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I ran to him, placing my hand over his mouth, still looking about the hall. Thankfully my brother had caused a commotion, and there was no one here, but that could change at any moment.
“Verity.” I felt his lips vibrate against my palm and the feeling of it struck a sensation in me I could not describe.
“Shh!” I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the nearest guest bedroom with me, closing the door quickly. “How can you say such things aloud? What if—”
He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me to him. I wished to close my eyes and hug him in return. But instead, I pushed him away as hard as I could.
“You overstep yourself, Doctor!” I shouted at him. “Have you no decency?”
“Forgive me—”
“No!” Gone were all my thoughts. Now there was only rage. “I will not forgive you. I will not embrace you, and I do not wish to see you. You should not have come!”
He frowned and looked me over, but I moved away, breathing through my nose. “Do you truly mean it?”
“Yes.” I did not.
“Very well then,” he muttered, walking to the door, and I should have let him go, but instead, the words burst out.
“How could you just leave me so?” My voice cracked, but I swallowed the ache, still unable to look at him. “I was scared, confused, and…you vanished without a word.”
“Did you not get my letter?”
“What letter?” I turned to him. “The one you wrote to the marquess?”
“No, I wrote to you personally. I knew I could not send it to the Du Bell estate, as Lady Monthermer surely reads them all. So I left it with Lady Whitmear. She said she would invite you all to tea and pass it along discreetly. She did not?” he questioned, his eyebrows furrowed.
My mind went to that day. “We were invited, but…I did not feel well and did not go to see her. Then I left hastily with Damon and Silva, as they wished to return to their country estate.”
“Oh.” He chuckled and glanced down at his feet.
“What?”
“Nothing…it was a rather…long letter.”
“What did it say?”
“It matters not.”
“Then it still would not have been a good enough reason for why you left as you did. I know our connection was brief—”
“What does that mean? Brief in what capacity?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words did not come. Again, I did not wish to look at him. It took far too long for me to reply, and he made it worse by waiting. In fact, his stare angered me.
“I am not so naïve that I don’t know that…gentlemen…men sometimes become infatuated and then lose interest—”
“You think my feelings are so fickle?” He was now angry at me.
“I am choosing not to think of your feelings as you chose not to think of mine.”
“All that consumes me is you,” he declared, his eyes wide. “I left London out of fear of what could become of you—”
“I did not ask you to.”
“Verity, the situation was precarious—”
“But you did not even allow the dust to settle before leaving. What if we had been exposed? I waited for that news, waiting for all of the ton to call me a trollop, for Lady Monthermer to break down in horror and shock at my behavior. I did not sleep, nor did I eat. I merely waited, terrified of what was to come. But do you know what never came to mind? Regret. I did not regret taking your hand that day. I only wished we had not gotten caught. I was prepared to say that to anyone. I was prepared to face the punishment for it…And you, you had already left me.”
“Forgive me,” he begged.
“We ought not to get caught once more, Dr. Darrington. Good day,” I said, walking past him to the door.
“Verity, I came here for you, and I will not leave until you are my wife.”
“Then I suggest you purchase land, as you will need someplace to wait out your days.”
“Fine,” he said, his voice stopping me from going. “If you wish for me to live here, I will do so. I will do whatever you ask of me except leave again.”
I heard his steps behind me. He was so close, and I held my breath.
“Verity, there are a thousand words I could use to describe my feelings for you. I dream of you night and day. You are everything to me,” he whispered, his hand upon my waist as he turned me to face him. “I came here because nothing in this world is greater than my desire for you. I am prepared to fight anyone who stands in my way—to my dying breath.”
I swallowed hard, unable to look away from his eyes.
“Say the word, tell me you will have me, and I will go to your brother now—”
