God’s teeth, but this woman was pushing him to the limit.
“It’s not as though I’m likely to have another man willing to do it.”
Henry sputtered as he tried to form a reply.
“I have been thinking that I don’t want to die a virgin.”
“God’s teeth!”
She raised her brows in an innocent gesture.
“Listen, Katie.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “As tempting as that offer is, I’m not a rake. I don’t debauch virgins.”
“You could marry me.”
“And have your father cut me down with a sword?”
“I think he’s more likely to use a pistol. He has a nice pair of duel—”
“We can’t marry.”There.Best if she understood that.
“Why not? Maybe you would fall in love with me. The counter-spell did mention true love.”
“Or maybe I would go back to my old ways and gamble away the last of what I own and bring you down into destitution with me. Have you thought about that?”
Her hand was still on his chest, and she slid it up to cup his cheek. Henry wasn’t prepared for that reaction. He’d been trying to scare her away.
“I won’t let that happen, Carlisle. I won’t let you go back to your old ways. I kept you from the tables at the Bear and Boar, didn’t I? I can help you fight it again.”
Henry shook his head. “You’re wrong. I know myself. It’s only a matter of time.”
“You’rewrong. You’re stronger than you think. You can resist, and you will.”
Henry stared at her. No one had ever spoken words like that to him before. No one had ever seemed to believe in him. In the past, when he’d said he was done with the tables, his friends had laughed and wagered on how long it would be until he was back again. He’d laughed with them but secretly wondered if he might have resisted if they’d given him their support.
But, of course, this was his affliction, and his alone. He couldn’t blame his friends, and he would have no one to blame if he fell back into old habits. He just didn’t want to take Katie down with him. She was looking for an escape from her father.He understood that, in some ways, she was as trapped as he. But he couldn’t be her escape.
“You want to know why my father hates your family so much?” she said. “Before the night slips away, let’s see if we can find anything.”
“Right.” He put his hands on his hips and looked about the library, wondering where to start.
“Carlisle?”
“Hmm?” The wall of books looked promising. But perhaps the desk might be more fruitful.
“Could you put your clothes back on? You’re distracting me.”
Henry grinned at her and reached for his shirt.
An hour later, that same shirt was damp with perspiration and covered in dust. He had pulled every book off the shelves to the right of the hearth and examined the pages within. They were the same boring tomes he remembered from his childhood, and no secret documents or maps were hidden within.
“Nothing,” he said, replacing the last book on the bottom shelf. “You?”
Katie had been working on the shelves to the left of the hearth. She’d started at the bottom and worked her way up, and she hadn’t reached the top shelf yet. “Nothing yet.” She moved down the library ladder and arched, stretching her back. Henry averted his eyes, as even three hours of hard work hadn’t dulled the sharp desire he felt whenever he looked at her.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t have started with the books,” she said. “The desk might have been a better choice.”
“We’ll start there tomorrow night. I’ll come about one?”
