Page 73 of The Moonstone Major
Chloe cried out and ran from one end of the room to the other to catch them before they hit the floor.
Great.
He had not been able to take her home.
The papers were now in a mess because he’d made her leave the house.
They were both soaked to the skin, his jacket doing nothing to shield her from the deluge.
And they were trapped alone in the house.
He may as well drop on bended knee and propose right this moment, because there was no getting around the inevitable. “Chloe, did you happen to leave any clothes here that you can change into?”
She was still hopping about and trying to scoop up all the loose papers. “No. I moved all of my belongings out just before you moved in.”
He sighed. “I’ll give you something of mine to put on.”
She paused in her gathering and stared at him.
Her hair was soaked and puddles were forming at her feet as water dripped off her wet gown. He saw her expression change the moment she realized what being alone with him signified. “Fionn…?”
“My officers know where I was going.”
“Will they keep quiet about it?”
He nodded. “The Hawkes won’t say anything either, but there is a house full of servants at St. Austell Grange who know the Hawkes were there helping out your sister and not here with you when the storm hit. Someone is going to put two and two together, likely Mr. Matchett, because he knows I rode out just before the storm hit.”
“What shall we do?”
He took the papers out of her hands and set them carefully on the table. “Come upstairs, Chloe. I’ll help you out of those wet clothes.”
Her eyes grew wide.
He kissed her softly on the mouth. “I will marry you if word gets out.”
She shivered lightly. “Is that supposed to make me happy? The wonderful thing about being a well-connected heiress is that men will court me even if I am ruined. You are the only one who disdains my wealth.”
“I don’t disdain it. I just…” He raked a hand through his wet hair. “Look at whom your sisters married. How am I supposed to feel when compared to them? I can never give you all they are able to give their wives.”
He took a moment to light a lantern because the house was now in a gray gloom. Then he wrapped her hand in his and led her upstairs to his bedchamber.
She stood shivering amid the lantern’s golden glow.
He wanted to wrap this bedraggled angel in his arms and kiss her into forever, but he was also soaking wet, and both of them were dripping on the carpet. He turned away to withdraw one of his shirts from the wardrobe and toss it on the bed. “That’s for you.”
He then removed the cameo brooch and fichu she had strategically placed at her bosom for modesty, his fingers grazing the soft swell of her breasts because it was unavoidable. In any event, that he took such intimacies no longer mattered, since she was to be his wife.
His wife.
“Turn around, Chloe,” he said in a raspy whisper. “The clips are falling out of your hair. Let me undo it.” He sucked in a breath as those fiery curls tumbled over her shoulders in a wet tangle. “Let me get you undressed, and then you can comb out your hair.”
He gently drew her hair to one side, and then began to unbutton her gown. As it loosened on her body, he saw that she also had on a corset and chemise.
“I’m so sorry, Chloe. I was frantic with worry and only meant to be sure you were safe. We will now certainly be forced to marry.” He kissed her softly on the neck while he unlaced the corset, his fingers seeming to have a mind of their own as they caressed her skin. “I do want to marry you.”
She was hardly breathing and said not a word.
Neither of them had expected this, and it had to be a little overwhelming for her.
