Later, when dessert was served, he leaned close to her ear and told her in no uncertain terms that he was afraid of nothing.
Then he told her exactly what time he would arrive at her bedchamber door that evening, and suggested she be ready for him.
* * *
With a mischievous note of challenge, Anne rolled to face Garrett on the bed and propped her cheek on a hand. “I suppose you’ve been with a lot of women?”
“A few,” he casually replied, sweeping her hair away from her face so he would not lose sight of her bewitching beauty. “Is there something you wish to know?”
She began to run her fingers lightly over his chest—a rather flirtatious manoeuvre which again surprised him. He let his eyes fall closed and settled in to enjoy the heavenly splendor of her touch.
“I am curious about something, actually,” she said.
“What is it?”
She continued to tease him with light, featherlike strokes. “Is there someone else waiting for you? Someone you could not marry for some reason? Is that why you wanted a binding contract to ensure your freedom? So that you could leave here immediately after the wedding?”
He found himself wondering how much it mattered to her. If he said yes, would she stop running her fingers across his chest and freeze over with jealousy? Or would she tell him it did not matter, for this was merely a business arrangement?
He opened his eyes and watched her expression carefully. “There is no one else.”
“But there must have been...once.”
He hesitated to speak of it, or even think about it, but did not wish to keep anything from her, for she had been very open with him thus far.
“Yes, there was someone.”
Her expression remained unchanged. “I see.”
Clearly, she was working hard to keep her feelings hidden from him.
And what were her feelings, exactly? Was she dreaming of something more between them? Was this a sign of her growing affection? Or was it possessiveness?
Jealousy and emotional turmoil were not things he’d wanted from this charade, for he had been trapped once before.
But no...not Anne...please. He did not want her to have such a plan in her mind.
“You wish to know more,” he cautiously said. “You want to know why I left it to my brothers to find me a bride.”
Strangely, despite everything, he wanted to tell her.
“I admit I am curious.”
He wrapped an arm about her shoulders and pulled her close, wondering if it would be a mistake to continue this conversation. Surely it was too intimate. It would reveal too much.
At the same time it seemed rather selfish of him to tell her the truth, as if it would somehow ease his guilt, release his shame into the world and lighten his own heart—when he, and he alone, deserved to live with it for the rest of his days.
“Remember when I told you I lost my boat?” he said, because it was too late to turn back now. “I lied when I said I was alone. There were others with me. A woman I intended to marry and her nephew—the son of her brother and his wife, who were also on board.”
Anne sat up. “You were engaged?”
He nodded.
“What happened to her? Was she lost with the boat?”
He nodded again, and she stared back at him in shock.
“Good heavens.” Anne stared at him speechless, as if she had no notion what to say. “What caused the boat to sink?” she asked. “You never really told me about it.”
He exhaled heavily. “A sudden squall came out of nowhere and turned the boat over. I tried to save everyone, but somehow, for some reason I will never understand, I was the only survivor.”
“Oh, Garrett,” she replied. “I had no idea. You haven’t told anyone in your family?”
“No.”
All at once, he wanted to rise from the bed and walk out. Leave the house and go straight back to Greece to be alone, where no one asked any questions, but he forced himself to remain beside her.
“When did this happen?”
“In the spring.”
Anne cleared her throat. “Why did you only come home now, and why do you want the money? Do you wish to buy a new boat?”
“No. I mean to give the money to Georgina’s parents. They lost a great deal that day.”
Anne sat in silence, digesting all of this, then turned her face away. “I cannot believe you were engaged, and that she died. I’m so sorry.”
She’d turned away, as he thought she might. He really didn’t want to go on talking about this. It was exhausting.
Anne faced him again and laid a hand on his cheek. “If it was an unexpected squall, it couldn’t have been your fault. I’m sure you did everything you could to prevent the worst from happening.”