Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
The next evening, Priscilla sat next to Wyatt at the dining table of the Duke and Duchess of Durham, attempting not to grin like a fool.
His hand clasped hers under the table, as conversation swirled about them.
If her friends had reservations, no one spoke them as they asked a series of casual questions to the viscount.
“Where is your country estate?”
“How is the hunting?”
“I heard you box, do you have a club you prefer?” This from Brax. Twenty minutes later, the men still discussed the topic, only growing more animated and everyone seemed to relax with the newfound comradery.
Wyatt, while participating wholeheartedly, gazed to Priscilla often. Finally, as the conversation turned away from him, he leaned close to Priscilla. “How’d you manage to escape your guardian?”
A flush rose in her cheeks for a different reason. Irritation at Eugene. “Brax had to pay Eugene a visit and demand he allow me to attend. Eugene attempted to refuse, but Brax reminded him that he was not allowed to keep me prisoner and it was within Brax’s ability to tell him so.”
Wyatt glanced down at the duke. “A man who knows how to wield power.” Wyatt watched the other man. “He’s willing to use that power to protect you should you need it?”
She tugged his hand under the table. “I think so. He loves Mona and does what pleases her. I’ve never seen a man more smitten.”
Wyatt’s features relaxed again. “I’m glad to hear it and appreciative of the fact that he extends his kindness and uses his superior station to protect ladies who need it.”
“He does.” She tightened her grip on his hand. “I hope he doesn’t actually need to become more involved. It’s more than I should ask of him.” Then she cleared her throat. “Is it true that you need to leave early this evening?”
He gave a quick nod. “Apologies. Business that I couldn’t reschedule.”
She attempted not to show her disappointment. “Of course. I’m glad you could come.”
“Me too. It was very kind of your friends to host this so that we might have an opportunity to see one another again.”
It had been. And seeing her here with them, she understood her thoughts on him in ways she hadn’t before. He fit with them, all of them.
From Mona’s imposing duke, to Alexi’s reformed baron, Wyatt was a man like them. Strong and independent.
And she grew more certain that with him was exactly where she needed to be. Wyatt was the right choice for her.
She swallowed, moving closer still. How they must look, heads bent together. “I was the one who requested more time but I think that each time we see each other, I grow more certain.”
He gave her that one-sided smile that sent her stomach plummeting to her toes. “You think you’re going to accept my offer?”
She gave a nod, hardly able to keep her eyes from dancing with excitement. “Are you still offering?”
He loosened his fingers from hers only to slide his hand up her arm. Tingles danced all through her. “Of course, I am. Priscilla,” he breathed in her ear, “I’ll apply for the license tomorrow if you’re sure.”
She gave a quick nod and he leaned away again. But as she lifted her head, she realized that conversation had quieted and everyone stared at them.
A flush rose in her cheeks, but Brax only chuckled, raising his glass to them both.
Soon, the meal finished and the ladies rose, leaving the men to smoke their cigars.
But as Priscilla made her way down the hall, lingering at the back of the group, Wyatt appeared next to her.
He pulled Priscilla to a stop as the other ladies continued on without her, leaving them alone in the hall. “Wait a moment,” he whispered.
“They’ll notice,” she said, looking at her friends’ backs before they disappeared around a corner.
He gave her a small wink. “Yes. But you’ll also be announcing our engagement.”
“True.” Heat rose in her cheeks as his fingers reached up to brush along her hairline.
“Not that I wish to rush you.” He leaned down, brushing the lightest kiss along her temple. His fingertips skimmed along her cheek and she shivered at the tingling sensation spreading through her. “But I didn’t want to leave tonight before we’d discussed the next steps.”
“Next steps?”
“How are you going to announce our engagement while still living under Eugene’s roof? We both know, the situation might prove tricky.”
Warmth like she had never known was spreading through her as his mouth placed a trail of kisses down her cheek. “I see your point.”
And then his mouth pressed to hers.
It was soft, and light, and so achingly sweet, his fingers still lightly resting on her face when he lifted his mouth from hers, every fiber of her being cried out for another.
“Speak with your mother about our decision. Perhaps we can all come to an agreement?”
She nodded, her chin moving a bit despite the fact that her gaze was riveted to his. She’d never kissed a man before, never dreamed that it would be so…consuming. She brought up her shaking hand to rest on the lapel of his coat. “I will.”
“Priscilla,” he said his thumb grazing over her bottom lip. It sent another shower of tingles rippling through her.
“Yes?” she asked, swaying closer until her body was nearly touching his.
“I will care for you. I swear it.”
Had she hurt his feelings with her earlier doubt and her hesitation in accepting his proposal?
But she didn’t ask as he leaned down and kissed her again, his lips lingering for several seconds before he finally pulled away.
“I’ll send word to your mother tomorrow so that we can find a time and place for the three of us to meet.
I wish to ask her permission, before we formalize our arrangement. ”
And then he was gone.
Priscilla slumped against the wall, not certain her feet would carry her to the music room.
Had she considered saying no to this man?
In this moment, she could not think of a single reason she might…
* * *
Wyatt rubbed at bleary eyes despite the sun that shone brightly in the sky.
