“You do.”
“I don’t know what I deserve. But I know what I want.” He stared into her lovely face. “And I’m not stupid enough to base it on anything Malet said. Long before he appeared in our lives, I’d already formed an opinion of you, based on what I’d witnessed of you and your family, what I’dheardabout you and your family from Beatrice. I paid attention to every detail, especially about you.”
For a moment, her eyes widened and her features softened. “Did you really? Because you mostly seemed to ignore me.”
“I will concede that. It was my attempt at self-preservation. I could already tell how dangerous you were.”
“Me! I’m not dangerous.”
“You’re more dangerous than you know, at least to my peace of mind. Because although I denied it to myself, I knew you had the capacity to wreak havoc on my carefully manufactured life.”
She stiffened. “How? By exposing you to my harlotry?”
“You are not—” He huffed out a breath. “Are you aware what a major in the Royal Marines does, Gwyn?”
“Fights?”
“Leads men. Not just men, but thousands of men. To get to that position, I had to learn how to assess situations. Strategize. Most importantly, I had to pay attention to the qualities of the soldiers and junior officers under me. I had to know who had proved worthy of their rank, who could best handle a landing party, who was well-versed in the art of war. I had to be a good judge of character, and I was, which is why I was promoted to major so young.”
“Precisely,” she said in a defeated tone of voice. “And why you are considered a hero. It’s also why you deserve a wife who’s above reproach.”
“You mean, a wife who’s not a ‘harlot.’”
She thrust out her chin. “Yes.”
Her stubbornness on the subject was starting to irritate him. “With all my experience at judging people, I should hope to hell I can tell the difference between a woman who was led astray and a ‘harlot.’ Tell me, Gwyn. How many times did you share Malet’s bed?”
“Only once, I’ll have you know!”
It didn’t matter to him, although he was surprised it was only the one time. But he believed her. She looked so adorably outraged that he couldn’t do otherwise.
He wanted to laugh at that, but somehow, he knew she wouldn’t take it well. “And how many other men’s beds have you shared?”
“None. But it’s not really a matter of quantity to men, is it? Or to good society. Once a woman loses her virginity—”
“You’re not a harlot!” He shook his head. “If anything, Malet is the harlot.”
“A man can’t be a harlot, more’s the pity,” she said mutinously.
“I don’t see why not. From what I understand, Malet has bedded plenty of women, and he was paid a great deal of money by your brother after bedding you. If that’s not the definition of a harlot, I don’t know what is.”
“Someone should tellhimthat.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Take it from me, dearling—if you accept every insult or slur hurled at you, you will spend all your days dodging them. Some people’s opinions aren’t worth worrying over. And yes, I’m still trying to learn that. But I’m doing better.”
“Except in certain situations.”
He gave her a ghost of a smile. “True.”
“The point is, now that you know I’m not the sort of woman you wish to wed—”
“You have no idea what sort of woman I wish to wed.” He strode up to her, and, when she looked as if she would back away, caught her about the waist to pull her close. “I don’t care about Malet or what you did with him. Do you thinkI’vebeen chaste my entire life? I assure you, I have not.”
She glared at him. “It’s different for men, and you know it.”
“It shouldn’t be.”
“You don’t believe that.”
