Page 37 of Sir Hugo Seeks a Wife (Cinderellas of Mayfair #1)

“No, I’m the one who should be sorry. I shouldn’t have left you.” He set the glass on the nightstand and sat down, taking her good hand. “Please forgive me.”

She squeezed his hand, appreciating her renewed strength, however feeble.

“I will if you kiss me,” she said, although what her heart hungered for was to hear him say he loved her. She could still recall the frantic pleading that lured her back from oblivion.

“That sounds like a good offer,” he murmured and stood to press his lips to hers with a tenderness that made her feel like crying. Warmth seeped through her, but when she instinctively reached for him, searing pain had her pulling free. “Ouch.”

Hugo sent her a sheepish smile. “We’re going to have to take things slow for a while.”

She grimaced. “I hurt all over. I assume my arm is broken.”

“It is. And a couple of ribs. You’re a mass of bruises.

Not to mention you got a heck of a bang on the head.

” His attempt at lightness failed, as he sank back into his chair and took her hand with more of that breathtaking tenderness.

His eyes betrayed the torment that he’d been through.

“By Jericho, Athene, you gave me a dickens of a fright. I thought I’d lost you. Don’t you dare do that to me again.”

“I’ll try. I’m with you for as long as you’ll have me. I don’t want to lose you either.”

His lips firmed, and he avoided her probing gaze. “We need to talk about that.”

Fear iced her blood. “Hugo?” She made a convulsive movement in his direction, before her ribs reminded her that convulsive movements were a bad idea. “Have you changed your mind about wanting me?”

His grip on her hand tightened, and the glance he sent her scorched. “Don’t be a silly widgeon, Athene. I’ll want you until the day I die.”

That should make her feel better. It wasn’t a declaration of love, but it was something. However she was too afraid to take comfort in his statement. Frantic, she winnowed through what could have changed over the last few days. “Is it Miles? Is it because you know who I am now?”

Hugo still stared at her as if he wanted to devour her. It wasn’t desire. They were both aware that she was out of action for the foreseeable future. Self-mockery lengthened his lips. “You should have told me you’re an earl’s daughter.”

“Why? So you can call me Lady Athene when you’re rogering me?”

She waited for him to smile, but he didn’t. “You could have trusted me with the truth.”

With dismay, she realized that she’d hurt him. “A disgraced earl’s daughter is just as ruined as a disgraced miller’s daughter.”

“Perhaps.” He paused and subjected her to another searching gaze. “You’re tired. We should leave this until you’re feeling better. You’re not up to my weight right now.”

That sounded ominous. And alarming. She twined trembling fingers around his. “No. No, don’t leave me in suspense. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

He looked both resolute and troubled. “If I do, you’ll want to have a fight.”

Her heart sank, as she struggled to read his expression. “Hugo, I can survive anything, including a collision with a carriage. Tell me.”

“You need to rest now.”

“Hugo…”

To her dismay, he rose and prowled restlessly back to the window. It was as if what he had to say was so terrible, he couldn’t bear to face her. “Let’s leave it until you’re stronger, Athene. You’re not going anywhere for a while. Neither am I. Decisions about our future can wait.”

When she struggled to sit up against the pillows, pain sliced through her like a knife. Despite her best efforts, a moan escaped.

Hugo whirled around and rushed forward to support her. “See? You’re getting agitated. Miles will have me shot.”

“I’m getting…agitated because you’re frightening me,” she gasped out. “Just say what you mean to.”

He let her go and returned to his chair. The depth of feeling in his sigh did nothing to reassure her. But when he spoke, it was from an unexpected angle.

“Out of all the vile elements of the last few days, do you know what was one of the worst?” The lingering anguish in his voice made her heart clench.

She frowned. “The thought that I might die?”

To her relief, he took her good hand again. The immediate sense of connection allayed her rising dread. She reminded herself that he’d said he would always want her. Surely after that, he wasn’t about to announce that he meant to leave her. “Well, yes, that verged on the unbearable.”

She studied him, looking for clues. “But?”

“When you disappeared, I wasn’t with you. And when I went looking for you, I had no right to see you. I have no status in your life. Damn it, Miles could have denied me access. He’s your brother. He has a place in your life. I’m only your lover.”

Athene licked dry lips. She now had an idea where this was going. It wasn’t a new argument, although recent events brought it back to prominence. “That means a lot to me.”

