Page 44 of Worth Any Price
He lifted her against his body, his face rubbing into the cool dampness of her hair. His beguiling mouth found her neck. “Oh, yes, you are,” he said. “It’s going to require a great deal of time and effort to debauch you completely.”
“I have every faith you’ll succeed,” she said, and sat before a plate loaded with ham, vegetable pudding, potatoes, and open-faced tarts.
“To our marriage,” Nick said, pouring a glass of wine for her. “May it continue in a better vein than it started.”
They raised their glasses and clinked the crystal gently. Lottie sipped cautiously, discovering a rich, spicy flavor that balanced the saltiness of the ham.
Setting his glass aside, Nick took her hand in his and regarded her bare fingers thoughtfully.“You have no ring. I’m going to remedy that tomorrow.”
Lottie experienced a shameful spark of interest in the idea. She had never owned a piece of jewelry. However, it had been drilled into her at Maidstone’s that a lady should avoid the appearance of acquisitiveness. She managed to adopt an impassive expression that would have pleased her former teachers excessively. “It isn’t necessary,” she said. “Many married women do not wear rings.”
“I want anyone who looks at you to know that you’re taken.”
Lottie gave him a brilliant smile. “If you insist, I suppose I can’t stop you.”
He grinned at her obvious eagerness. His thumb brushed over the fine points of her knuckles. “What kind of stone would you like?”
“A sapphire?” she suggested hopefully.
“A sapphire it is.” He kept her hand as they talked, absently toying with the tips of her fingers and the close-trimmed crescents of her nails. “I suspect you’ll want to see your family soon.”
Lottie’s attention was immediately diverted from the subject of the ring. “Yes, please. I fear that Lord Radnor may have already told my parents about what I’ve done. And I don’t want them to worry that they’ll be left destitute now that I have married someone else.”
“There is no need to look so guilty,” Nick said, tracing the thin veins inside of her wrist. “You had no part in making the bargain—it wasn’t your fault that you didn’t wish to uphold it.”
“But I benefitted from it,” Lottie pointed outreluctantly. “All those years at Maidstone’s... my education cost a great deal. And now Lord Radnor has nothing in return.”
He arched a dark brow. “If your point is that Radnor has been ill used—”
“No, it’s not that, precisely. It’s just... well, I didn’t do the honorable thing.”
“Yes, no doubt you should have fallen on the sword for the rest of the family,” he said sardonically. “But your parents will be just as well served this way. I couldn’t possibly be a worse son-in-law than Radnor.”
“You are certainly preferable as a husband,” she said.
He smiled at that, lifting her fingers to his mouth. “You would preferanyoneto Radnor as a husband—you’ve made that quite clear.”
Lottie smiled, thinking privately that in marrying Nick, she had ended up with a far different husband than she had expected. “What will you do tomorrow?” she asked, remembering their earlier confrontation with Sir Ross. She was certain that Nick would not relinquish his position at Bow Street without objection.
Releasing her hand, Nick frowned. “I’m going to visit Morgan.”
“Do you think that he will take your side against Sir Ross’s?”
“Not a chance in hell. But I’ll at least have the satisfaction of telling Morgan what a damned rotten traitor he is.”
Lottie leaned forward to touch the lapel of his robe. “Have you considered the possibility that they both are doing what they think is best foryou? That it might be in your own interests to reclaim the title?”
“How could it be? My God, I’ll be living in a gilded cage.”
“I’ll be there with you.”
He stared at her, seemingly arrested by the words. He looked at her so intensely, for so long, that Lottie was finally moved to ask, “What? What are you thinking?”
Nick smiled without humor. “I was just reflecting on how much better prepared you are for my life than I am.”
Although Lottie had tentatively invited him to stay the night with her, Nick left after supper, retreating to the guest room a few doors away.
I’ll be there with you.Her words had affected Nick curiously, just as her casual remarks at the wishing well had. She possessed a terrible knack of unraveling him with a simple phrase... words so commonplace, and yet invested with significance.
