Page 36 of Outrageous

“Why not Gretna Green?”

“Because Coldstream is well-known for laxity when it comes to particulars. They’ll marry people at any time of the day or night.”

“So they’d marry us if we showed up at three o’clock in the morning?”

“For the right amount of money,” he said grimly.

“You sound like a man marching to the gallows,” Eva said, unable to keep her irritation in check.

“Hmmmph.”

Sudden anger coursed through her. “If you’re so miserable about it, then why don’t you just drop me off at the nearest inn? I’ll send a letter to my father—I can tell him I ran away. I can tell him—” She stopped, beyond annoyed that her imagination was failing her at this particular moment. “I can tell him anything but the truth, and you’ll be footloose and fancy-free.”

He gave her a scathing look, but then turned back to the window without bothering to respond.

“You’re the one who wanted to do this,” she reminded him.

His head whipped around. “Wanted?”

“Fine. You’re the one who ordered me to accept what had to be, without arguing. So why are you behaving like a vaporous schoolroom chit about it now?”

Every line of his body screamed amazement. “I beg your pardon,” he said ominously. “Did you just call me a chit?”

“If the shoe fits. Besides, it was vaporous schoolroom chit.”

He shook his head slowly from side to side and gave a helpless-sounding laugh. “You are quite the most antagonistic woman—scratch that—the most antagonistic person I’ve ever met.”

Eva shrugged. “So I’ve been told.” In fact, that seemed to be all she’d been told for as long as she could remember. The only person who’d not told her that was her stepmamma.

“You are strong, Eva, and the world is cruel to strong women. Sometimes a strong woman needs to hide her strength and wield it in more subtle ways. Sometimes a strong woman will even need to pretend weakness to get what she wants.”

Eva knew she was being the very opposite of subtle, which was foolish because she was showing the man across from her all her cards. And she’d heard about Visel’s much vaunted gaming acumen.

“So then,” she said, moving on, “we will speak our vows, turn around, and get right back in the carriage and go where?”

“We shall take a room at the inn after the ceremony and stay one night.”

“Good God, why?”

He leaned toward her with the same unnerving suddenness he’d displayed on more than one occasion. “Because they’ll want us to stay a night to consummate our union, darling.”

Eva’s face flamed at the thick, sensual innuendo in his voice.

“You’re joking.”

He snorted and sat back, turning once more toward the window. “I wish I were.”

“I’ve never even heard of such a thing,” she said.

“Just because you’ve not heard of something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” He paused and then added in a tone heavy with irony, “I’m guessing that the things you don’t know far outnumber those you do.”

His insult—a prime facer of a setdown—surprised a bark of laughter out of her.

He stared at her with a dark, unsmiling look.

“What?” she asked rudely.

“Nothing.”