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“Shall I invite them?” she asked, wondering when she’d become so bold. It wasn’t her nature at all, but then again, he didn’t seem angered in the least. On the contrary, he enjoyed every prickly word she was saying and that was somehow freeing.
He laughed again. “Please don’t. It grows tiresome.”
“How difficult for you. Women turning themselves inside out to spend time with you.” He was smiling in such a way that he didn’t appear to mind her barbs at all. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying them. Something in her rose, filled her with a buoyancy she’d never experienced before.
“Not with me. With an earl. It’s different.”
That was likely true and a sentiment she could understand. Too often she was told how lovely a personality she had when she’d not even said a word. Those people didn’t like her, but the absence of her. “I see.”
“Do you?”
She didn’t answer, because this was not a man to share her secrets with. So instead, she looked up into the sky, the crescent moon glowing bright as she let out a breath that filled the air with a cloud of vapor. “You can rest assured, my lord, that I do not wish to spend time with you just because you are an earl.”
“Do you wish to spend time with me at all?”
Her jaw hardened, she gave her head a soft shake. “Forgive me, but no. I don’t think it’s wise.”
“Why?”
“I already told you. Because I am a little mouse, and you are a dangerous cat.”
He laughed again. “I see. Well, if I may, I’d like to prove that I am a cat without claws. Would you give me that chance at least?”
She drew in a shuddering breath. It was a bad idea. “No. I don’t think so.”
He turned toward her, his brow drawn together as he assessed her. “Why not?”
Her tongue darted out to lick her cold lips while she considered her answer. But the moment it began moving over her upper lip, she felt the intensity of his stare, and she quickly pulled her tongue back into her mouth. “Because.”
“Why?”
What did she say? I can already tell you’re more man than I could ever handle? That would only encourage him to use his strength to force her into the position of his choosing. Thinking quickly, she attempted to say something that might put him off completely. “Your drinking, for one. I don’t like it.”
She heard him rumble. She had every right to say the words. He’d ruined her favorite dress.
“You don’t like my drinking.”
She’d seen him tonight, at dinner. He’d had several glasses of wine, then port, a whiskey before the meal had even begun. And suddenly she knew exactly how to rid herself of this man. “I’ll make a bargain with you. A wager, if you will.”
“A wager?”
“Yes. You don’t drink for an entire week, and I’ll reconsider.”
“A week of not drinking and then you’ll reconsider spending time with me?”
“That’s right,” she answered, knowing full well that she’d never see the earl again.
But he cocked his head to the side. “I’ll need something more concrete than that. If I go a full week without drinking, then you will allow me to court you.”
“Court me?” Her heart stuttered in her chest. “You’re serious?”
“As the plague,” he answered, raising his hand as though taking an oath.
She would never marry him, she promised herself that no matter what her mother wished, she’d not succumb to the earl. She wanted love, but if she were going to be forced into a match, it would not be with a man so…dangerous. Even she had her sticking points.
But if he could go without drinking and if he courted her, perhaps…perhaps he might help her complete some of the items on her list and then maybe, she’d find a bit of herself before she was lost to her mother’s choice of husband. “I accept.”
CHAPTER THREE
