Page 126 of Snowbound Surrender
“Lord Oxford.”
“Hunter.”
“Well,” Lavinia said after a moment of silence, while she looked back and forth between them. “I think I should probably go. I’m sure the two of you have much to discuss.”
“Please stay,” Scarlett said, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice. “In fact, we actually saw one another last night when Hunt— Lord Oxford arrived, so there is no need for you to go.”
“Last night? I was here until well past dinner. What time did you get in, Hunter?” Lavinia asked.
“Just after midnight.”
“Oh!” Lavinia’s cheeks reddened as she mistakenly assumed the nature of their meeting. “Then you— that’s wonderful! Well, not that I should be saying a thing, I simply hoped — well…”
Scarlett saved her from her rambling. “Lord Oxford and I scarcely said hello, Nia. I was reading in the library and Lord Oxford … happened upon me.”
“I see,” she said, an eyebrow still raised. “Well, ah, yes, I should be going then. Goodbye!”
And then with a flounce of her skirts, she was gone, leaving the two of them to stare at one another awkwardly.
Hunter cleared his throat and walked to the sideboard, loading a plate with ham, eggs, and toast. He poured himself a coffee and sat down across from Scarlett, who simply watched him. He moved gracefully, despite his height and solid frame. She watched as he buttered his bread and stirred sugar into his coffee before lifting the cup to his mouth.
“See something interesting?” he asked, and she jumped, startled out of her reverie.
Good Lord, Scarlett, get it together.This was the last thing she wanted — to be inexplicably attracted to the man she was trying so hard to distance herself from. What if she came too close, if she not only developed feelings for him beyond attraction, but eventually fell in love with him? Unfortunately, she knew all too well what the end result would be. He would be back in London, the city she hated, living his life alone, freefrom her, while she pined away here at Wintervale, her previous enjoyable life now filled with despair.
“Nothing at all,” she finally drawled back, hopeful that he didn’t notice how nervous she was. She needed to get out of here. She placed her hands on the table to push back her chair, but he held up a finger to halt her.
“Scarlett,” he said, playing with her name. “There is something we must discuss. Something that Lavinia touched upon.”
“Yes?”
“You have made it clear you want little to do with me. However, the fact of the matter is, we are married, and I am in line to become a marquess one day. We need children, Scarlett, you must realize that.”
She swallowed hard. She shouldn’t be surprised by his words. As he said, they were married, and that was what was expected. And yet, the thought of him in her bed … well, actually the thought of him in her bed was not altogether an unpleasant one, and that is what scared her the most.
“I think … there are a few things we must first determine before it comes to that,” she said, doing her best to maintain her composure.
“And those would be?” He raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. His curls were haphazardly skewed around his head, and Scarlett felt a strange urge to lean forward and run her hands over them, but, of course, she restrained herself.
“Where would we raise said children? You spend all of your time in London, and I have no wish to live there.”
“What’s wrong with London?”
“It’s so … dirty,” she said, which was partly the truth. “Everyone is so close together all the time, and there is no freedom.”
“You value your freedom,” he observed.
“I do,” she said, leaning forward. “More than you know.”
“Very well,” he said, waving a hand out in front of him. “Raise them here. I enjoy Wintervale and will come home as often as possible.”
“As you have these past few months?”
“Come, Scarlett, that is hardly fair. You all but pushed me from the house.”
She looked down at her plate. He was right. She had been an absolute fiend to him. In trying to protect herself, she had made him believe that she was a monster, one he couldn’t even live with. Whatever was she to do?
Despite feeling like a coward, she chose not to respond to his last statement.
