Page 26 of Outrageous

Eva recoiled. “This is the second time you’ve threatened me with physical violence. I am not a child to be spanked.”

“Then quit behaving like one. We both know what we must do—marry each other—and you are only making our lives more miserable than need be with your incessant backbiting and complaining. If you are looking for somebody to blame, I’m sure there will be a mirror in your room at the inn.”

His tone and words stung, all the more because she knew he was probably right. “Who do you think you are?” she retorted, for lack of anything better to say.

He gave a bitter laugh. “I’m the man you’re going to spend the rest of your life with, sweetheart.”

* * *

She fell into a moody silence and Godric had hopes that would be the end of any discussion until he could park her in a room, order dinner sent to her, and drink himself blind in the taproom.

Alas, it was not to be.

“I hate you.” If looks could kill, Godric would be a rapidly cooling corpse on the carriage floor.

“So you’ve said,” he answered in the most bored tone he could contrive.

“Where are my other clothes? I hate this dress.”

“There are two others in the valise I purchased for you.”

“I hate those, too.”

“You haven’t even seen them.”

“That doesn’t matter—you have putrid taste.”

“You shall have to suffer with my taste until we can get you to a dressmaker and you can choose your own.”

“Did you throw my other clothes away? Because they are mine; I paid for them.”

He sighed and turned back to her. “Eva—”

“I never gave you leave to use my Christian name.”

“Eva,” he repeated, his jaw tight, “your other clothes are in my bag and—”

Her magnificent eyes widened in horror. “What are you doing with them?”

Godric briefly wondered what she imagined he was doing with them to give her such a look of revulsion. “I’m keeping them from your hands. You may wear that getup once we are safely on my estate and there is nobody else to shock.”

“What do you care about whom I shock and how I do it? All you’ve done since returning to England is shock people. Over and over again.”

She certainly had a point. How could Godric tell her he regretted his behavior these past months without sounding like a lunatic as well as an ass? The answer to that was easy: he couldn’t.

“Stop arguing. None of this will change my mind.”

“I want my clothes back and—”

“So you can get dressed in them and bugger off at the first opportunity?”

Her eyes widened at his vulgar language, reminding him, once again, that she was just a girl. He took a deep breath, counted to ten, and asked coolly, “Does your father allow you to dress in men’s clothing?”

“Yes.”

He thought for a moment, and then added, “In public?”

She blinked her huge violet eyes, her smooth forehead wrinkling. She opened her mouth, but then closed it.