Page 68 of The Matrimonial Advertisement

“A few weeks? Is that all?” Even a day was too much. Even an hour. “And what’s to prevent my uncle from—”

“I’ll be with you,” Justin said again. His gaze bore into hers. “Every moment.”

Helena didn’t know why she continued to resist him. He seemed to have a creditable plan. And who was she to naysay when her own plan had failed so miserably? “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” she blurted out.

“No? What did you expect to happen?”

“I expected to marry you. To have a life here. Safe. Far away from London. I hoped I would never see my uncle—or Mr. Glyde—ever again.”

For the briefest instant, Justin’s face betrayed a flicker of surprise. “You truly intended to stay here with me as my wife?”

“Of course. Did you think it all a trick? That after we wed I’d disappear?” She was sorely tempted to laugh. “I have nowhere to go, Justin. No one willing to render me protection. I needed a husband. It was the only way to keep my fortune and my name.”

“Ah yes. Your fortune.”

“My brother’s fortune.”

“And how do you know I won’t squander it now I’ve gained control?”

“You won’t,” she said. “You couldn’t.”

“Finchley’s assurances again, I take it.”

“Was he wrong?”

“No,” Justin admitted. “He wasn’t wrong. Still…it was a hell of a risk tying yourself to a stranger.”

“What else was I to do? The only other choice was to flee with nothing. At least, by marrying you, there was a chance it would all come right. And now…”

The prospect of a trip to London loomed large in her mind. It sucked all the light from within her, leaving behind nothing but cold and darkness and roiling fear.

She shivered in Justin’s arms. “Must I go back there? Is there no other way?”

He didn’t answer immediately. He appeared to consider the matter, to truly examine the alternatives. “There are other ways. But in this case, they aren’t likely to lead to success.”

“This plan may not succeed either.”

“No. There are no guarantees, but I agree with Finchley. We have better odds of defeating your uncle in the court of public opinion than besting him in a court of law. All that’s required is a little courage.”

“Pity I haven’t any left.”

Justin bent his head, his voice a husky murmur against her ear. “Take mine.”

She closed her eyes. She wanted to say yes. To tell him that she’d go with him to London. That she’d bare her soul to whichever newspaperman he wished. She owed him that much. She owed him her very life.

But it wasn’t easy.

Justin seemed to understand. His hand slid from her waist to her back, a heavy, comforting weight. “Think on it. There are a few more days of rain yet.”

“Only a few?”

“It will give us time to talk.”

Talk? She didn’t know why the prospect should affect the rhythm of her heart, but it did. Most decidedly so. She moistened her lips. “To speak plainly, isn’t that what you said?”

“Precisely.”

“With no more secrets between us.”