Page 25 of Impeccable
“He needs something to wear. I’ll knit him something.”
She surprised him yet again. “You knit?” he asked.
“Occasionally.” She stroked Ash’s back and looked out the window with him.
“How did you learn?”
She flicked him a glance as she continued to pet the pup. “My mother’s maid taught me. I wanted to make a dress for my doll, and I am rubbish with a needle.”
“I imagine knitting is a very useful skill. Particularly since it will provide our dear Ash with a cozy covering when he goes outside. I wonder, however, if he’ll take to wearing it.”
“Once he realizes how much warmer he is, I daresay he’ll allow it.” She leaned her head down to Ash’s. “Won’t you, dear?” Ash licked her chin.
Evie hadn’t said a word about Gregory’s proposal, and he didn’t want to badger her. Which all amounted to him feeling as though he was stumbling through the darkness, uncertain of where his path led.
“I suppose you’re wondering if I have an answer for you today,” she said slowly.
“It’s as if you stepped inside my mind.” He flashed a smile. “I admit I am most eager for your response.” He’d barely slept last night in want of it. In want ofher.
“Then I shan’t keep you waiting any longer. My answer is yes.” She paused, as if she knew his insides were careening with joy and he needed a moment to rein himself in. “However, it’s important to me—imperative, really—that we set boundaries. This will be entirely between us, meaning there will be no public displays of our…association. All interactions between us will take place at a vacant cottage on the Threadbury Hall estate. Lastly, our affair will end after the holidays—when we return to town.”
“That is more than acceptable. May I ask when it is that you plan to leave?” He wanted to know how long they had together.
“No later than Epiphany, but I may decide to return to London sooner. I’m sorry, but I can’t be more specific than that.”
“I shall expect at least Christmas, hope for the new year, and pray for Epiphany.” He winked at her. “Truly, I am honored that you accepted. Any time we spend together will be a gift that I will treasure always.”
“That’s lovely of you to say,” she murmured. Turning her upper body toward him, she asked, “I wonder if you’d answer something for me? I’ll understand if you’d rather not.”
He also pivoted in her direction. “What is it?”
“Why are you celibate?”
He’d expected she would ask. “The easy answer is that I’ve never been attracted to anyone enough to pursue an encounter. My parents also strongly urged me to live with virtue so that I could undertake my religious studies with a clear heart and mind. The more complicated answer includes the fact that my brother was the opposite of celibate, which disgusted our parents. I never wanted to disappoint them.”
“I see. You were the good son, while your brother was…not.”
“Mostly. But you must understand that I didn’t see my celibacy as a sacrifice. I truly haven’t wanted to bed anyone.” His gaze held hers as an electric current passed through him. “Until now.”
“So, your decision to end your celibacy was prompted by me?”
“Entirely.”
Her lips parted, and he was struck with an overwhelming urge to kiss her. This wasn’t a public space, so he could do that, couldn’t he? He wasn’t sure he dared. Not yet. They’d agreed to an affair, but did that mean it had already begun?
He chose to deepen their emotional connection instead. Sharing his reasons for celibacy with her made him feel as though they were growing closer. He hoped she felt the same way. “May I ask you a question now?”
“Yes.”
Ash settled down into her lap and rested his head on his paws. She stroked his ears, and Ash’s eyes nearly closed in apparent delight.
Gregory moved his attention from the dog to Evie. “Why do you prefer to remain unwed? Was your marriage unhappy?”
Her hand stilled, flattening against Ash’s back. “No. It was…fine. It wasn’t a love match, but we got on well enough. He was quite a bit older than me.”
“Why did you marry him?” He saw her nostrils flare slightly and rushed to add, “You don’t have to answer that.”
“I wanted security. He gave me that. He’d hoped I would give him a child, but that was not to be. He died just over a year after we wed.”
