He slipped her arm though his as soon as he’d donned his coat. “Good, because quite frankly, I might be lost without you.”
She did not laugh at his attempt at humor. In fact, she appeared downright suspicious of his claim. As much as he’d like to explain further, he had to return her home. He’d already taken too many risks with her reputation as it was, although he did not exactly regret parts of their interactions.
With dryer skirts, Melanie was able to move swiftly. Once they’d reached the well-trod path, she hurried forward without looking back. It was as if…
He sprinted after her and blocked her way. “What’s wrong?”
“Please, just leave me be,” she begged.
He was taken aback by her wail, so unlike her usual calm demeanor that he was concerned. “Not until you tell me what’s changed. I thought we had settled our differences.”
“I can’t ever be what you want.” She wrung her hands. “You know I won’t, so if you are after female companionship, you should look elsewhere.”
He grabbed her arm and felt the tremble in her limb. “What the devil has gotten into you to speak this way?”
She stared up at him, eyes wide in the moonlight. “I promised Valentine I wouldn’t encourage you, and I don’t mean to.”
Walter gaped. Valentine was scolding the wrong party in this affair. He cupped the back of Melanie’s head and drew her against his chest in a clumsy embrace. “I could hardly be disappointed. I only want you to be happy and you are not. I enjoy our time together too much to risk losing you. I felt it necessary to set you straight about avoiding conception and overstepped. I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I won’t even kiss you if you say you don’t want me to.”
He held his breath.
She met his gaze sadly and turned away. “Good night, Mr. George.”
“Wait, I will need the name of a comfortable inn in Oxford.”
She faced him again. “Why would you want that?”
“Because if you’re leaving Brighton on Friday, I’m going to follow you there.”
“You can’t do that!”
“As you discovered last week, I am wealthy enough to do anything I want. You certainly couldn’t imagine I’d want to stay behind this time. If you go, I’ll be moving to Oxford, temporarily I hope, so I can claim my favorite dance partner and talk to you again.”
He’d ruined his chances of a slow courtship by speaking precipitously of intimacy before she was ready, but he wasn’t going to let the obstacle of distance deter him.
He bent to press a gentle kiss her cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning, and every morning after that no matter what you say.”
“Walter, you can’t mean that.”
“But I do.” He met her gaze. “Moving will not keep us apart, so just give up and stay. Agreed?”
She stared at him so long his heart began to thump against his ribs. He drew a breath, willing her to find her courage—and then he jumped as a servant from her home stepped outside. They were undoubtedly spotted. Thankfully it was only her maid.
She licked her lips. “You’ll come to hate me.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.” He caught her elbow and urged her toward her maid. “Take your mistress inside and make sure she is warmed as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir.” The maid grinned. “Not a word about this, I suppose?”
“My thanks.” He kissed the back of Melanie’s glove and then left her, grinning ear to ear. He could change her mind eventually. He was sure of it.
Thirteen
“Melanie, we need you in the parlor,” Julia called from the hallway outside her closed bedroom door.
Melanie set the last of her packing into the trunk and closed the lid. After all the years she’d spent in Brighton, she was having trouble reducing her possessions to a reasonable amount for travel. She was going home, despite Walter’s plea to stay. Leaving Brighton behind for the regulated life of a daughter who could never make her parents happy was a small price to pay for peace of mind.
After a night spent contemplating her feelings, she understood she had fallen in love with Walter George.