She sighed.
He sighed.
“A plague,” they said at the same time. Then they laughed, hard, bellyaching laughs that rocked their bodies, pinched tears from their eyes, and stole breath from their lungs.
When he had enough breath, Samuel said, “Hell. I apologize, Emma. For the language, for this farce of a chase north, for my sisters… bravado, and for the, erm, thelibrary. I want to marry you. But I can’t marry you if you are not willing to take the risk, and I will understand if you are not. I will likely be miserable the rest of my life and think of you every moment and wish I’d been good enough for you, but… I will understand. Your sisters. Your own reputation as a matchmaker. They are all fragile. It is why I was considering marriage to Lady Huxley.”
She shouldn’t, but Emma laughed again, throwing her head back.
“What? What now?” He looked wildly confused.
“Lady Huxley has invited me to join a reading group, one that readsthose sortsof books.”
“She did? Were you going to join?”
“I’d not decided yet.”
“Because whether or not you join might mean… for me… for us. Emma?”
“Yes?”
“I think you should do it. Join the book club.”
“Oh? What is your reasoning, Your Grace?”
He shrugged, putting on an air of ducal distance. “No reasoning. It’s entirely up to you. Though you did seem particularly… curious last night. Witheverything. And I should hate to know your every question was not being answered, your every curiosity… satisfied.”
She sighed. “It is true I found it rather difficult to satisfy my curiosity on my own.”
“I’m always available to help.” He offered a cocky half grin she could not help but return. But then he softened, took her hands. “At least consider marrying me? Please, Emma.”
But her mind remained muddled. Her sisters’ futures… could she put her own happiness above theirs?
“Do not answer yet,” he said. “When you do answer, I want to know you do so having considered every risk. But perhaps”—he turned his head and took her lips with the possessiveness and confidence of a husband kissing his wife—“we can put the question of marriage aside for now. If it is education you want, let me help you to it.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying we have a small amount of time together before we return to London. And we have given so much of ourselves. Let us take something for once. An education. Pleasure. No answers until London, until you’re ready, and whatever we do in this moment, out of time, impacts it not at all.”
So tempting. No resisting the offer. No resisting him.
“It is raining harder than ever,” he said, his lips grazing across hers. “Lightning.”
“Hm. Quite dangerous.”
“I don’t think we should travel.”
“No, we should not.”
“Sometimes”—he whirled her around and sat her on the edge of the bed—“sisters know best.”
“I would hate for all their scheming to go to waste.” She reached for his face, brought him down for another kiss like a tiny explosion.
“It’s only being a good older sibling.” He set a knee on the bed, right next to her hip, and yanked at his cravat.
“We must do our duty.” She fell back onto the bed, and the man who loved her, her lover for the length of a thunderstorm, prowled after her.
Chapter Nineteen
