She’d grown quite good over the years and truth be told, she enjoyed the endeavor. It left her free to think as she worked, and she’d sorted out a great many feelings as her hands moved. Now she needed the activity more than ever. “Might I stop in the next village and pick up a few supplies?” she asked.
“Of course,” he answered, turning from the window to look at her. “What do you need?”
“Just an embroidery needle and thread and—”
“Done.” He waved his hand as his eyes travelled to her veil. “Did you do the work on your veil?”
She smiled down at the sheer fabric, intricately adorned with a scalloped pattern. “I did.”
He held out his hand. “May I?”
A flush of pleasure heated her cheeks once again as she handed it over. Few people had ever shown an interest and the fact that he had… “I find the work relaxes me, especially when I’m tense.”
He nodded. “The detail is stunning.” He gave her back the cloth. “Perhaps you could do a few of my neck squares?”
“Of course,” she said but she lowered her head. That was a task usually relegated to a wife. And while she owed him a large debt of gratitude, the lines of proper behavior were completely and utterly blurred during this trip. “How much time do I have to work on a design before we reach your home? Wherever that is.”
He cleared his throat. “We’re beginning on the questions I see. Well done, by the way. You really slipped that one into the conversation nicely.”
“Thank you,” she said, then grinned as she peeked at him through her lashes. He was so pleasant to talk with.
“We’re going to my estate, Heartwell, just south of Cromer, on the east coast. It will take us all of today and most of tomorrow. We’re lucky. The weather has held, and the roads aren’t too bad.”
She nodded. “And when will we return to London?”
He hesitated then, his chin tucking lower as he examined his hands before answering. “I’m not certain. Maybe six months.”
“Six months?” Her jaw dropped. “I’m to stay with you for six months?”
He lifted a shoulder, scrubbing along his jaw with his open hand. “I think Isabella and Bash will join us at some point.”
Confusion clouded her mind as she attempted to understand. Why would Bash send her away for so long? “When? Why wouldn’t I return with them? Are they staying with you too?”
She saw his mouth twitch down, his face tensing. “They’ll stay for a time.”
She clutched her fists in the folds of her dress. He was being evasive again.
Which, as far as bad habits went, it was one she could tolerate. It was a far cry better than what she’d grown up with. But she was tired of the shroud in front of her eyes and she didn’t mean the mourning veil. Their conversations often went in circles. “Just tell me what you’ve been dancing around.”
He drew in a deep breath. “Bash and I negotiated a settlement before I came to fetch you last night.”
Dread settled in the pit of her stomach. “Settlement?”
He pushed forward from his seat, his knees touching hers even as he reached out. She didn’t extend her hands, instead she kept them pressed into her skirts, but he gently separated them and held her fingers in his.
“Avery,” he said, drawing in a deep breath.
He’d yet to use her given name, and the fact he did now made her shift in her seat with discomfort. Whatever he was about to say was important. “Yes?” she whispered.
“It was a settlement for marriage.”
She blinked, staring at him. Her mind had gone numb. “Marriage?”
He gave her another of those soft smiles. “Yes. Marriage. I appreciate your surprise. With most women marrying an earl would have been the first thought that occurred to them when we were alone.”
That was true. And it should have occurred to her. If she hadn’t been so set on not marrying, she might have realized that Bash would never have allowed her to leave his home with this man without a contract in place. “You shouldn’t.”
“Shouldn’t?” he asked as he laced his fingers through hers. His touch was a comfort that she shouldn’t indulge in, it confused her. His words were what upset her, why should his touch be the cure? “Shouldn’t appreciate you?”
“Well that too,” she huffed, attempting to pull her hands from his. He held firm. “You shouldn’t want to marry me.”
His brow furrowed. “Why not? You’re accomplished, attractive. Your family connections are suitable.”
She picked around the edges of what was wrong with his statement. Something was off but her thoughts weren’t working correctly. She wished he’d stop touching her now. Had she thought it a comfort? In actuality it was a distraction, and it muddled her mind. She looked away, willing the fog in her head to clear. He had some affect on her that confused her thoughts.
She drew in a breath. Then it hit her. “But you agreed to marry me before we’d even met.”
He dropped her hands. “I did.”
“Why?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to—”
She tsked. “Let me guess. You don’t wish to discuss it.” Free from his touch, her mind began to turn again. She didn’t look at him, it was almost as distracting. No matter his expression, she was drawn to him.
He drew in a shuddering breath. “I don’t.”
She nodded. “That’s fine. I don’t really wish to discuss it either.”
“What,” he said, surprise lacing the single word. “You don’t?”
“No.”
“Why not?” he asked. She looked down at her lap, still avoiding his gaze but noted that his knees were still incredibly close to hers. If she pushed forward the
