Page 69 of Inconvenient Honor
Idiot! “Are you well? Do you need to sit? Should I call for help?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Physically I’m fine,” she said, smiling ruefully, “besides, when I get down on those cushions I have the devil’s own time getting back up.”
They shared a smile at the image she evoked, the first shared pleasure since she entered the room.
I could get lost in those eyes. I could spend my life laughing with this woman.
“Marry me, Lily.” Badly done. He realized it immediately. His grace and poise had fled.
She pulled away immediately.
“Aren’t you betrothed?”
“No. It never happened. The Duke of Lisle demanded my attendance. I sent him a polite refusal, and I left.”
“Left?”
“I came to find you.” A faint smile teased her lips. He loved to look at those lips.
“Marry me. You know we should.” He touched the place where the baby lay briefly. “We must.”
“I told you no. I will not be the ambitious little parvenu who trapped the great Marquess of Glenaire into marriage. I will not be shoved into some country backwater with my baby when you grow embarrassed by my ‘less than desirable background.’”
Did I really say that?His own words hung in the air between them.
“Is this better?” he shouted. The guard moved a fraction. “And Mountview is not some backwater,” he mumbled.
“So you did plan to send me to the country!”
“I didn’t say that. Don’t twist my words.”
“To answer your question, yes. This is better. Don’t let the wallsfool you. Here I have respect and care. Here I’m close to the center of power and politics. Here I have voice.”
Lily could waltz through the highest circles in Europe, a magnificent diplomatic hostess.
“Our baby deserves a father. He deserves to know me.” He caught her frantic glance around at the impassive eunuch; he thought for a moment she looked guilty. She leaned in close.
“I am a widow,” she said. He looked startled. She dropped her voice very low. “Everyone here believes I am a widow.”
“You lied to the Valide Sultan?” He whispered back. She bit her lip and shook her head. Her eyes pleaded with him to let it go. He looked up at the guard.
“We ought to marry. You know that. You owe it to your child,” he said more loudly.
“Your offer is very kind, my lord, but I respectfully decline,” she replied through clenched teeth. She signaled to the guard, said “I take my leave now,” and turned to go.
The door opened on silent hinges, and a beaming Sahin Pasha entered. “All is well?” he asked.
“Certainly, honored uncle. The marquess is ready to leave.”
“We’ll talk again, Lily,” Richard said to her retreating back. “We are not finished.”
“Ask your spy,”Richard roared. The two men faced each other in the same room Lily had just left. Robert Liston stood quiet but observant to one side.
“Ahmet is Lily’s protector. He is no spy. His presence was to lend what you English call propriety.”
“You could have warned me.”
Sahin put on a mask of innocence. “About the guard?”
