Page 64 of Romancing the Rifleman
Then there was his decision not to sign those annulment papers.At the time, he had felt that signing them would be an insult, signaling that he had no wish to continue their marriage.But the papers wouldn’t be legal unless Diana signed them, too.What if shewantedto end their marriage, in light of his desertion?Considered another way, signing those papers would have given her options.Isn’t that what he had said he wanted to do?
Splendid.Now she had another reason to despise him…
They were sailing past the East India Docks when Inge lifted her head.She held perfectly still for a moment, scenting the air, then scrambled to her feet and went bounding across the deck.
Perfect.Even his dog had deserted him.
That was when he heard it—a feminine laugh.“Inge!Braver Hund.I’ve been looking all over for you!”
Harrington watched in disbelief as Inge returned, trailed by… his wife?
“Diana?”He scrambled to his feet.“What…?How…?”
She smiled up at him, which seemed odd.Didn’t she hate him?“I returned Lucy and your mother to Astley House a quarter of an hour after you departed.Your brother told me what happened.I had to make a quick dash back to Latimer House to collect my trunk, and then I came straight here.”She laughed.“It was a near thing—they were pulling up the gangway when I arrived.I had to shout at them to put it back down.”
He shook himself.“But… the captain said there was no room.That the cabins were all spoken for.”
She lifted her chin, her face falling into a characteristically insouciant expression.“What is the point of being the richest heiress in all of England if I can’t even bribe my way onto a ship?”
“Bribe?”Harrington said dumbly.His poor brain was still having trouble processing the fact that she was here.
She shrugged a negligent shoulder.“I paid the first mate a handsome fee for surrendering his cabin.But I suspect Captain Bannister would have found a place for me regardless.”A smug smile twisted her lips.“I have my ways.”
Diana was nothing if not diabolical.“Dare I ask what you mean by that?”
She clutched his sleeve, making her eyes large and tremulous.“Oh, please, sir!I can’t bear to be parted from my husband!”Her shoulders drooped, and she gave a great sniff.“We’ve scarcely been married a week!”
Harrington took an involuntary step back.“Good God.Don’t do that!”He held his palms out as if to ward her off.“It’s more than a man can take!”
Diana perked up, dropping her pathetic façade as easily as she had donned it.“True.But you must admit, it was effective.Now, have you gone and made my brother any more imprudent promises?”
“I—no.”Harrington blinked.“That is, he asked me to sign some papers annulling the marriage.But I told him, er…”
Diana’s eyes were keen.“What, exactly, did you tell him?”
“I told him to fuck off,” Harrington admitted.
She laughed, a bright, sparkling sound.“That would explain his temper.”
He squinted at her.“Aren’t you mad at me?”
“No.Why would I be?”she asked, bending down to stroke Inge’s back.
He shook himself, sure he must have heard wrong.“Because I abandoned you without a single word.”
There was sympathy in her eyes.“Yes.But, from what I heard, you didn’t have any choice in the matter.And everyone I spoke to emphasized the fact that you spent all afternoon riding around Mayfair searching for me.”
He rubbed the back of his head.“Did they use the wordpatheticto describe me?”
She wrinkled her nose.“Only once or twice.”
He ran a hand across his face.“Perfect.”
“Harrington!”She laughed, tugging down his arm.“You’re forgetting the most important thing.”
He struggled to think.“What’s that?”
She stepped forward, jabbing him in the chest with a finger.“You are finally free of the vow you made to my brother.Which means that we are going to consummate this marriage.”
