“London is a very big place.”
“I know, and I shouldn’t have come, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was so scared, and I’ve been acting like a dunce.”
“If you had money,” he asked, “how did you wind up so bedraggled?”
“I was robbed! And all my belongings were stolen!”
“Oh, no.”
“When I strolled by your gambling club—quite by accident, I might add—I was at the end of my rope.”
“We’re lucky you arrived before your calamity grew any worse. You should have sought me out sooner, you silly girl.”
“Yes, but as I mentioned, I haven’t been thinking clearly. I’ve made one bad choice after the next. I’d given up and was heading home. I decided I’d be better off in an asylum than wandering the streets with no funds and no friends.”
“I missed you,” he admitted. “I almost traveled to Grey’s Corner a hundred times to fetch you away.”
“I missed you too, and I still can’t believe you abandoned me there.”
“I am very stubborn, but I should have listened to you. It’s blatantly obvious that you have no ability to take care of yourself. You’re not a woman who should be left to her own devices.”
“In light of the disasters I’ve experienced, I have to agree with you.”
“I don’t dare let you out of my sight ever again.”
He climbed onto the mattress and nestled her to his chest. They were quiet, lost in thought, then she said, “I don’t know what to do now.”
“You don’t have to figure it out immediately.”
“I don’t have a penny to my name, and I don’t have a stitch of clothing. I’m an indigent beggar.”
“Sybil dug up a few garments for you. They’ll be fine for tomorrow, then we’ll buy you what else you require.”
“I hate that I’ve imposed.”
“You haven’t imposed. I’ve recently earned an obscene fortune. I can afford to purchase a gown or two for you.”
She chuckled at that. “I’m so relieved that I’m here, but I’m afraid of my uncle. What if he finds me? Could he yank me away from you? Could he force you to hand me over?”
“I would never permit it. I swear it to you on my life.” He stated the vow firmly, vehemently, and he truly meant it. He’d murder Samson Grey before he’d allow him to move against her. “Don’t fret about it. I want you to rest and recuperate. At the moment, that should be your only concern.”
“Why is he so adamant that I wed Gregory?” she asked. “It’s been vexing me. What is your opinion? His behavior is so bizarre, and I’ve been driving myself mad, trying to deduce their reasoning.”
“I have no idea, and we’re not debating it tonight. Stop worrying. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir.”
She gave a mock salute, and it had him laughing, but also wondering if he was about to marry her. Was that what was approaching? Were his bachelor days over? For once, the prospect didn’t sound quite so terrifying.
They were quiet again, and she yawned.
“I feel as if I haven’t slept in a year,” she said. “I’m exhausted.”
“It’s the stress you’ve endured, but with me watching over you, your condition will improve quickly.”
“I’d like to chat until dawn, but I can’t manage it.”
“You don’t have to stay awake. Why don’t you snuggle under the covers? I’m betting you’ll nod off in an instant.”
He lifted the blankets so she could scoot farther down, and he tucked her in as if she were a toddler. They stared for an eternity, neither of them ready to part, and finally, she asked, “Would you sit with me? Just until I doze off? I’m so accursedly skittish, and I can’t bear to be alone.”
Affection rocked him. “Of course I’ll sit with you. I can tarry until dawn if you need me to.”
There was a candle on the table by the bed, and he blew it out. The moon was shining in the window, so it wasn’t completely dark. In the moonlight, she looked small and defenseless, and her vulnerability stoked his male impulses so he yearned to keep her safe from harm, to protect her forever.
He stretched out next to her, and he pulled her into his arms, listening as her breathing slowed.
He thought she was asleep, but she murmured, “Did you hear my old friend, Libby Carstairs, was arrested?”
“The whole kingdom heard.”
“I went to the prison as she was being released, but I couldn’t get close to her.”
“She was released?”
“Yes. Earlier today.”
“I almost went myself, to post her bail. I’ve never met her, but I have such a connection to her—because of my father.”
“You couldn’t have spoken to her. There were tons of charlatans who tried, and the guards were wary of everyone who inquired.”
“Maybe after matters calm for you, we’ll seek her out together. We’ll introduce ourselves.”
“I’d like that.” She was silent for a bit, then she mumbled, “I’m happy.”
“I’m happy too.”
She fit by his side perfectly, as if she’d been created to lie there and no place else in the world. Fate certainly seemed to think she belonged right where she was. His father’s ghost too.
He’d walked away from her once. He couldn’t do it again.
Caroline slowly drifted awake, and she didn’t panic, didn’t peer about nervously in order to recall where she was. She knew: She was at Caleb’s home in London. She was in a guest bedchamber, and he was snuggled under the blankets with her.
When she’d initially climbed into the bed, she’d been wearing a robe, but the belt had come loose. The lapels were open, her nude torso pressed to his clothes.
She stared at the ceiling, her mind awhirl as she tried to deduce her opinion about her predicament. She should have leapt up and demanded he depart immediately, but she was delighted to remain right where she was.
She wondered what would happen with them. From the moment they’d met, it had seemed as if they
