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“Do you truly expect me to believe that you are a spy?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I do,” he replied. “My assignment has been to root out radical thinkers amongst theton. I have used the cover of a rakehell and gambler to achieve my purposes.”
Emmeline blinked. “You were just pretending to be a rakehell?”
“Yes,” he rushed out.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered under her breath as she turned to walk away.
Oliver reached out and grabbed her arm. “Wait, Emme…” he attempted.
She yanked back her arm and said, “I want nothing more than to make this a true marriage, but I can’t do that if you keep lying to me.”
“I am not lying,” he asserted. “How do you think I became so proficient with my pistol?”
“I don’t know.”
Oliver placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned closer. “I think you want to believe what I am saying,” he pressed.
“Why is that?”
“Because deep down, you know it is true.”
“But I don’t.”
With a sigh, he said, “I have kept a part of myself hidden from you since we wed, but it is time that you know the real me.”
She pressed her lips together before admitting, “I want that.”
“I am not the rakehell that everyone believes me to be,” he declared. “If I had my way, I would be home every evening with you, reading a book in the library.”
“Then why do you pretend?”
“I must put duty above all else, and my actions keep England safe from domestic threats.”
Emmeline lowered her gaze to the lapels of his blue jacket. “I want to believe you, but it sounds so far-fetched.”
“I know how it sounds, but I want honesty between us from now on.”
Bringing her gaze back up, she asked, “Is that why you need to go to the peninsula?”
“It is.”
“Do you have to go?” she asked weakly.
He shook his head. “I can pass on the assignment, assuming that is what you want me to do.”
“What I want is not important,” she replied. “I have only ever wanted you to be happy.”
“I am happy with you.”
“Are you?”
He nodded. “Every day I am with you is a day that I treasure.”
Emmeline’s frown lessened. “Why are you telling me this now?”
“You must understand that I was trying to protect you from the truth,” he said, “but I realized the only way we could have a true marriage was if I revealed who I truly am.”
