. Lord knew, she was not ready to face anyone, least of all her new friend, who would take one look at her and know exactly what had transpired. No, her emotions were still too chaotic, her transformation too new, too overwhelming to hide.
She'd awakened at noon, but remained abed until one, devoting a full hour to a tantalizing remembrance of last night. No dream could have been more perfect than the reality of becoming a woman in Rem's arms. She was his now, irrevocably so, and nothing the future held could change that.
The future.
That vast, unknown entity had dominated Sammy's thoughts for the duration of the day. She was not naive enough to believe the future awaited smooth and untainted ... not with the deep trenches of Rem's past scarring its path. No, those trenches had to be mended, carefully and with an enveloping blanket of love.
It was up to her to do that. A formidable task indeed. But Sammy wasn't deterred. In fact, she was exhilarated. For at last her role as a heroine was defined.
