Page 17 of A Return of the Wicked Earl (The Shadows 1)

Annalise stared at him as though he was some kind of specimen she hadn’t seen before in her life.

“What would you say if we started from the beginning? I’ve spent the most hellish fourteen months of my life, and I’d rather forget them. The only way I can do that is with you by my side.”

Annalise licked her lips and leaned toward him. “Will you tell me what happened during that time?”

“No,” he said, perhaps too harshly because she reared back. “Ask anything, but that.”

“How do you expect us to build a marriage when you don’t trust me?”

“It has nothing to do with trust.” Blake saw her eyes take on a distant look, the one he’d witnessed all too often since the night of their wedding, the one he never wanted to see again. He took her hands in his. “It is too difficult to talk about, darling, trust me. I have been taken against my will—”

“By whom?” Her brows furrowed, her expression turning concerned.

He didn’t want to bother her with things she could do nothing about. He was carrying the burden for both of them. Blake wished he could keep her innocent and undisturbed by his gruesome past. His head started to ache.

“I do not know,” he finally said. “But I am going to find out. Whatever I went through while I was in captivity… It is too depraved for you to hear. I would rather forget it all, and I’d rather you were unburdened by my past.”

“Whatever it is you went through, Blake, perhaps I can help.”

Blake shook his head. “These are my demons to fight, my darling Annalise. Please don’t ask this of me. Anything but that.”

She looked at their joined hands for a moment before lifting her eyes to his again. “All right. I shall concede to your wishes for now. But how do I know it won’t turn out exactly the way it did the last time? How do I know you won’t—” She broke off and bit her lip.

Blake closed his eyes in agony.

“How about this?” He looked into her eyes again. “How about we make a deal? Give me two months. Just two months to prove to you that I am not going to disappoint you and let you down again. That’s how long it took me to court you, wasn’t it? And that was also how long it took me to destroy any regard you had for me.”

“And if you don’t?” she asked with a slight frown between her brows.

“If I don’t convince you to stay with me, then I shall set aside a large sum in a trust for you, and you will be free to do whatever you wish. You can leave for Sussex as you planned before my disappearance or travel to Italy as you’ve always dreamed.”

Annalise glanced at him, startled. She obviously hadn’t thought he’d remembered.How could he not, when it was the only thing she was excited about when she talked? Italian fables and books, Italian art and music dominated their conversation when they were courting, and he remembered it all with a smile every time he closed his eyes.

Annalise quickly composed herself, and then she narrowed her eyes on him. “What’s the catch?”

My clever little wife.“You must promise to give me a fair chance, accompany me to social gatherings, grant me your company during the evenings—”And nights, he wanted to say but didn’t. It wasn’t time. Although that was really what he wanted. “If it doesn’t bring us together,” he added hastily before she could refuse, “at least it will go a long way in dispelling any gossip surrounding us. It would arouse too much suspicion and unwanted chatter if you were to leave my side right after I came back, don’t you think?”

Annalise tugged her hands out of his grip in one swift motion. He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding them this entire time. The cold air wafted around his fingers as her warmth deserted him, leaving him feeling bereft.

“Very well,” she said, rising from her seat. “It’s not as if I have any choice.”

“You do,” he said vehemently, standing after her.

She smiled sadly at him as if she pitied his gullibility. He didn’t like that look on her face.

“I accept your deal,” she finally said. “Good day, my lord.”

My lord.Two polite words like whiplash from her lips. Annalise turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.

Blake stared after his wife for several long moments before looking down at the table. Annalise hadn’t eaten a bite.

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