“Today,” he announced with great cheer, “is a superb day to be married.” Victoria was certain she'd misheard him. “I beg your pardon?”
“Married. Man and wife.”
“You and me?”
“No, actually I think that the hedgehogs out in the garden need to be joined in holy matrimony. They have been living in sin for years. I can no longer stand for it.”
“Robert,” Victoria said, giggling despite herself.
“And all those little illegitimate hedgehogs. Think of the stigma. Their parents have been breeding like rabbits. Or like hedgehogs, as the case may be.”
“Robert, this is a serious matter.”
The levity left his eyes, and they burned hot and intense into hers. “I have never been more serious.”
Victoria was silent for a moment while she chose her words. “Don't you think today is a bit sudden? Marriage is a very serious matter. We must give it sufficient thought.”
“I have been thinking of little else for the better part of a month.”
Victoria sat up, pulling the sheet along with her to cover her nakedness. “But I have not. I'm not ready to make this kind of decision just yet.”
His face hardened. “You might have thought of that before you knocked on my door this afternoon.”
“I wasn't thinking beyond—”
“Beyond what?” he asked, his voice sharp.
“I'd hurt your feelings,” she whispered. “And I wanted to—”
He was out of the bed and on his feet in under a second. He planted his hands on his hips and stared down at her furiously, oblivious to the fact that he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. “You made love to me out of pity?” he spat.
“No!” She, however, was not oblivious to the fact that he was naked, and so her denial was directed to his knees.
“Look at me!” he ordered, his anger making his voice terribly harsh.
She raised her eyes a few inches, then lowered them again. “Would you please put on some clothing?”
“It's a little for modesty,” he bit out, but he pulled his breeches off the floor and put them on.
“I didn't do this out of pity,” she said, finally raising her eyes to his face, even though she'd much rather look at the ceiling or the walls or even at the chamber pot in the corner. “I did it simply because I wanted to do it, and I wasn't thinking much beyond today.”
“I find it difficult to believe that you, a person who craves stability and permanence, would embark on a short-term affair.”
“I wasn't thinking of it as such.”
“Then how were you thinking of it?”
Victoria looked into his eyes, saw the vulnerability he was trying to hide beneath his anger, and realized just how important her answer was to him. “I wasn't thinking with my head,” she said softly. “I was thinking with my heart. I looked up at your window, and you looked so sad—”
“As you have so kindly pointed out,” he said bitterly.
Victoria fell silent for a moment to let him speak. Then she continued with, “It wasn't just for you. It was for myself as well. I suppose I just wanted to feel loved.”
Hope flared in his eyes. “You are loved,” he said fervently, reaching forward to take her hands in his. “And you can feel that way every day of the rest of your life if you'd only let yourself. Marry me, Victoria. Marry me and make me the happiest man in the world. Marry me and give yourself peace and contentment. And,” he added, his voice dropping to a husky whisper, “love. For surely there has never been a woman loved more deeply and truly than I do you.”
Victoria fought against the tears that were pricking her eyes, but his words were too powerful, and she felt her cheeks grow salty and wet. “Robert,” she began, not at all certain what she was trying to say, “for so very long I have—”
“You might be with child,” he cut in. “Have you considered that?”
“I had not,” she admitted with a convulsive swallow. “But I—”
“Marry me,” he repeated, tightening his grip on her hands. “You know it is the right thing to do.”
“Why did you have to say that?” she said. “You know I hate it when you try to tell me what I want.”
Robert let out an exasperated breath. “That wasn't what I meant, and you know it.”
“I know, it's only that…”
“It's only what?” he said softly. “What is holding you back, Torie?”