Her eyes cracked open and stared at him groggily. For a dazzled interval, he swam in endless brown and felt so damned happy to see her, devil take the rest of the world.
Sidonie wasn’t sure where she was. Except she’d heard Jonas speak her name. Just the sound of his voice filled her with elation.
She stared at him, transfixed by the unabashed delight in his face. Then he straightened and stepped back. A chill dropped over his expression so he looked stern and not at all like the man who had smiled at her as though she was his dearest treasure.
Oh, how she wished she was his dearest treasure.
“What are you doing here?” he asked sharply.
Disoriented and stiff from her makeshift bed, she struggled to sit. Mrs. Bevan must have dropped a coat over her at some stage. Even so, she was frozen. She clutched the thick folds to her and remembered Jonas giving her his coat last night to keep her from the storm.
“Is it late?” Her voice emerged as a croak.
“After midnight.” His scowl didn’t lighten. “Answer me.”
It didn’t occur to her to lie to save her pride. What was the point? He’d discover soon enough she’d flattened every defense. She brushed back the strands of hair tickling her face. She must look a complete disaster. “I’m waiting for you.”
He made an impatient gesture. The ruby glittered evilly in the candlelight. “No, I mean what are you doing still at the castle? I thought you’d be long gone.”
She flinched. He sounded irritated. The tiny kernel of certainty that he couldn’t turn from her so abruptly shriveled. She’d never been fool enough to expect a declaration of undying devotion, but this irascible stranger made her cringe. “I thought—”
He silenced her with another angry wave of his hand. “This is madness. You’ve got Roberta’s vowels. I didn’t expect a good-bye. I expected you to take your precious chastity and run.”
She flushed as the last mists of sleep faded. God help her, she’d made a terrible mistake. “I thought—” Her voice cracked and she started again. “I thought you surrendered Roberta’s vowels to leave me free to choose what happened between us.”
His mouth tightened. “That’s why I gave them to
you. So you were free to bring this disaster to an end.”
He was blunt to the point of spite. She’d only known him a few days. He shouldn’t be able to carve her heart into bloody strips with a few words. She’d derided pride as a useless luxury when she decided to challenge her dismissal. Now pride insisted she couldn’t cry before him.
“I should go,” she said shakily.
“Exactly.” He stepped back as if her presence offended him. “But it’s too late tonight.”
She rose on unsteady legs, feeling sick, wishing herself anywhere but here, wishing she’d taken the powerful hint and left this morning. “I’m sorry.”
He scowled at her. Had she imagined that smile when he first saw her? “What are you sorry for?” He sounded bitter although she had no idea why. “All blame in this mess is mine.”
“I acted like an idiot last night.”
“Leave it, Sidonie.” He sounded tired. Tired and disgusted with everything. “Go to bed.”
Still she didn’t move. She wasn’t sure why. Actually she knew why. It was because of a smile. And because she had a sudden piercing memory of his expression in the mirror after he believed he’d put her in danger.
He did a fine job now of pretending indifference. Last night he hadn’t been indifferent. She refused to believe he was shallow enough to change in a few hours. She drew herself up and stared directly at him. “Why did you give me Roberta’s vowels?”
An intensely masculine growl of frustration. She wondered why she wasn’t even a little afraid of his temper. “For God’s sake, Sidonie!”
“Jonas…”
She faltered into silence as he grabbed her hand and hauled her out of the hall and into the library. Thank goodness this room had a fire. The hall provided a frigid setting and she’d imagined a thousand ghosts eavesdropping on their argument. He released her the instant they were inside. Like a naughty schoolgirl, she stood trembling on the Turkey carpet before the desk.
She raised her chin. He might want her gone. He might find her person distasteful. If either of those were true, she’d make… damned sure he told her so. “Why did you give me Roberta’s vowels?” she asked again in an uncompromising tone.
“So you’d leave.” He sounded equally uncompromising. His fists opened and closed at his sides, indicating his resentment.
She stiffened her backbone. She already knew this wouldn’t be easy. “Why do you want me to leave?”