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No doubt she would have. His mother had proved to be a reallife fairy godmother to her, much like the one in Charles Perrault’s fairy tale. Eve had read every one of his stories she could get her hands on while in France.

“Do you want the truth, my lord?”

He winced, as he did every time she called him “my lord.” “Always.”

“I was embarrassed. I didn’t want to be Natalie’s impoverished friend, whom she would wish to bestow her charity upon.”

Jimmy piped up. “Eve doesn’t like charity.”

Noel smiled faintly. “I’ve noticed.”

“I don’t mind it,” Jimmy said, “especially if it’s food.”

“That’s because food is all you think about every hour of the day,” Eve said.

“Not every hour,” Jimmy grumbled.

“What do you think about every hour of the day?” Noel asked her.

You, unfortunately. No, she dared not say that. “That détenu who’s sweet on me,” she said blithely.

Noel scowled. “What’s his name?”

“Why do you care?” she countered.

He hesitated. “I don’t … want anyone to take advantage of you.”

“I don’t want that, either. Fortunately, I am perfectly able to take care of myself. And you don’t have a say in it, anyway.”

He looked as if he were about to comment, but they had arrived.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Jimmy jumped out and ran up the steps, but before Noel could get out, she caught him by the arm to stop him. “I need to ask you something. It won’t take long.”

He sat back against the seat with a sigh. “What is it?”

“You said you wanted me. So, why not just make me your mistress?”

He blinked at her, as if not sure he’d heard her right.

“You could marry this Margaret woman,” she went on, “and keep me in a tidy little house somewhere you could visit me whenever you—”

“Are you out of your mind?” he growled. “How on earth could you think I’d ever want you to do that?”

Although she actually had no intention of being his mistress, she shrugged. “Men do it all the time.”

“I don’t care! I would never dishonor you like that. And you know quite well you’d never shame your family like that, either. Besides, that wouldn’t give me peace; it would only make me need you more. I’d let my marriage suffer just for the chance to be with you, and every time I couldn’t be with you, I’d be thinking of you and worrying …” As if realizing how much he’d admitted, he tore his gaze from her. “No, that is not the answer, for damned sure.”

“Oh, very well. If you say so.”

He leaped from the carriage, fury evident in every line of his face as he handed her down, then strode off without waiting for her. She, on the other hand, was exulting. If all he’d wished to do was bed her, then he certainly wasn’t going about it the right way.

So, she was back to what he’d claimed—that he wanted peace and nothing more. How was she to get around that? She had to do so. No matter how exasperating the man could be, she wanted him for her own. And she began to suspect he wanted the same, even though he was too stubborn to admit it. But how was she to change his mind?

By doing whatever she must. And she had some fine ideas for that.

Noel couldn’t believe it. The past three days had been hell. How was a man supposed to keep his wits about him when the woman he wanted was actively trying to tempt him? Because clearly that was what Eve was doing.

Be his mistress, indeed. He should have realized then that she was trying to provoke him into changing his mind about their future.