Page 6 of Grave Expectations
I was about to ask him for his theories when he suddenly stopped and turned to me. We were outside the bulky stone gate of a cemetery. Why did cemeteries always seem to feature in my life?
"We need to finish the discussion we began last night." He sported a peculiar look on his face, one that I'd never seen before. It was a mixture of earnestness and something I couldn't identify.
"Yes, of course. Go ahead."
"Charlie…" The fingers of one hand tapped against his thigh and the other rubbed his thumbnail over and over.
I caught the tapping hand in mine and he stilled. Swallowed. Was he nervous? "Lincoln, what is it? What's wrong?"
"Yesterday, when we were discussing your legal guardianship, I don't think you quite understood the implications of Holloway retaining that power over you."
"What more is there to understand? I have no possessions to hand over to him. I suppose I ought to give him a portion of the wages you pay me, but since I'll no longer be a maid at Lichfield, what does that matter?"
"He can control more than your financial matters. He can legally separate us."
Is that what worried him? Being separated? The thought warmed my heart. I liked that he was worried about losing me. "We won't let that happen. If necessary, I will go into hiding until I turn twenty-one. He can't force me to live with him unless he finds me, and then he'll have to lock me in my room. I doubt a lock has ever defeated you."
"Two years is a long time. Two years and a month, if I'm not mistaken." He opened his hands and pressed his palms to mine. "I don't want to wait that long. It's torturous enough."
I narrowed my gaze. Was he referring to intimacy? "What do you mean?"
"Do I need to spell it out to you?"
My face heated. "I, er, no. But…we don't need to wait until I'm twenty-one to do that." I looped my arms around his neck. My blood throbbed when he enveloped me in return and held me close. I touched my lips lightly to his. "We can begin tonight," I murmured against his mouth.
He pulled back, leaving me with pursed lips, kissing the air. "No, we cannot. And don't ask me to take you out of wedlock again."
I choked on my gasp. "You're talking about waiting formarriage? Lincoln, do you mean tomarryme?"
Chapter 2
Lincoln's browscrashed into a frown. "I thought I made that clear before we left London. I remember the conversation in your room the night we freed Buchanan from Bedlam."
"It wasn't entirely clear to me." My voice sounded more rigid than I intended. I was thrilled, and yet…was this real? It felt like something I'd dreamed up. "I thought that night you were talking about me becoming your mistress."
He bristled. "You…thinkthatof me? That I would destroy your virtue?"
"I…no. I suppose you wouldn't. You're an honorable man."
He grunted. "If it were honor that drove me to propose, then I would have asked many women to marry me out of concern for their reputations. I haven't. Only you."
I arched my brow. "Many?"
"Don't change the subject. I thought you knew I meant marriage."
"No. You have notaskedme to marry you."
His frown deepened. "You require a formal proposal."
"That is generally how these things happen, so I'm told. Otherwise, how am I to know that it's what you want?" Where did I get such audacity? My heart hammered so hard that I felt like my entire body throbbed. I should be a trembling, blubbering mess. He wanted tomarryme!
"Do you not know how I feel about you?"
"Lincoln…" I drew in a deep breath in an attempt to settle my raging blood. It didn't work. "You are the most complicated person I've ever met, and you usually hide what you're feeling. It's almost impossible to know your thoughts at any given time."
"It is?"
I thumped him lightly on the arm. He caught my hand and drew it to his lips. He kissed only my glove, but I felt his warmth through to my skin.
