Syd glanced around the crowded fair, obviously unhappy to be having this discussion amid sheep, goats, and other cattle, or amid the crushing crowd. Many of the fair goers were already in their cups, if the shouts and jeers from the nearby ale tent were any indication. “How about you be honest with yourself for a change and admit Lady Clementine would have been a better fit for you. A proper, biddable wife.”
“Where did that come from?” he asked, making a strangled sound of disbelief. “Surely, you are jesting. Lady Clementine would have made me miserable. Marriage to her would have been the true farce.”
She fixed her stubborn stare on him. “Men were tripping over each other to gain her attention and win her hand.”
“I wasn’t.”
She snorted. “You were first in line, Octavian. Do you forget already? It must be so convenient to have a selective memory.”
“I will not deny that I once considered her, but I just as quickly dismissed her. She was notyou.”
Syd snorted again. “Oh, yes. I am such a prize.”
“To me you are. Stop doing that, Syd. You come up with all sorts of ridiculous reasons to push me away whenever you fear we are getting too close. You are terrified you will inevitably disappoint me, and I am telling you that it will never happen.”
She turned away and started to walk off, but he took her hand and kept her close for fear of losing her in the crowd.
Perhaps one day she would agree with him when he told her that she was worthy.
Obviously, it would not be today.
It irked him how contradictory Syd could be. “Be angry with me, if you must. But stop tossing Lady Clementine’s name in my face. All right? You know there was never anything between us. She’s just a convenient cannonball you hurl at me to deflect the truth.”
She folded her arms across her chest and frowned at him. “And what is that truth?”
“That our marriage has never been make-believe. We are burned into each other’s heart. Just accept it.”
He felt awful when she practically crumbled before him. He was frustrated, but she was scared and he should have taken it easy on her today. She worked so hard to achieve all she had done despite the obstacles Society tossed in her way.
No medical school would accept her, so she had learned anatomy and the healing arts all on her own. She had mastered them to the point he would trust her before he trusted most doctors in London. Her forensic knowledge was above anyone else in the field, which was why his brother, the Duke ofHuntsford, had given her unlimited access to the Huntsford Academy’s forensic laboratory.
She was beautiful, honest, and compassionate, and yet, she saw herself as lacking.
The blame lay squarely with her parents.
To bloody hell with them.
“Are you thirsty, Syd? I think we’ve both gotten a little hot under the collar.”
She nodded. “Yes, I’d like that. I’m sorry I am being so difficult.”
“I’m no prize,” he said with a grunt. “I just want you to be happy.”
“I want the same for you,” she said softly, placing her arm in his.
“I know.” He knew she was in love with him.
Deeply and forever in love with him.
Did this not add to his frustration?
That he had not claimed her as a husband ought to claim his wife was his greatest worry. He had shown her how to satisfy him in other ways. It was not about the sexual pleasure, but about the commitment.
The sex was great.
Syd would have kicked him in the bollocks had she not desired him or wanted his touch. What she felt for him was not a mere, wanton desire but a deep and abiding love. The little hellion had a lot of passion in her, and it was all for him.
All she had to do was accept they were meant for each other.