He’d hardly slept last night.
But in the end, he and Ralph had managed to send the entire ring of thieves to Scotland Yard.
And he’d arranged to see Priscilla and her mother. The ladies would walk in the park just across from their home and he’d meet them on the other side in the quiet corner where the trees and bushes should block them from view.
His goal today was to convince Priscilla to elope with him. If that failed, then he’d visit the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury to obtain a special license.
Ralph could take care of the Bushy Hero’s business in London.
His hand tightened on the quill he held. Ralph’s words from two nights prior swirled about his thoughts.
Why was the fight so important to him and why did he attempt to keep distance between him and Priscilla? He hadn’t answered Ralph last night but the more he thought on it, the more he wondered.
There was a part of him that wanted Priscilla so much he ached from it but another…
It wasn’t just that he needed to defend her or even himself. If he stopped the fight and focused on her, how long, when she had all of him, would she continue to want him? He scrubbed a hand through his hair.
Still, if they eloped now, she’d not have time to change her mind.
He ran a hand across the back of his neck. That’s not why he’d make the offer. He’d elope to help her evade her cousin.
He rose from the desk, tossing down the pen as he did so. He had some decisions to make now that she’d consented to the match.
Would he continue with his nightly activities? Tell her about them? And what of his past?
Once they were married, she couldn’t leave when she learned just how broken he was. Could she?
He left the room, making his way out to the carriage house. He’d attached several punching bags and pull up bars for training, and despite his exhaustion, he stripped off his jacket, vest, and cravat and began to jab at the bag.
He shouldn’t be considering telling her anything. A match of convenience was all this was supposed to be.
But as he hit, he knew that despite trying to keep his distance, Priscilla had been drawing him in like a spider’s web. And that kiss…
Her lips under his had started a riot of need inside him.
He hit the bag harder. Thump. Thump. Thump. The steady beat of it cleared his mind as he hit even as his knuckles began to throb in pain.
He couldn’t continue to masquerade after their wedding. She’d find him out in a night or two.
What did that leave him? Did he ask Ralph for advice?
The man would gloat horribly.
But as he hit the bag several more times, he realized it was time. Time to face some of the thoughts and feelings he’d been avoiding for a very long time.
That was the moment that the side door opened and Ralph stepped inside. “I thought you weren’t training today.”
He shrugged. “I wasn’t planning on it. But Priscilla consented to be my wife last night and…”
“That makes you want to hit things?”
He dropped his fists glaring at Ralph. “Could we have a real conversation here?”
Ralph shrugged. “Felt real enough to me.”
He lifted his fists again, taking a solid swing at the bag. “A woman has left me, you know.”
“So what?” Ralph said as he came behind to hold the bag for Wyatt. “Which man among us hasn’t had a woman leave us at one point or another?”
“I’m a bloody titled viscount and we were engaged. She left because something is seriously—” He stopped. Did he confess that he was broken inside?
“Are we discussing your scar? It’s kind of dashing in its own way.”
“Did you just call me dashing? Are you ill?”
Ralph grinned at that. “No. No injuries. So it begs the question of why you think she left?”
Wyatt ceased hitting the bag, his body suddenly feeling spent as he rested his hands on his hips, looking down at the floor. “It’s not the outside that’s broken.”
Ralph straightened too. “This is about him…isn’t it?”
They didn’t need to say his name to know of whom they spoke. “He never loved me. I’m not sure he even liked me. I know you feel it too, Ralph. I know you’re focusing on my future so as not to think on your own—”
Ralph pushed off the bag making it swing into Wyatt’s chest. He reached up to keep it from swinging anymore.
Ralph stepped closer, raising his finger in Wyatt’s face.
“He didn’t like anyone. He was an angry troll who beat me for the same reason he kept me.
Because he was a selfish ass. It had nothing to do with you or with me.
The man hated himself and so none of us measured up. ”
“That all might be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know how to open up. I keep myself apart. That’s the real reason Angela ended our engagement. I’ve no idea how to give affection or receive it in return.”
“I don’t know. As brothers go, I think you’re all right.”
“You’re not a woman, much as I accuse you of being like one on a regular basis.”
Ralph rolled his eyes. “And Priscilla’s got a great deal more tenacity underneath that quiet surface than Angela ever did. You ought to give her a real chance.”
“Can I ask you a question? Are you giving your future a real chance?”
Ralph hit the bag with a good uppercut, making Wyatt grunt with the effort of holding the bag. “We’re not talking about me. We’re discussing you; and a word of advice, start by being honest.”
“Honest, huh? You think that’s how you love someone? By telling the truth?” It couldn’t be that easy, but then again, Priscilla had prodded him to share more. Perhaps it was fundamental to a relationship. “Should I tell her about my nightly activities as a criminal?”
“About everything.”
“What if I scare her away with all that?”
Ralph shook his head a look of disgust crinkling his features. “At least you’ll know.”
He would know. And he had to trust Priscilla. She’d known real suffering with all she’d been through. Would she understand if he told her about his past and the rejection he’d faced? Or would he only push her further away?