She couldn’t help laughing. “This is absurd, Sylvester.”
Her laughter was cut short at the intense way he stared.
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“You are chasing me, my lord!”
“Ah, you are afraid I’ll catch you.”
Daphne swallowed. He didn’t seem angry…more bemused? “And when you catch me what will you do?” The question sounded too provocative.
He stepped fully into the room and closed the door and leaned against it. His posture was deceptively relaxed, but his eyes… “That depends entirely on your answer, wife… What are you doing here?”
Lie, her instincts screamed, yet she could not. She took a bracing breath. “I’m sure you’ve heard of Madam Salome?”
Her husband stilled, and Daphne’s mouth went dry.
“I have heard of Madam Salome and the services she renders.” There was a wealth of undecipherable emotions in his voice.
Somehow, she developed an unexpected case of nerves. “Perhaps we should have this conversation at another time?”
“I am curious as to your intention.”
For an instant, an ache of regret and pain washed through her. “A scandal,” she whispered.
He was silent for an uncomfortably long time. “This, my countess, is more than a scandal. Blood would have been on your hands.”
“What?”
“I would kill any man who dared touch you,” he said with soft ruthlessness.
She believed him. “Why would it matter to you?”
He made no reply, but the look in his eyes made her feel cherished and, at the same time, vulnerable. Daphne had the most appalling and maddeningly tempting urge to close the distance between them and hug him, kiss him, and just breathe him into her being. Logic didn’t seem to have a place in her heart at the moment. Dear God, even like this, with the awful uncertainty of the moment, she wanted him. As if something wonderful awaited her, and she had only to step forward and reach for it…fight for it.
Had she ever truly fought for her marriage? She had only attempted once to find the source of his indifference. He had rebuffed her harshly, and since then she had simply waited and watched like a wounded animal, one without enough courage to demand answers and fight. The shattering awareness surged through her and her entire soul trembled. For the first time it dawned on her that she was equally at fault for the state of their marriage.
“I’m terribly sorry, Sylvester. I knew I could not do it the minute I alighted from the carriage.”
“Do you want a divorce so badly that you would trade your honor for it?”
These last few weeks have made me doubt everything I thought about what I hungered for.
“We have little or no trust between us. That cannot make for an agreeable marriage for either of us.” Once again, she wanted to weep. “And as for this situation, you must surely own that you are also at fault.”
He showed neither irritation or anger. His mien was unreadable, the only thing consistent was his unrelentingly piercing stare.
“I am?” Her earl sounded politely dubious.
“Yes.” She folded her arms. “If you hadn’t been so boorish and dismissive of what I truly wanted, perhaps I would have been a little less reckless.” And less scared. “If you had learned anything about me these past weeks, you would have known I, too, have honor and I would never willingly betray you.”
They stared at each other for the longest moment, and the shadows in her earl’s eyes were almost frightening to contemplate.
“You were crying.”
She jerked her fingers to her damp cheeks. “Why are you here?” she finally asked, clinging to her composure.
“When I realized the depth you were willing to traverse to escape our marriage…to escape me… A lover, a scandal. I will use all my power and wealth to secure a bill of divorcement from the courts. I have already sent word to my solicitors informing them of my decision. I hurried here for I did not want you to make a decision that would haunt your forever.”
She gazed up at him, unable to speak. The solemn pensiveness of his expression was petrifying. “You are letting me go?”
“Yes.”
And she sensed the truth of his word and the honor in his promise. The pain that slashed through her heart made her stumble back a few paces. The very idea of their parting being so final made her want to howl. Breathing deep, she snapped her spine straight and lifted her chin. She needed to appear brave, except tears ran down her cheeks.
“Thank you.” Her victory was hollow, and her heart was laid upon the ground. “I want you to know…I wouldn’t have stayed here,” she whispered. “I hurt, and I feel this despair inside, but I wouldn’t have stayed.”
“I never want to cause you despair, Daphne. You…you mean too much to me.”
She sucked in an audible breath. “I…” Daphne stared at him helplessly, shaken by the sweet hope that tore through her heart. It wasn’t a declaration of love, but it was so much more than he had ever owned to.
“One night without you in my arms and I was filled with a cold emptiness that almost swallowed me. You are not a coward, despite your habit of running whenever we argue. You have honor, and I know you had nothing to do with your father and brother’s vile attempts to blackmail me. You are generous to a fault, loyal, and fierce. You give your time to those less fortunate generously, you are a beautiful and an exemplary countess, and you have a strength that I will forever admire. Many…” He cleared his throat. “Many would have wilted under the loneliness you existed with, but you did not. Only a few would ever think to aim for a divorce and brave the stain of scandal and ignominy. I am proud you are my wife.”
She closed her eyes against the tears that were pooling in her eyes, but when she opened her lids, the tears spilled unchecked.
“Forgive me for the years of hurt my distance caused. You inspire me to want more, my wife, and only with you. So, I am declaring my intentions now…when you are free and have lived and enjoyed life how you’ve craved it for so long, I will be wooing you, my countess, and while I’ll fervently hope you’ll give me a chance, it will be your choice if you want to be with me.”
She shook her head, disbelief scything through her. He flinched, and the shadow of pain that burned in his eyes almost felled her to her knees.
“I wasn’t saying no,” she said hoarsely.
Something powerful and turbulent flared in the depth of his green gaze.
“Why, Sylvester, would you grant me a divorce only to woo me again?”
The room itself seemed as if it stilled.
He moved over to her and cradled her face between his palms. There was a fine trembling in his fingers. “Because when I thought the love and admiration I saw in you for me would die, I almost lost my mind. Because I cannot imagine you anywhere but at my side, nor can I see myself anywhere but at yours. You’re the most beautiful person I know. Your beauty is your compassion, the kind that inflames the heart and enchants the soul, and I never want to be free of your spell.”
Her earl’s head dipped, and he kissed the trail of tears that ran down her cheek. Daphne felt remarkably breathless.
“Because I love you, quite desperately. I need to see you happy always, and for that reason I am letting you go.” He lowered his head and touched his forehead to hers, his heart filled with the heat of emotion, hunger, need. “I will bear the scandal with you, and I will use my influence to take the brunt of it, and I hope in the months we will be apart, possibly a couple more years, that somehow we could remain friends. Then after my petition is approved, I will spend my life wooing you back to me.”