Alex made the impossible assertion that they would be married that very afternoon. Lily knew his haste was born of his suspicion that she might suddenly change her mind. He was absolutely right. She changed her mind every ten minutes. Alex sent for her maid Annie and arranged for her to be brought to Swans’ Court, bearing the necessary clothes and toiletries.

Lily fretted while she dressed in a soft yellow cotton gown with multipuff sleeves. The modestly high neckline was bordered with embroidered openwork lace. “I look like a country maid in this gown,” she muttered, staring at herself in the mirror while Annie fastened the silk loops in back. “And all of fifteen years old. Why didn’t you bring something more sophisticated?”

“ ’Tisn’t the dress that makes you look young, miss,” Annie said, smiling over her shoulder. “ ’Tis your face.”

Lily sat in front of the rectangular gilt-framed mirror at the dressing table, and peered at her reflection curiously. With annoyance, she realized that Annie was right. The natural pink of her lips was a deeper shade than usual, slightly swollen from Alex’s ravaging kisses of the night before. Her face was different, soft and luminous and vulnerable. Even a brushing of powder couldn’t tone down the rosy color of her skin, which had always been so fashionably pale. She didn’t look at all like the bold woman who rooked all the pigeons at Craven’s. Her cynical, mocking stare, which she had used to such satisfying effect, had lost all its potency. Her eyes were as guileless and open as Penelope’s. As she stared at herself, she remembered the carefree days of her teens, when she had been a passionate girl wildly infatuated with Harry Hindon. Not since then had she felt such stirrings inside herself.

The changes she saw in the mirror made Lily uneasy. “Did you bring any of my bandeaus?” she asked, running her hands through her dancing curls. “My hair is falling into my eyes.” Efficiently Annie brought them to her, and Lily chose a ribbon of gold adorned with topaz. She tied it around her forehead and scowled as she saw that the exotic band contrasted oddly with the girlish style of the dress. “Damn!” Ripping the ornament from her head, she pushed her hair back impatiently. “Please, bring some scissors and cut some of this mop off.”

“But miss,” Annie protested. “It looks so pretty and soft around your face.”

“Then let it be.” She buried her head in her hands and groaned. “I don’t care. I can’t go through with this, Annie.”

“Go through with what?” the maid asked in confusion.

“This sham of a…oh, you don’t need to know. Just help me get away from here and tell Lord Raiford…” She paused in indecision.

A new voice entered the conversation. “Tell Lord Raiford what?” Alex wandered into the room, having returned from a brief excursion through the city. From the satisfied expression on his face, Lily knew he’d been successful in finding a minister who would marry them at such short notice. Heaven only knew what he’d told the man.

Annie regarded Alex with rapt admiration, never having seen a man allowed to intrude on Miss Lawson’s privacy without asking permission. She retreated to the corner of the room and fussed with a light silk shawl, watching with discreet delight as Alex went to stand behind Lily.

He slid his hands over Lily’s shoulders and bent low to her ear. “Little coward,” he whispered. “You’re not going to run away from me.”

“I wasn’t planning to,” she lied with an air of dignity.

“You look beautiful in that gown. I can’t wait to take it off you.”

“Is that all you ever think about?” Lily asked in a low tone, mindful of Annie’s pricked ears.

He smiled and kissed the side of her neck. “Are you almost finished?”

“No,” she said with an emphatic shake of her head.

“We have to leave soon.”

Lily slipped away from him, standing up from the chair and striding about the room. She paced back and forth, passing by him repeatedly. “My lord,” she said in agitation, “I’ve been thinking about the folly of decisions made in haste, and in the last few minutes I’ve come to the conclusion that I was reckless in agreeing to—”

One long arm reached out and caught her to him, like a cat interrupting the frantic scurrying of a mouse. His mouth came swiftly upon hers, and she inhaled sharply, her mind reeling with surprise. Behind her back, Alex waved his hand in a gesture for Annie to leave the room. With a grin and a bobbing curtsey, the maid departed with discreet haste. Alex kissed Lily long and hard, until he felt her lean heavily against him, her knees wobbling. He lifted his head and stared into her drowsy dark eyes. “Marrying me is the least reckless thing you’ve ever done.”

She plucked fitfully at the lapels of his coat and smoothed them. “I…I just wish I had some sort of guarantee.”

