“I sent a message to them while we were at Shepherdston Hall.”
“Why didn’t you tell them before you left Carlton House?”
“I couldn’t,” Alyssa said. “Because the idea came to me on the spur of the moment.”
“Why?” he demanded.
“Because I’m not ready for you to let me go.”
“You should be,” he answered in a warning tone.
“Why?” It was Alyssa’s turn to ask for answers.
“After what happened tonight, I should think it would be quite obvious.” He snorted. “I’m not the man you married. I’ve changed. I don’t know who I am anymore.”
“I know who you are,” Alyssa answered. “You’re my husband, Griffin Abernathy.”
“I was Griffin Abernathy. I’m not sure who I am now. Or who I’ll be tomorrow. England’s greatest war hero or the man hiding behind a stone column because he’s frightened of fireworks.” He shook his head. “All I know is that I’m not the sort of husband you need. You deserve better than what you got tonight.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” Alyssa answered firmly. “Because you’re in no position to judge what’s best for me or for yourself. You’ve just come home from war, Griffin. I can’t begin to imagine what that is like, but I do know that no man comes home from war unchanged. You may not be the same man I married, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t exactly what I want in a husband.”
“My, but your standards have fallen, Lady Abernathy.” He smiled with his mouth, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Last year you married me for my neglected manor and gardens and because I wasn’t a duke. Now, even that has changed.”
“Everything changes, Griffin,” she said softly. “Nothing stays the same.”
“You have.” Unable to resist the need, Griff reached over and loosened her hair from its topknot. “You stayed the same. You’re exactly the way I remembered you.”
Alyssa smiled a slow, sweet smile. “Then your memory is faulty, my lord. We had just made love the last time you saw me. I was lying in bed. And I was naked.”
Griffin’s mouth went dry, and his body reacted immediately. The only part of him that hadn’t been aching until now began to throb. “Don’t, Alyssa,” he said when she reached up to unbutton her evening gown.
“Don’t what, my lord?”
“Don’t try to tempt me with a game of seduction.” He gazed at her. “You may win the battle, but the victory will be a hollow one for both of us.”
“I wouldn’t dream of tempting you with a game of seduction,” Alyssa retorted. “We’ve gone far beyond seduction. The only game I’m playing with you is the marriage game.”
“Then you shall lose, madam,” he said. “For there’s no longer a reason for us to continue the marriage game.”
The pain of his words ripped through her. “There’s every reason for us to continue the game of marriage,” she told him.
“Indeed?” He cocked an eyebrow.
“We spoke vows,” she said simply. “For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. Till death us do part. Those vows bound us to one another for life. And I intend that we shall keep them.”
“Then prepare yourself, my lady,” he warned once again. “For I’m afraid that you’ve enjoyed the better and are about to experience the worst.”
Alyssa looked him in the eye. “I’ve just become a duchess,” she reminded him. “I’m prepared for anything.”
* * *
They arrived at Abernathy Manor at half past three in the afternoon, after traveling through the night. Alyssa was bone weary, emotionally and physically exhausted. Although he tried hard not to show it, she suspected Griffin was even more so. She had only made the journey from the manor to London and back. He had traveled from Spain.
The staff was lined up to greet them, and Myrick drove the carriage up the circular drive to the front door. A footman opened the door and unfolded the steps, and Alyssa quickly alighted from the vehicle.
Griffin moved more slowly, gingerly flexing the muscles of his right leg before he grabbed his cane with his left hand and eased off his seat and out of the coach.
The staff cheered when they saw him, and Griffin did his best to smile through the pain as he greeted each member of the staff on his way into the house.