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“I’d also like to talk to you about last night,” she blurted.
Robert raised his head and looked at her curiously. “What is there to talk about?” he asked with a frown. His lips pursed disapprovingly.
“I—” She took a deep breath and tried again. “We—”
Robert stared at her, blinking impatiently, wondering if she’d ever stop mumbling when she talked to him.
“I can’t seem to get the words out when I’m talking to you,” she laughed self-consciously. “I know we’ve made a deal, you give me Mary back, I give you heirs,” she stated bluntly.
“There were a few more in between,” he reminded her darkly.
Julie licked her lips and nodded. “I remember, and I promise I will hold up my end of the deal.”
Robert leaned back in his chair and studied her dispassionately. “You do know that in order to bear the heirs, you’ll have to go to bed with me?” He narrowed his eyes on her and bit the inside of his cheek in thought. “That is if you’ll hold up the other part of a bargain about not making a cuckold of me.” He raised his brow at this last barb.
“I told you I wouldn’t, and I don’t break my promises.” She grimaced at her own statement, and Robert raised his brows in question.
“Not anymore, anyhow. And I didn’t promise you heirs right away,” she said defensively. “I just can’t—” She swallowed loudly. “It’s just… not easy to do that with a complete stranger.” She forced out the words.
“As opposed to your long-time pal St. Clare?” He crossed his arms on his chest and regarded her with a sardonic expression. “You didn’t seem averse to jumping into bed with him, though you knew him what, a day and a half?”
“Oh.” Her face dimmed. “I wouldn’t have gone through with it.” She placed her fork on her plate and put her hands on her lap. “I just wanted to cause a scandal. One big enough that no one would want to marry me,” she whispered.
“And by no one, you mean me.” He raised a brow at her.
“By no one,” she looked steadily in his eyes, “I mean no one. That is until…” She trailed off, staring blankly at her hands.
“Until?” He nudged her to continue.
“Until John came back from the war,” she said without looking up at him.
John. So, her lover had a name. Robert took a sharp breath in before returning his concentration to their conversation. “War?” he repeated, his brows furrowed. Was he a soldier?
Julie nodded meekly. “It doesn’t matter in any case.” She looked up at him with a resolute set to her jaw. “I married you, and I am resolved to make the best of this situation.”
Robert looked at her, confusion marring his face. It seemed he underestimated his bride. She would not be passive and silent about the issues of their marriage. As things were, she was not even going to avoid his bed forever.
She was determined to make good on their bargain, even though she was so obviously repulsed by the idea. She was resolved not to cuckold him as well, although he’d wait and see until her soldier got back from war to comment on that one. She also seemed determined not to dwell on the past. If that all were true, Robert was ready to retract his opinion of her. Maybe there was more to her than he initially thought after all.
Julie took a deep breath and continued. “I will not go back on my word—on anything that I’ve promised you. But as I said, I would like some time to get to know each other.” She swallowed again. “To get used to the idea of being a wife.”
“How much time?” He quirked his brows in question.
“I don’t know.” She evaded his direct gaze. “A month—or two.”
Robert wanted to laugh. “Is a month or two enough to crawl into bed with a man you’re repulsed by?” he asked in a sarcastic tone.
“Repulsed?” She shot him a furrowed look. But he brushed it off.
“Very well,” he said instead. “Have it your way. You know that the more you put off the inevitable, the longer you’ll have to stay with me, and not at your own private estate.”
“I’m aware.” She nodded. “Yet I’d rather wait.”
Robert shrugged and resumed his meal.