“Will this do?” He kissed her with raw passion, parting her lips and setting her nerves ablaze with a slow search for her tongue. Lily’s hands crept around his neck, and her breath became labored, her body turning light and hot. When he dragged his mouth from hers, she kept her arms around him to preserve her balance.

“Alex,” she said unsteadily.

“Hmm?” His lips played at the sensitive corner of her mouth.

“I won’t be the usual sort of wife. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

“I know.”

She slanted a suspicious upward glance through her lashes. “But how can I be certain you won’t want me to change?”

He smiled sardonically. “Into what?”

“You’ll want me to become respectable and leave off riding astride, and begin collecting recipes for cow-heel jelly and shoe-blacking, and sitting in the parlor with an embroidery frame on my lap—”

“Hush,” he said with a laugh, cradling her face in his hands. He brushed his lips over hers. “No wonder you’ve avoided marriage for so long. Burn every embroidery frame in the house, if you want. Let Mrs. Hodges bother with the cow-heel jelly—whatever the hell that’s for—no, don’t tell me, please.” His fingertips slid up and down her slender neck, toying with the fine curls at her nape. “I don’t want to change you, sweetheart. Just rein you in a little.”

As he had intended, the comment nettled her. “You’re quite welcome to try,” she said pertly, and he laughed.

Giving her time only to find her gloves, he guided her downstairs to the phaeton outside. After helping her up, Alex nodded to the groom to release the horses, and they headed south in the direction of the river. Lily found herself almost enjoying the ride. Perched on the high seat of the phaeton, she watched with amusement as Alex worked to control the beautifully matched horses. The animals were fresh and filled with explosive energy, requiring all his attention. Lily made certain to give Alex enough room on the seat to allow sufficient arm movement. Finally the horses evened their pace enough to allow conversation.

“Why haven’t you had their tails docked?” Lily asked, gesturing to the horses’ long black tails. Surgically removing the animals’ tails, including several of the vertebrae, was a popular custom, for the sake of both fashion and practicality. “They could become tangled in the reins.”

Alex shook his head, replying in a mumble she couldn’t quite hear.

“What?” she asked. “What did you say?”

“I said it’s painful for the horses.”

“Yes, but the pain doesn’t last long, and really it’s safer with them docked.”

“Their tails are their only protection against flies,” he said, not looking at her.

“Adores children and animals,” Lily murmured, feeling a kindling of warmth toward him. “You’re not living up to your coldhearted reputation, my lord. Here, let me drive the phaeton.” She stretched her hands out for the reins.

Alex gave her a blank look, as if the concept of a woman guiding the horses were completely foreign.

Lily laughed and chided him gently. “I’m quite good at it, my lord.”

“You’ll ruin your gloves.”

“What’s one little pair of gloves?”

“I’ve never let a woman take the reins before.”

“Afraid?” she asked sweetly. “Apparently the trust in this marriage is to be one-sided.”

Reluctantly Alex handed over the reins. Her firm, expert grip seemed to reassure him, and he sat back a little.

“Relax,” Lily said with a laugh. “You look as though you intend to snatch them back at any moment. I’ve never overturned a phaeton, my lord.”

“There’s a first time for everything.” He glanced at the reins longingly.

“So it seems,” she said with perfect demureness, and flicked the horses to increase the pace.

After about a mile, Alex complimented Lily on her driving. He took pride in the sight of her small hands exerting such confident pressure on the reins. Not that he was entirely comfortable with being her passenger—it was not in his nature to relinquish control easily. But Lily’s pride in her own skill was as exciting as it was attractive. She would never be easily cowed by him or anyone. She would be an ideal wife for him, a woman capable of matching his passion, strength, and stubbornness with her own.

The phaeton progressed toward Brompton and Chelsea, and Alex retrieved the reins the last part of the way. He took them down a side street to a small stone church with arched wooden doors. A soberly dressed lad in his teens waited outside the church entrance. “Hold the horses,” Alex murmured, tossing him a coin. “We won’t be long.”

The boy caught the coin in his fist and grinned cheerfully. “Aye, m’lord.”

Alex descended from the phaeton and reached up for Lily. She was frozen in place, looking down at him with wide eyes. The sight of the church had been like a bucket of cold water thrown in her face, making her realize exactly what was about to happen. Alex spoke casually. “Give me your hand, Lily.”

