Page 61 of The Girl Who Fell Through Time
Dorian snorts against her thighs. “Terms first.”
“Maybe we can hug each other, instead of lying,” she tells him. “If we can’t tell each other the truth, at least let’s avoid lies.”
Dorian pulls back, smiling. “I’d like that.”
He coughs and stands up, as if suddenly realising exactly what he’s doing. He sits back down like nothing has happened.
Selene plays her next card, determined to beat him.
Work on the main bathroom is completed, and work finally begins on the new suite Selene has planned. Sensing that Dorian is attached to his own room, she leaves that be, although she has substantial plans for the bathroom, dressing room, and her own room.
“Am I to be privy to these plans?” Dorian asks over lunch.
“You are not.”
He smiles at her, and does not push.
Whilst renovations are ongoing, Selene is moved out of her own room to one of the guest suites down the hall. It’s only a few doors down from where Dorian is still sleeping, but she finds herself missing the idea of him in the room next to hers. It’s a silly thing. Ever since the two of them started spending their evenings together, he’s been sleeping better. She doesn’t have to keep an eye on him.
She’s been sleeping better, too.
She no longer wakes expecting to find herself back at Blackthorn Hall. She stops imagining the Duke’s hands on her. She dreams about him less. She lives for being awake. She suspects it will take a long time before she stops thinking about him fully.
Then, one morning, a letter arrives. It’s from the Fairmonts, inviting them to their summer ball.
“Looks like we haven’t beencompletelycast out of society,” Selene muses, passing Dorian the invitation.
“Do you wish to go?”
Selene hesitates. She remembers the ball well. It was the one where Ophelia hoped Lord Everton would propose, only he lost his courage and poor Ophelia had to wait for another month until he found it.
That aside, it was a very fun night. Selene misses balls and people and court.
She does not miss the Duke.
She cannot hide from him forever, though. Her marriage should protect her.
“Yes,” she says eventually. “I think I do.”
Dorian smiles. “Then, perhaps you would see Greta about getting me a new suit made up? She has my measurements.”
“You wish me to order you a suit?”
“I do.”
“I’m making itmagenta.”
Dorian snorts into his tea.
The next evening, when Dorian appears at her door to summon her to his room for their nightly game, Selene surprises him with a contract.
“What’s this?” Dorian asks.
“An informal marriage contract,” Selene declares. “Since we got married so quickly, we never had a chance to work out the specifics.”
Marriage contracts usually contain legalities—dowries, allowances, financial obligations and incentives. Selene knows Dorian well enough to know he’d be offended by any such things. Instead, their marriage contract contains three things.
Marriage Agreement
