A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he couldn’t stop himself for blurting the words out. “You do realize that I would still want to marry you even if I wasn’t in need of funds?” he asked, his heart pounding in his chest.
Suddenly, he was hot in the otherwise cold carriage, the feel of his greatcoat heavy on his long body. The foot warmer had become lukewarm while they were in Lady Wyndam’s. Thankfully, the ride from her home to his wasn’t long at all.
Kat let out a weary sigh. “I know that.” She turned to face him. “T-that is not why I refused you,” she whispered.
Gently touching her cheek, Harrison guided her gaze to his. “Why? I know you care for me, or you did once.”
The conversation had taken a darker turn than Harrison had wanted it to, but he needed to know. By his calculations, he’d asked her to marry him seven times.
“I do care for you. You mean everything to me, Harrison.” Her fingers ran through his hair, her eyes misting with tears. “There’s something I haven’t told you, and I’m afraid once you know, everything will change.”
She released him, turning away and staring out the window at the passing homes.
He stilled, confusion clouding his mind as he tried to decipher what could possibly change things between them. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing that she could ever do that would alter his love.
“Kat,” he called the nickname he’d used for her all of their lives. “Look at me, please.”
Harrison waited patiently for her to face him. All he wanted to do was to gaze into those hazel eyes that had haunted his dreams for the past eight years.
When Kat finally faced him, tears streamed down her high cheekbones. The sight of them shattered Harrison in two. He dragged her across the bench seat, pulling her body close to his.
Cupping her cheek, he gazed into her eyes. “There is nothing that you could say that would ever stop me from loving you. Do you understand me?”
Pressing her hands to her cheeks, she wiped the tears away. Kat nodded in agreement. “I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”
Harrison took her hands, squeezing them. “When you’re ready,” he agreed, not wanting to rush her. Whatever it was, it wasn’t important, especially if it would allow them to move forward with their lives together.
They rode in silence for moments, his arms wrapped around her waist, Kat’s head resting comfortably on his shoulder.
It was how he’d always imagined they would be. Their life simple and filled with happiness.
“I have to get into Pleasure House,” Kat said, her determined voice interrupting the quiet.
Harrison reared back to peer at her. “If you’re going to Pleasure House, I’m going with you.” He squeezed her side, wanting his words to penetrate her.
He was well aware that Kat was an independent woman, but he would assist her in every way possible until she dismissed him. His problems could wait; there would always be an heiress in need of a husband, or he could say to hell with the earldom.
He’d never wanted the title. Maybe this was his opportunity to finally have the life that was stolen from him all those years ago. If his father had never inherited the blasted title, he would be married to Kat with three or four children running around their small home. He would know nothing of society, balls, parliament, or heiresses.
Although, Harrison had not had a miserable life. He’d had friends like Richmore and Aberdeen, but there was always a part of him missing.
Kat.
“Very well. We leave at midnight and I’ll need a shirt and a pair of your breeches?—”
Breeches?
“My breeches? Whatever for?” he asked flabbergasted. The image of her curves squeezed in a pair of his breeches had his member hardening.
A state he’d often found himself in these last four days.
“Yes. How else are we to move freely around Pleasure House? Skirts will just hinder me, and I need to get into my study without being discovered.” She snuggled closer to him to ward off the chill in the carriage.
Rubbing her arm up and down, he tried to give her some semblance of warmth. The foot warmer was barely working since they had been out for some time.
“Do you have plans to climb up the trellis?” he jested, wondering why she would need to wear his clothing.
She laughed at him, shaking her head. The moment much lighter than it had been. “No, but if we are to be unnoticed, I need to dress like a man and be able to run without the hindrance of skirts.”
