“I understand my desire to remain unencumbered by marriage is incomprehensible to most,” she said finally. “All young women are expected to select a husband as they would a new bonnet or pelisse, because a spouse is as necessary a female accessory as outerwear. But I need no support, financial or otherwise. I have most of what I need, and I can afford to buy the rest. Frankly, my lord, while your solvency is most refreshing, I don’t see what use I would have for you personally.”

“No?” His mouth lifted on one side in a manner she knew many women would find appealing. “You would be free of the suitors plaguing you, including Montague, who is becoming impatient. Bond has only your best interests at heart, but he’s blinded by his own personal motivations, and now they are contributing to your dilemma. Seeing you safely wed to someone he can trust is the most responsible way to address your situation.”

“I dislike talking in half-measure, my lord. I lack the talent required to translate and decipher. Since I don’t believe you would offer marriage in the name of friendship, regardless of the circumstances, I should like for you to speak bluntly and honestly.”

Eliza chose not to elaborate on what those circumstances might be, because she still wasn’t certain how much the earl knew. If he was aware of her indiscretion and the possible ramifications, it would explain his address. But what would motivate a man in his position to step into such a situation?

Westfield waved off her offer of sugar. “I’m not being completely altruistic. You are sensible, attractive, and willing to take extraordinary measures to accomplish necessary tasks.”

“I’m certainly not the only female to meet those qualifications.”

“You are wealthy, intelligent, and determined,” he enumerated. “You have sufficient breeding, but come unencumbered by tiresome, troublesome, or expensive siblings. You speak your mind and force me to speak mine. What more could I ask for?”

“Desire? Elevated feelings? Youth?” She could tell by the momentarily blank expression on his face that her first suggestion took him aback. However, she felt the question was warranted by his offer.

“Four and twenty is a perfectly acceptable age. As to the rest, a lifetime is a long time to commit to another individual. I’d rather not enter into such an extended association based on higher sentiments.”

“That isn’t why you make this offer. You see an opportunity in me, yes. But finding a suitable wife is not all you want.”

Westfield straightened. Although his gaze didn’t narrow, his focus did. “What else would it be?” he drawled.

It was the drawl that proved her point. “Perhaps you seek a shield or a barrier. Someone to deflect attention from you. Or an innocuous person to fill a hole you find painful.”

“Can I add ‘imaginative’ to the list of your attributes?”

The sound of masculine voices in the foyer drew Eliza’s attention to the open parlor door. A moment later, the butler appeared with a calling card borne atop a salver. A quick glance at the clock on the mantel told her it was Jasper. He was timely as usual, arriving just a few minutes early.

She nodded at the butler in a silent acknowledgment that he should show Jasper in. “Mr. Bond is here, my lord.”

When Jasper appeared in the doorway, her fingers linked tightly within her lap. For such a large man, he moved with an effortless silence. His attire was notably understated, comprised of shades of gray. His Hessians were polished to a shine rivaling the luster of his gleaming hair, and he stood with a widened stance, a position that emphasized how solid he was. How well-anchored and stable.

Jasper drew to a halt just inside the threshold, looking at Westfield in a way that said he wasn’t surprised to see the earl visiting. Either his men watching the house had informed him, or he’d known from Westfield. Eliza didn’t know how she felt about the latter possibility.

What she did know was that their relationship was irrevocably changed. Although he was dressed from his neck to his toes, in her mind’s eye she saw him as he’d been last night-flushed and disheveled, naked and vulnerable. He had been so open then, so willing to bare his thoughts and feelings, even when he didn’t understand them. The knowledge of that hidden side to him created a nearly unbearable yearning. A part of her believed she “knew” him. It was not reasonable for her to feel thusly, considering how little about his life and past was known to her, but it wasn’t her mind making the determination.

From the way he was looking at her, he was remembering the night before, too. But if he felt the same deep connection, why had Westfield come to call on her?

“Miss Martin.” Jasper bowed, his voice lingering in the air for a delicious moment. He straightened and pivoted to face the earl. “My lord.”

Westfield stood. “Bond. How fortuitous your arrival is.”

“Is that so?” Jasper looked at her. “Why?”

