CHAPTER 3
FOR ALL SYD’Sforward thinking bluster and supposed independence, Octavian could see she was appalled to be found in his bedchamber by his staff the following morning. There was no help for it now. A select few had to be told since he was not going to have her don those boy’s clothes she was wearing last night and try to sneak her out pretending she was a lad. She needed proper gowns to wear once they were on the road, and the Huntsford housekeeper would immediately notice if the so-calledladstarted pulling out gowns from Adela’s wardrobe.
Nor did Octavian intend to drag Syd in front of a blacksmith and ask the man to marry them while she was garbed as a boy. She needed a pretty gown for her wedding day. As for her shame, she would be returning as his wife and her supposedly scandalous behavior would quickly be forgotten.
That she took it so hard surprised him.
Syd was tough, but he was seeing this very feminine side of her now, this traditional and genteel side she usually took great pains to hide. He liked it very much, but it also made him ache for her because she now felt so much shame in spending the night with him.
He was a dolt for not thinking twice about it last night.
But what could he have done differently?
No one was going to protect her as ably as he could. Nor did he trust her to stay put and not run back to her father, which was the reason he had insisted on their sharing quarters in the first place.
“Syd,” he said quietly, “you know you can always rely on me. I will protect you from anyone and anything.” This is what he keptassuring her in the hope she did not decide to cast aside their plans and run back to her father.
Or she might simply decide to run off on her own.
Syd on the loose was a dangerous thing.
“I am fine,” she insisted, holding herself so stiffly Octavian was certain she would crack. “You needn’t worry that I will suddenly disappear. I’ve agreed to our make-believe marriage.”
“Good, because everything will be all right. I promise you.” He requested the assistance of the housekeeper in packing a few of Adela’s clothes for Syd. The housekeeper, Mrs. Quinn, was an efficient woman with decades of experience in the role. She next brought in Adela’s personal maid to assist her, as expected.
Adela’s maid chose well, he decided when Syd met him in the hall after washing and dressing in the duchess quarters while he did the same for himself in his own bedchamber. The soft rose color of her travel attire suited her complexion, although she was still too wan for his liking.
The gown molded delightfully to her body, but he tried his best not to gawk. It was not as though he could see much of her soft skin since the gown had a matching jacket that Syd had now buttoned to her throat. “You look lovely, by the way.”
“Thank you, Octavian.” She was obviously surprised, and also unsettled as the housekeeper and Adela’s maid looked on while he spoke to her.
She was still suffering doubts about everything, he realized.
Was this the same brash, confident girl who had pushed him off the roof last night?
To his mind, that midnight excursion of hers was far more perilous than being caught in his bedchamber. Was it not clear to his valet and anyone else who poked their head in that the bed had been occupied by only one person? The pallet was still on the floor by the fireplace and he had left it there on purposein order to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that they had not shared the bed.
Well, Syd always was that odd mix of independent firebrand and conventional lady. One never knew which side would come out in any given situation, but it was usually the firebrand. Why was that hotheaded girl missing today?
Perhaps he was the one who was clueless about women, having himself been raised in a family of all males. He had only courted a few young ladies and only halfheartedly at that before losing interest. His latest had been Lady Clementine Renfield, daughter of the Duke of Renfield, a beautiful debutante with an angel’s smile but a devil’s scheming heart.
Quietly extricating himself from that arrangement had proved thorny despite the passage of months, for Clementine was prideful and vengeful. He hoped his time in Scotland would give her the opportunity to move on and find someone else to marry.
Nor did he care if the gossip rags reported she had rejected him, which they would report because the vain girl was not going to let him walk away without dishing out a dose of humiliation.
Whatever it took to escape her clutches was worth it.
Syd also had her pride, but it was different. There was not a mean bone in her body. In truth, she was too loyal, too compassionate, and too eager to sacrifice everything for those she loved.
In their own way, both young ladies were hard to handle. For this reason, Octavian satisfied himself with casual dalliances where no commitments were required.
Not that any of it mattered now.
Once he married Syd, there would be no cheating on his part.
“Come have a bite, Syd.” He was eager to grab a little sustenance before they got on the road.
Syd stared in dismay at the tray the housekeeper had just brought in and set atop his desk. “I’m not sure I can hold anything down.”
