Release(15)

Ariana pursed her lips. What he said made sense. It was a much better option than going back to the sector a ruined woman. She’d be married to the duke, which was what she’d used to want. “How will we explain eloping? It’s something people usually do when there’s resistance to the match.”

“We’ll say we did it on a whim,” said Risciter. “We’ll say we were carried away by romantic feelings for each other, and it caught our fancy to get married.”

She supposed that worked. But she really didn’t want to marry Risciter now. Even though she’d thought him the best catch possible mere hours before, she couldn’t help but see him as thoroughly disgusting now. “I don’t know if I could ever love you now.”

“That doesn’t matter,” said Risciter. “We needn’t spend too much time together in our married life. There are many planets in the Evon Sector, and I have several estates on each. There’s the business of an heir, of course, but once you’ve given birth to a son, we really wouldn’t have to see each other very often.”

It sounded awful. Hating her husband? Spending all her time away from him?

Risciter sat down next to her in another threadbare chair. “After the child was born, if you were discreet and careful, you could always take a lover.”

Ariana’s jaw dropped. She was appalled. “You’re hideous.”

Risciter smirked. “I’m realistic. I’m trying to make a potentially disastrous situation for both of us into something that won’t damage us.”

She really didn’t have much of a choice, did she? She had to agree. She and Risciter would lie, and no one would ever know that she’d actually been kidnapped or that she’d saved Risciter from a murderer and kidnapper—

Wait. She shook her head slowly. “It won’t work.”

“Why not?” asked Risciter.

“I contacted the authorities in Ossile before we came here. They know I’ve been kidnapped. They tried to apprehend our ship, but Keirth got away from them.”

“Keirth?” repeated Risciter. “You call him by his first name? That’s quite intimate.”

She tilted her chin up. “I refuse to give him the respect of calling him ‘mister.’ There’s a difference.”

Risciter got back up out of the chair. “That does complicate things. It does.” He began to pace again. “I do wish you hadn’t done that.”

“Well, I didn’t know what was going to happen. I thought they’d capture him, and you’d be safe.” She didn’t want to marry Risciter, not exactly. But she didn’t like the alternative either. Was the alternative the only option now?

Risciter paced silently for several minutes, looking deep in thought. Then he stopped and turned to her, smiling. “We’ll figure something out. Just need to think on it a bit. Let’s ring for some champagne to celebrate our nuptials, shall we?”

Ariana wasn’t sure whether she felt relieved or apprehensive. “Champagne sounds nice.”

Risciter sent a message to the innkeeper, and within a few minutes, a maid delivered champagne to the door, along with two glasses. She left it inside the door on a small wheeled table. Ariana watched while Risciter popped the cork and then turned his back to fill the glasses. He whirled with flourish and brought Ariana a long-stemmed glass filled with sparkling liquid.

Gesturing with his own glass, Risciter said, “A toast. To the two of us together.”

Ariana raised her glass and took a sip. It wasn’t the best champagne she’d ever had, but she supposed it was the best to be found on the colonies. After the stress of the recent past, she found the champagne a welcome luxury. She continued to sip at it.

Risciter set his glass on the mantel. “Perhaps we could say your message to the police in Ossile was a practical joke.”

Ariana wrinkled her nose. “How would that work?” She took another drink of champagne.

Risciter opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a muffled roar of rage from Keirth, who’d regained consciousness and was now struggling against his bonds in his chair.

“Ah,” said Risciter. “You’re awake.” He picked up his glass of champagne, strode over to Keirth, and ripped the gag out of Keirth’s mouth. “Miss Gilit and I are to be married. Care to drink to our health?”

Why was he giving Keirth champagne? He’d tried to kill Risciter. He didn’t deserve hospitality. The fire was very, very warm. Ariana slumped in her chair a little.

Risciter tipped the glass into Keirth’s mouth.

Ariana was feeling a bit drowsy. It had been quite an eventful day, after all. Maybe she could nap in this chair. The fire was so warm and pleasant.