“What am I doing?” she asked in a small voice.

“Let me help you down.”

Lily put her hand to her thrashing heart as she stared at him. His manner was easy and unthreatening, but deep in his eyes there was a steely gleam, and his voice contained a thread of warning. Now that she had allowed him to bring her this far, there would be no escape. Feeling as if the situation weren’t quite real, she placed her hand in his and alighted from the carriage. “After H-Harry jilted me,” she stammered, “I promised myself…I vowed…I’d never marry anyone.”

Alex looked at her down-bent head, realizing how much her fiancé’s desertion had hurt her, enough that the memory of the humiliation still lingered after ten years. He slid an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “He didn’t deserve you,” he whispered into her hair. “He was a weak, cowardly fool.”

“Intelligent enough to s-save himself. And some might call you even more of a fool for doing this—”

“I have my faults,” Alex said, gently kneading her shoulders, turning his back to shield her from the curious gazes of passersby. He smiled ruefully. “Many faults, and you’ve managed to become acquainted with most of them. But I’d never leave you, Wilhemina Lawson. Never. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” she said with a smothered, hopeless laugh, “but I don’t believe you. You think you know the worst about me, but you don’t.” She didn’t dare say more than that. Holding her breath, she waited to see if it would be enough to make him change his mind.

“I know all I need to,” he said quietly. “The rest will keep for later.” Keeping his arm around her, he walked with her into the church.

The inside of the little building was touching in its simplicity, filled with the light filtering through quaint stained-glass windows. The glow of candles caused the polished oak pews to gleam. An elderly vicar waited for them inside. His face was weathered and kindly. Although he was no taller than Lily, he possessed a strong and vibrant presence. “Lord Raiford,” he said with a serene smile. His clear blue eyes moved to Lily’s apprehensive face. “And this must be Miss Lawson.” He surprised Lily by taking her shoulders in his hands and studying her appraisingly. “I’ve known Raiford for quite some time, my dear. Almost since the day of his birth.”

“Oh?” Lily returned with a wan imitation of her usual saucy smile. “And what’s your opinion of him, vicar?”

“The earl is a good man,” he replied thoughtfully, his eyes twinkling as he glanced at Alex, “though at times he is apt to be somewhat prideful.”

“And arrogant,” Lily added, her smile widening.

The vicar smiled also. “Yes, perhaps that too. But he is also responsible and compassionate, and if he follows the family tradition, he’ll prove to be an unusually devoted husband. The Raiford blood, you see. I am glad that the earl has chosen a woman of strong mettle as his companion. Throughout the years he has been given many burdens to carry.” The vicar glanced at Alex’s averted face, and returned to Lily’s attentive expression. “Have you ever been on a sea voyage, Miss Lawson? You may have heard the word ‘marry’ as a nautical term. It refers to the sailors’ practice of matching two ropes together to give them greater strength as one. I pray this will be true of your union.”

Lily nodded, touched by the quiet atmosphere of the church, the vicar’s kind face, the sight of the color creeping up from Alex’s collar. Alex did not look at her, only kept his gaze on the floor, but she sensed that he was as affected by the moment as she was. “I hope so,” she whispered.

The vicar gestured to both of them, and walked toward the altar at the front of the church. Lily hesitated, her heart racing with emotion. Slowly she removed her gloves and handed them to Alex. He put the white kid gloves in his pocket and took her hand, folding her fingers between his. Lily looked up at him with a tremulous smile. But there was no smile on his face, only a grave expression and a flash of heat in his gaze.

They stood before the vicar with their hands linked. Lily only half-heard the clergyman’s measured voice as it drifted in and out of her consciousness. It was like a dream—a blurred, bewildering dream. Of all the twists and turns her life had taken, this was the most unexpected. She was marrying a man she barely knew, but somehow it seemed she had known him for a lifetime. The feel of her hand in his, turning warm and damp, was oddly familiar. The sound of his even breathing, the quiet timbre of his voice as he spoke the vows, all of it called to something deep within her, soothing the restless fear that had been a part of her for so long. She repeated her own vows carefully, trying to make her faltering voice steady. Alex brought her hand up and slid a heavy, carved gold ring on her finger. The band, a little too loose for her finger, was adorned with a large ruby that glowed as if a flame were trapped in the brilliant depths.