She appeared thoughtful. He wanted to strangle her.
“You will say no, dammit!”
“All right, no.”
“Well, I swear I won’t be unfaithful.”
She sighed. “I do think Dev-our vampire-was wrong when he said that every man would promise anything I wished in order to get what he wanted. You wouldn’t do that. I know you down to your beautiful feet. You would never lie about something so very important.”
“No, I wouldn’t.”
“James, listen. You’re an honorable man, too honorable for your own good, as a matter of fact, at least most of the time. The fact is, I don’t want to get married. I’m only in my first practice season. I’ve barely begun to sow my wild oats, barely begun to learn the ins and outs of flirting.
“I’m too young to get married, particularly for such an absurd reason. You’re too young too. Admit it. Marriage is-or was-the last thing on your mind before all this happened.”
“I won’t admit to that.”
“Then I’ll have to reassess how truthful you are.”
“All right, dammit. I had no thought of marriage. For God’s sake, I’m only twenty-five years old. You speak of sowing wild oats. Well, I have bucketfuls left to sow. But I will forego them because honor is more important. Stop whining. Accept what must be.”
“But neither of us did anything wrong!”
“I will waltz with you until there are holes in your slippers.”
“I imagine Uncle Simon promised the same thing to my aunt. She didn’t get holes in her slippers, James, she got leaves. Bloody leaves! She told me once that on their honeymoon, Uncle Simon allowed her to press three leaves in one of his many books. However, he didn’t allow her to label it. That sounds perfectly dreadful, James.”
“I will not have you pressing leaves on our honeymoon.”
“Ah, and what would you do on our honeymoon?”
He was close to swallowing his tongue. “There are standard things that a man and a woman do after they’re married. Surely you know all about sex, Corrie.”
“Well, not all that much, really. You mean to say that’s what you would do rather than pressing leaves? You wouldn’t be reading me treatises on the orbital rotation of Saturn in a cosmic dust storm?”
“No. Saturn would cease to exist for me. Saturn wouldn’t exist for most normal men on their honeymoon, unless they were looking up at the stars and Saturn just happened to be shining down in their eyes. You see, most men think about only one thing, and on their honeymoon, they can-well, never mind that.” James dashed his fingers through his hair. “Dammit, you need a bit of promised wickedness, don’t you? Very well, I am going to strip you naked and make love to you until you are snoring with exhaustion.”
“James, you’ve said quite a lot there. But the end of it-me lying there snoring-that doesn’t sound very romantic.”
“All right, I happen to know that you don’t snore. You make little mewling noises. Now, listen to me. I will let you flirt with me, endlessly.”
“Men do not flirt with their wives.”
“Now there’s a wise oracle speaking.”
“Don’t be sarcastic with me, James Sherbrooke. I’m not stupid. I know that Aunt Maybella would many times rather kick Uncle Simon than kiss him.”
“You should see my parents. Last week I came around a corner and saw my father pressing my mother against a wall, kissing her neck. They’ve been married forever.”
“Pressing her against a wall? Really?”
“Really. And I would do no less. I will nibble on your neck in a dark section of a garden, the night jasmine scenting the air. We will get along famously, Corrie. Now, I’m nearly ready to collapse, so say yes and leave me in peace.”
“You don’t love me.”
And he said, the words pouring out of his mouth, “I can’t imagine that Devlin Monroe told you he loves you?”
“No, he didn’t. He told me he finds me a delight, his word. Don’t get me wrong. Being a delight sounds clever indeed, but it’s not what’s important in marriage, James.”
“Did you tell him that?”
“Oh yes. He said it was a nice start, didn’t I agree, and I said I did, but I said it was only a nice preamble to say a picnic or a ride in the park, not marriage.”
She’d routed Devlin; she’d sent him about his business; she’d turned him down flat. James grinned. Relief poured through him.
“I told him to think about it with more depth, and perhaps I would entertain his request at a later date.”
James cursed. He wished his brain was working a bit more competently, but he was tired, and he wanted nothing more than to collapse on his bed and sleep until supper. He said, “We know each other, Corrie. We like each other, at least we do most of the time.”
“You didn’t like me at all when Darlene nearly nudged you off the cliff.”
“You want the truth, Corrie? What I remember about that day is the feel of your bottom against my palm when I spanked you.”
Her agile tongue dried up. “M-my bottom? You felt m-my bottom?”
“Well, of course. You have a lovely bottom, Corrie, from the feel of it. If you marry me, why then I can take your clothes off, stretch you out on your back, and rub you down with a nice damp cloth. Again and again, perhaps humming whilst I stroke that nice cloth over you, every little part of you. Do you think your skin is as white as Devlin’s?”
“You didn’t want me to say his name.”
He laughed. “Embarrassed, are you? Well, picture yourself naked, Corrie, and I’m the one stroking my hands all over you, particularly your breasts, and you’re not sick at all. In fact, you’re arching your back against my hands. What do you think?”
“Oh goodness,” she said, and turned to walk away. “Oh goodness.”
“No.” He grabbed her arm. “No, you won’t simply walk out on me this time. We’re getting this settled right now, Corriander Tybourne-Barrett. My God, what a ghastly name. Do you think we will have to sign that as your name in the marriage registry?”
She was standing perfectly still, aware that his hands were running up and down her arms, and one arm was bare where he’d ripped her sleeve.
“If you don’t marry me, then I will have to do something drastic.”
“Like what?”
“I’m not going to tell you. Listen to me, brat, there is simply no choice. If you don’t marry me, then both of us are thoroughly ruined. Don’t you understand? Haven’t you got your brain around this?”
“You wouldn’t be ruined, James, that’s absurd. If I simply go back to the country, I won’t be ruined either.”
He shook her. “That is so stupid, I can’t imagine how you could let it out of your mouth.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. It was bad.” She looked down at his hands still clutching her arms. She pulled free of him and took several steps away from him, shook her fist in his face, and wailed, “You don’t love me!”
He yelled right back. “And I suppose you love me?”
She stared at him, mute as a post.
“Well? Answer me, damn you.”
“No, I won’t, and don’t yell at me again.”
“Why won’t you answer me? All right, keep still, it’s a blessed relief, your silence. I know you adored me when you were three years old. Has that changed?”
“Things are a bit more straightforward when you’re three years old, much simpler, not a single shade between black and white. I’m no longer three years old, James.”
“All I have to do is look at your breasts and I know that well enough. Is that a blush I see on that brazen face of yours? All right, so you wish to string me along, like a trout on your fishing line. That is very female of you, Corrie, and I don’t appreciate it. You say I don’t love you-all this has happened too quickly. How can something like that happen in the course of a week? I do like you all the way to the soles of my feet; I admire you. I think you’re too brave for your brains. I think you’ve been a twit more times than not, but the fact is we’ll do very well together. Now, listen. We’ve known each other forever. My parents are very fond of you, and you of them-forget my grandmother, she hates everyone-and your Uncle Simon knows that you won’t have to be hunted down like a rat if you marry me, since our marriage would have nothing at all to do with your blasted money. Everyone would be relieved. The gossip would stop. We would be blessed and smiled upon. No one would cut you, ever again. I would no longer be considered a ravager of young maidens. We would get along fine, Corrie. Enough of this.” He hauled her against him and kissed her.