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Her face heated. “I enjoy writing letters.”

“Of all the… Yes. Of course.” He sighed. “By all means. Write letters. Write as many letters as you like.”

“Without interruptions. And you must not question how much time I spend writing. Letters,” she added, hastily. “And you must not look through my papers.”

“A gentleman does not snoop through anyone’s papers, so that need not be stipulated."

"You seem to forget that I did not wake up yesterday morning hoping that I should end the day betrothed to you.”

“Yes, yes. You are the most unhappy woman alive. However will you bear this cruel fate, etcetera, etcetera.”

She glared at him. But that was a mistake. Their eyes met, and his lit with a gleam that was almost… longing. They were standing closer together than she’d realized. Her eyes traced his face, from the way that the outer corners of his eyebrows gave him a questioning, skeptical look, to the straight, dark lashes that shaded his eyes, to the sharp angle of his jaw, to the dimple on the right side of his mouth, to…

She wrenched her gaze away and scowled. Ugh. Nobody had ever been able to annoy her the way West could annoy her.

“Well? Any further demands, your future grace?”

“No.” She stopped. “That is, yes. There is one more thing.”

“I see.” He waited. “And are you going to tell me what it is?”

She took a deep breath. “Venice.”

“Venice.”

“Yes. Venice. Lady Theodosia and I have made plans to travel there next week, and I do not see why I should have to give up everything that I want.”

“Give up everything that you…” He blinked. “Well. No. I am afraid that I cannot agree to that.”

“Why not?”

“Because if we marry and you immediately leave the country with your elderly great aunt for some indefinite period of time, people will talk. They will say that our marriage is a sham.”

“It is a sham.”

The odd look crossed his face again. “Yes. Of course. But the point is that we must make it a successful sham.” He thought a moment. “Very well. If it is Venice that you want, we shall go together. We shall call it our honeymoon.”

She folded her arms. “Our honeymoon.”

“Surely you have heard of honeymoons. They are the very height of fashion.”

She glared at him. “Of course I have heard of…” It was just that… well… she would have to be alone with him. And for some reason that made her very nervous.

Of course, she would have to be alone with him after they were married anyway. But in Venice, everything would be unfamiliar. And Lady Theodosia wouldn’t be there to give her confidence.

On the other hand, if she couldn’t see Venice for herself, her book would be a failure. “Oh, very well. If I must.”

“Excellent!” His eyes gleamed. “Exactly the sort of enthusiasm that a man wishes for in his bride. Now. Is there anything else?”

“No.”

“You are certain?”

“Yes.”

“Well then.” He took something from his pocket It was a ring box. He opened it. Inside was a ruby ring. “Miss Keynsham, will you make me the happiest man in England, and be my wife?”

“Happiest man in…!” She searched his face for traces of sarcasm—but for once, she didn’t see any. “You know perfectly well that I have no choice.”