He squeezed her fingers. “You are of a scientific mind-set. Try analyzing the causes.”
She thought back to that first day. “He makes me laugh,” she said. “And so mad I want to spit at him. And then I laugh again.” She thought about his hands on her body and how—when she wanted to hide away—he was there, pushing her to do something outrageous again. “He makes me live when I would much rather disappear.”
“There will be a million things to see and do. And then there is what I will teach you in the bedroom. Let us disappear together into that wonderful country.” He raised her fingers to his lips, but rather than press a chaste kiss to her hand, he rolled his tongue around the tip of her fourth finger before sucking it into his mouth. And when he was done, he looked into her eyes.
It was meant to be erotic, and a tiny part of her woke enough to pay attention. There were sensations tickling up her hand. Wet from his tongue. Pressure when he nipped at the tip. And a seductive heat from his eyes as he watched her reaction to everything he did.
She wanted to be aroused. She reached for the feeling that overwhelmed her whenever she was with Trevor. She found a pale shadow of it and did her best to nurture it.
Meanwhile, he set her hand down with a fond smile. “It will take time,” he reassured her. “But if you promise to try, then you will be surprised by what I can accomplish.”
“Of course I will try. You will be my husband.”
He nodded as if he expected no less, but there was disappointment in his eyes. She was already failing him, and their engagement was only six hours old. What would it be like in six years? Or sixteen? The idea horrified her, and yet that is what she had committed herself to do.
She struggled for something to say. She never was short of words with Trevor. And perhaps that was what she ought to say, Trevor was no more to her. She would hereafter cease thinking of the man. He was in her past, and Carl was her future.
She opened her mouth for just that purpose, but entirely different words popped out of her mouth.
“What the devil?” she said.
Her gaze had caught on someone standing in the doorway—someone who looked very much like Trevor, except that he was covered in mud, and he was carrying a bird. It was a pretty thing, somewhat reminiscent of a pigeon. But it was much larger—about a foot in size—and it had colorful green and blue plumage below the gray head and neck.
She pushed to her feet. Behind Trevor, the duke was gesturing to Carl.
“Mr. Rausch, care to share a brandy with me?”
If the man answered, Mellie didn’t hear it. She was too focused on Trevor. “They said you’d been poisoned. Are you all right?”
He shrugged. “Have the devil’s own headache, but Brant says that will clear by morning.”
“Should you be in bed?”
He stood there looking at her. He was trailing dirt on the floor, and the pigeon on his forearm looked none too happy to be tied to him. “I should be exactly where I am, Mellie. In fact, I should have been here days ago, but…” He shrugged. “I didn’t know what to say.”
From beside her, Mr. Rausch’s dry voice cut through the room. “Why does everyone keep bringing her birds?”
Trevor’s gaze cut to Rausch, but he didn’t speak. Instead, his gaze dropped to Mellie’s hand and the ring that had flopped sideways again. She tucked her hands together, wanting to hide the damned thing, but he’d already seen.
Then he took a deep breath. “Mellie, would you sit down please?”
She nodded and headed toward her seat, but he shook his head.
“Not there.”
“What?”
“Wait. Just a moment.” Then he crossed to the chair by the window and tugged at it. It was awkward given that he still had to keep the pigeon happy. It squawked in annoyance a couple of times, but eventually, settled down. The duke stepped forward to help, but Trevor gestured him back. So everyone waited while the man balanced bird and furniture, shifting things around until the seat was facing the window.
“Will you sit down here please?”
She glanced about the room, seeing that Eleanor, the duchess, Seelye, and even a couple of the maids were crowding in the doorway to watch. She felt self-conscious sitting down with her back to everyone, but she would do what Trevor wanted. At this moment, she thought she would do anything the man wanted if only he would remain nearby a bit longer.
So she maneuvered herself into the chair and sat down. It was a tight fit given that he was standing between her and the window, and the bird did not seem to like her coming close. But she managed it and then folded her hands in her lap as she looked to him.
“I have been doing the most bizarre things lately,” he said. “Things that any rational person would never contemplate much less execute.”
She heard some murmuring of agreement, but with her heart beating so fast in her chest, she could hardly hear Trevor or what the others were saying. “I know you were drugged. You needn’t explain.”