Page 96 of Bad Luck Bride

“I understand,” he said. “Hotel staff are always up before dawn. Wouldn’t do for anyone to see you.”

She seized on that with relief. “Exactly. Yes, quite so.”

There was a sudden, awkward silence.

She forced herself to break it. “Are you packed?”

“Yes. The bellboys are loading my trunks into a cab as we speak.”

Already? A sob rose in her throat, and she choked it back. “And when is your train?”

“The train for Dover leaves Victoria Station at one o’clock. Then across to Calais, and the train to Nice.”

That was hours away, but she understood. What was the point of long, drawn-out, agonizing goodbyes?

“The Calais-Méditerranée, I assume?” When he nodded, she went on, “You’ll take a boat from there to Cairo?”

He nodded. “Steamship. It’s the fastest way.”

“Of course.”

There was another silence, then suddenly, he moved, crossing her office and coming around to her side of the desk. “Come with me.”

“What?” She stared, stunned, thrilled, overjoyed. And then sheremembered why that was impossible. “I can’t, Devlin,” she whispered, wretched once again.

“Yes, you can.” Tossing aside his hat, he hauled her into his arms. “It’s simple. You pack your bags and put them in the cab with mine, and we’re off. There is a Cook’s office at Victoria Station,” he added when she didn’t reply. “We buy your tickets, and there we are, on our way to Egypt together. We can be married when we get to Cairo.”

“Elope, you mean.”

“Yes.”

She was tempted, oh, so tempted. But it was impossible. “Devlin,” she began.

He stopped her, cupping her face and pressing his thumb to her lips. “I know it’s a scandal, but does that matter now?”

“I’m afraid,” she said softly against his thumb, “that it does matter.”

He slid his hand to the back of her neck, his thumb caressing her cheek. “But why? What can the scandal sheets say about us that they haven’t already said?”

“It’s not that.”

“Is it the opinion of the ton that’s got you worried? Sod them. Our friends will stand by us.”

“I know. It’s not that, either.”

He frowned, still clearly baffled, his hand sliding away. “Then what is it?”

“I don’t care anymore what drivel the scandal sheets print about me, or what the ton thinks of me. But, Devlin, my darling, it isn’t about me at all, or you, or us. It’s about Josephine.”

He blinked. “What does your sister have to do with it? Are you afraid she won’t have a dowry? Of course I’ll provide her with—”

He broke off as she shook her head. “It’s not that, either,” she said. “I know you will give her a dowry, of course you will. And even if you couldn’t, it wouldn’t matter. I’ve come to realize that marrying a man you love is far more important than marrying the one your family wants, or the one who can best provide for you. I’d marry you if you didn’t have a bean. But I can’t elope with you.”

“Because that will hurt her chances.”

“Yes. If she were married already and had a strong social position, I wouldn’t hesitate. But that’s not the case. She’s barely halfway through her first season. More important, she hasn’t been presented at court. And if we elope, she won’t ever be. That alone could wreck her chances of making a good marriage. I couldn’t bear it if that happened just because I couldn’t wait a few months or even a few years to secure my own happiness. I ruined things for her once before she was even out of pinafores, Devlin, and it took me years to atone for that and return our family to a halfway decent social position. I can’t ruin things for her again. I won’t.”

He didn’t reply, but his face was grim, and she tried to smile. “At least we don’t have to worry about a baby,” she said. “I made sure of that.”

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