“But not to the world.” He drew a frayed breath. “If Miles took you home, I couldn’t track you down. I didn’t even know your real name.”

God forgive her, she really had wounded him with her secrets. Remorse stabbed as sharp as physical pain. “I should have told you. I’m sorry.”

“Yes, you should have.” His eyes were lightless in a way that she’d never seen them before. “Do you know I almost lost you forever? And I don’t mean how close you came to dying.”

“It’s not as bad as that.” Her fingers clamped on his in a silent plea for forgiveness. “I could find you. I know who you are and where you live. You were always honest with me. You’ve been brave. I’ve been a coward.”

“Yes, you could find me. But in the meantime, I’d believe that you were dead.”

She’d been so selfish. “I’m sorry,” she said again.

“Think how I’d feel. How would you feel if I disappeared without a trace?”

Like her world had ended.

To her guilty horror, she realized that Hugo had suffered the torments of the damned before he located her.

“Thank goodness I persuaded Miles to let me see you.”

She frowned as she considered that issue for the first time. “Just how did you persuade him?”

“I told him we were to be married.”

And there it was, this discussion’s inevitable end. “Oh, Hugo,” she said on a gust of distress.

The powerful jaw set in an intractable line. “It’s true.” He went on before she could object. “If you’re my wife, I have every right to claim you if you go missing. Hell, you’ll be with me at Hampden Crags and won’t be in danger in the first place.”

A great weariness unrelated to her injuries invaded her, made her feel a hundred years old. “We’ve been through this, Hugo.” Her voice was threadbare. “What about our children?”

He growled and released her hand, which made her feel even more bereft. “Athene, I’m not prepared to sacrifice my every hope of happiness because of offspring who may never arrive.”

“But what if they do?”

“Then we’ll work things out. You and I are alive now. You and I need to be together as man and wife in the eyes of the world.”

She blinked back tears, wishing she hadn’t pushed him into this discussion.

He was right. She wasn’t strong enough to fight him, it turned out.

At this moment, accepting his proposal and becoming Hugo Brinsmead’s wife seemed like the path to paradise, despite all her excellent reasons for saying no.

“But will you feel like that when people snicker about Lady Brinsmead’s murky past?” Bitterness edged the question. “I couldn’t bear it if you came to despise me for ruining your life.”

That jaw set so hard, it might have been granite.

“I’m proud of who you are, Athene. You’re a superb creature, and anyone who doesn’t recognize that is no friend of mine.

If we’re tenacious and steadfast, we’ll come through.

I’m not saying there won’t be problems. But I’m never again going through what you’ve put me through in these last days.

You’re marrying me and that’s an end to it. ”

More tears stung her eyes. “You’re very high-handed.” She wished that emerged with a decisive snap, instead of as a tearful whine.

“So you may as well give in.” Hugo folded his arms and regarded her steadily. “I’ll win in the end.”

Athene licked her lips again. She already regretted her lack of courage and the damage it had done. But what she was about to say called for every ounce of fortitude that she could muster. Even so, her voice emerged as a croak. “Hugo, do you love me?”

He looked startled. For a nauseating instant, she wondered if she had everything wrong after all, if she’d imagined those tortured entreaties while she drifted between life and death.

After all, it was what she’d longed for.

Wishing so hard to hear the words could easily translate to dreaming that she had.

“Athene…”

She made a helpless gesture with her good hand. “We’ve never talked about love, I know.”

He reached for her hand and gripped it as if he never meant to let her go again. “I loved you from the first moment I saw you. It’s as absurd and as profound as that.” He paused, his gaze glued to her face. “That’s never been in doubt. What I’ve never been sure of is whether you love me.”

“Of course I love you.” A rueful smile twisted her lips, even as joy flourished inside her. “How could I not? You’re irresistible.”

She watched the tension drain from his expression. A tension that she only recognized now because of its absence. Elation took its place. He made an incoherent sound deep in his throat and brought her hand to his lips. “My darling, I’m so happy. I hoped. I hoped like hell.”

His lingering kiss sent her heart crashing against her aching ribs. “I told you I loved you when you had me scared out of my skin that you might die.”

“So I didn’t imagine it.” She remained misty-eyed. She blinked to sharpen her vision, but it didn’t help. “I heard you. You brought me back.”

“Thank God.” He kissed her hand again. “I’ll tell you I love you every day for the rest of our lives, if it means you’ll have me.”