Eliza understood from Jasper’s low tone that he was in a volatile mood. She hesitated a moment before answering, unsure how to relay the events of her morning. “Lord West-field has come to offer his assistance.”

Visually, there was no change in Jasper’s countenance, but his clipped response spoke volumes. “With what?”

She looked at Westfield, turning the conversation over to him.

Jasper’s arms crossed.

The earl smiled. “I’m simply following through with what we discussed last night. Seeing Miss Martin wed might resolve the problems of everyone involved.”

“Wed to whom?”

“To me, of course.”

“Of course.” Jasper shifted slightly, in the manner of a stirring beast.

Eliza, who was uncertain of what was transpiring, thought it best to keep her own counsel.

Westfield’s smile began to fade as the silence stretched out.

Jasper glanced at Eliza. “Have you answered him?”

“Not yet, sir.”

“Why the delay? Westfield is suitable in every way.”

Stiffening against a sharp pain in her chest, Eliza lifted her chin and replied, “Perhaps I was waiting for your endorsement, Mr. Bond.”

“Damned if I’ll give it to you,” he snapped.

She blinked.

The earl looked equally stunned. “Now, see here, Bond-”

“What is your answer, Eliza?” Jasper stared hard at her.

She looked at his hands, noting the whiteness of his knuckles as he gripped his biceps. She forced herself to look away and give Lord Westfield her full attention. Her fingers were linked so tightly, they hurt. Even lacking refinement in social graces, she knew what she was about to do was wrong in many ways, but she also knew Jasper needed to hear she wanted him as well. He required it said aloud, with a witness. As confident and aggressive as he could be when in his element, he was as lost as she was when it came to intimacy.

After a deep inhalation, she said, “As honored as I am by your address, my lord, I must decline. My feelings are engaged elsewhere.”

Westfield’s brows rose.

“Right, then,” Jasper said, breaking his stillness. “Out you go, Westfield. I’ll see you this evening. Come early. You and I have matters to discuss.”

Frowning, the earl stood. “My offer will stand through the end of the Season, Miss Martin. As for you, Bond-” Westfield’s face took on a hardened cast-“we do, indeed, have matters to discuss.”

Eliza was vaguely aware of holding out her hand to West-field, who lifted it to firm lips and kissed the back. She might have said something inane, he might have as well, but she was so taken aback by the intensity with which he stared at her that she missed the rest. It was a searching look, one she couldn’t answer.

He left shortly after, with Jasper following him to the front door. Eliza took the brief moment of solitude to take a fortifying drink of her now tepid cup of tea.

Equanimity. She missed it. Feeling so unsettled and confused was anathema to her. This was exactly the sort of situation her mother had so often wallowed in, the sort of situation Eliza long promised herself to avoid.

“Eliza.”

“What did you tell him?” Her head lifted so she could see Jasper’s face, then lowered again as he sank to one knee in front of her. Her heart thudded violently. Her free hand fisted in her lap.

He urged her grip to relax by gently prying open her fingers. “The only thing Westfield knows is the reason why you hired me. I needed someone who had invitations to the events you attend, so I could gain entry.”

“Of course.” As he massaged her palm, the tingles that coursed up her arm weren’t entirely due to a returning flow of blood. “You didn’t know he intended to-”

“No.”

“I thought, perhaps, it was your way of protecting me from the consequences of last night.”

He took the cup from her other hand. “I’m not that selfless. Regardless, the memory belongs only to us, and I would never share it.”

She swallowed hard. “Why are you kneeling in that way?”

A slow, self-deprecating smile curved his mouth. “If I’m able to secure Melville’s blessing, would you have me?”

“Jasper.”

“Westfield is correct. It would solve many problems. I would have greater access to you, the person who wishes to harm you would have less access, we would have more time to-”

“We hardly know one another!” she protested, while a rush of warm and sweet feelings tightened her chest.

“We have honesty and desire.” He brought her hands to his lips and kissed the knuckles. His eyes were dark, his words delivered with heartrending earnestness. “You have money and breeding; I work in trade, and my blood is worthless. But I would spill it for you.”

Eliza sucked in a shaky breath. “What are you saying?”

“Marry me.”

“I don’t want to marry.”

“But you want me.” Jasper reached up and cupped her nape, his thumb stroking across her throbbing pulse.