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“Say something,” he said on a chuckle. “Say that you feel the same and… we can elope.”
“Elope?” Her brows furrowed. “And what about the lady you’re betrothed to?”
He grimaced.
A laugh escaped her lips. She snatched her hands away from his and walked back to her vanity. She placed a hand against her head so it wouldn’t crack from the headache that threatened to spill.
Today was a day full of emotional revelations, and she didn’t know how to react to any of it.
He wanted to elope. With her. He came here to ask her forgiveness and take her as his wife. Except that he was going about it all wrong. Again. “You didn’t even speak to your fiancée?”
Richard cleared his throat. “I haven’t thought this through, I admit. But I had to know if you felt the same—”
“And if I don’t? Then you’ll go back to the woman you’re actually betrothed to? You have to know how wrong this is, how… how insulting that is!”
“I didn’t mean to insult. Not you, and not her. I’m just…” He scrubbed his face. ”What do you want me to do? To break off my betrothal first? You know that I can’t do that! The only way I can stop the engagement is by not appearing at the wedding or marrying someone else. Both prospects are callous and awful, I agree. But since the betrothal has been announced and the papers have been drawn, she is the only one who can break our engagement.”
Jo shook her head. “How—Why have you suddenly decided that you want me instead?”
“Not instead.” He swallowed. “Jo, I was an arrogant fool… perhaps I still am. But I didn’t realize it when it stared me right in the face. I didn’t realize that I was happy. With you. That I love you.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
He loved her.
Was this true? Or was this one of her dreams?
Her mind was still foggy, but her soul was tugging her toward him.
“As soon as we are married, I shall do everything I can to mask the scandal so that Miss Fowley doesn’t suffer the consequences.”
“I don’t think that is possible,” Jo protested.
“It is possible. We’ll make it possible, Jo. We can’t deny ourselves happiness on account of others. I made mistakes, I admit. But I don’t want you to have to pay for them for the rest of your life. Tell me that you’ll marry me, and I shall spend the rest of my life ensuring that you’re happy.”
Jo let out a chuckle. “It won’t be easy. There will be a grand scandal. An actress marrying a viscount?” Was she actually considering it?
“It’s true.” He took her hands in his and squeezed. “But with time, the scandal will wane.”
“It will?” Jo stepped closer to him as if enchanted by a spell and pulled by an invisible thread toward him.
“It will. And as soon as you stop acting, I am sure people will—”
Jo froze. “Stop acting?”
Richard frowned. “Well, yes. Once you stop acting, the scandal is bound to pass. People will have less cause for gossip.”
Jo let out an indignant breath and snatched her hands out of his grasp. “Pardon me, I am not going to stop acting.”
“What do you mean, you are not going to stop?” He looked utterly baffled, the poor man.
“Just that,” Jo said.
“Do not be ridiculous.” He scoffed. “You can’t be an actress and a viscountess!”
Jo stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief. “Then I do not want to be a viscountess.” Her voice didn’t shake. As if her world wasn’t turning upside down.
Richard reared back. “I can’t believe I am hearing this. You cannot be serious.”
