Page 26 of Wicked with Him

“Not that I’m aware of,” he said, fighting a grin. He quite liked Amity’s fire, little seen until this moment.

“And what sort of woman would I seem to others when I send you packing again? A woman too weak to deny her husband’s appeal. A woman easily swayed by a handsome face.”

“You could bear it very well if offered the right incentive. A few days by your side, and nights spent in your bed, and I’ll prove my worth to you.”

She shook her head. “What purpose does this serve? You avoided becoming embroiled in my scandal once already. I’m not with child, so you can set your mind at ease about that. No one would have possibly suspected you of ruining me until you showed up here, uninvited. Why do this?”

He rushed over to her but stopped a foot away. He bent his head, grinning from ear to ear. “You want everyone to think you’re married, and I’ll help you convince everyone.”

She gasped and drew back. “You are mad.”

“What harm could come of it?” he confessed. “If you intend to stay here forever, I am perfectly placed to help you establish a proper past. They don’t know me either.”

Amity moved to the table and made an attempt to pour tea. However, her hand seemed to be shaking, so much so that she made a mess before rushing away.

Roman waited patiently for her return, and she came with a cloth in hand to mop up the spill. She dropped into a chair again and he moved to sit across from her and studied her calmly before he poured the tea himself.

Amity put her head in her hand, watching him.

She had clearly not considered that he could help make a marriage seem real between them. She might even enjoy it enough to want to keep him. He was filled with hope for that outcome but he would accept what ever she decided, of course.

Amity attracted him for lots of reasons. Perhaps it was because she didn’t expect anything from him at all. Perhaps it was because of the way she had kissed him back, too lustily to be ignored too.

But whatever the reason for his fascination, he intended to see this through. Pretend to be her husband to spend time with her. And if his courtship failed to support the idea of them actually marrying, well, they’d stage a public quarrel, and he’d say farewell to Amity once and for all.

“I want you to hear me out. If I am known as your Mr. S, your neighbors will have a face to put with the name of this imaginary husband you created. They’ll never question his existence, and I’ll make damn sure every single scoundrel—and bookseller—knows not to come knocking on your door again.”

“But you’re not my husband. You’re Roman Crawford. If the innkeeper knows that, then everyone does.”

“I did not want anyone to know I was looking for you, so I did not give my name when I took rooms.”

“But your grooms on your carriage know your real name.”

“My grooms are five miles away, no doubt drunk or sleeping. They’ll never come here. I can let it be known that I was a man traveling discreetly so my flighty wife couldn’t escape me again.”

She stared at him. “Oh, that is almost believable.”

“I got the idea from you,” he told her with a wink. He sipped his tea, and Amity did as well.

“Flighty?”

“I hoped it would garner me more sympathy from other men to describe you so.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’ve introduced yourself as my husband to the men of the village already, without asking me first?”

“Indeed. Last evening, before I called upon you I met one Mr. Fletcher, a man of obvious importance and wealthy. He displayed a possessive sort of interest in you that I didn’t care for. I put him back in his place.”

A soft smile trembled on her lips. “Fletcher and his mother have been the most suspicious of my marital state.”

“Fletcher didn’t seem to care for my arrival. Just how big a scoundrel has your absent husband been?”

“I found you in bed with a relative of mine.”

Roman set down his cup. “Naked?”

“Naked,” she said firmly.

He grinned. Amity had imagined him naked, and weeks ago, too, it must have been. He schooled his features. “Do go on. I need to know how big of an idiot I have to play.”