He flicked the horses' reins, and the vehicle picked up speed. "It's the truth."
She let her breath out in a hiss. "Your truth, but what about the fact that I have refused you?"
"I will convince you."
His complacent assurance made her want to scream. "Sacre bleu. Your arrogance knows no bounds, sir."
His shrug nearly pushed her over the edge of her control. "My arrogance is well matched by your stubbornness."
"It isn't stubbornness. I made a promise and I intend to keep it."
"I would never expect you to do otherwise."
Unaccountably, his easy agreement disappointed her. "Then I cannot marry you."
"Yes, you can. I'm not your father and one day you will accept that fact." He turned his head to briefly catch her gaze. "Your mother would have liked me."
"My mother would have thought you were overbearing beyond belief."
"Perhaps. But she would have liked me."
"How can you be so sure? You never even knew her."
"Because I am a man of honor. It wasn't your father's strength that destroyed your family. It was his lack of integrity."
She shot Drake a penetrating look. Could he know the full truth? The horror of her father's final betrayal? No, surely not. "What do you mean?"
"Only a man lacking honor would be so certain his wife had none."
She couldn't fault his reasoning. If he were right and her father's baseness was the true source of trouble in her parents' marriage, then what did that say for her promise to her mother? No one could accuse Drake of being without honor. To her way of thinking, he had more than his share of that commodity. It was all so confusing. Life had been so much simpler before she discovered a thief in the company, before she had met Drake and sailed on his ship.
That blasted embezzler had an awful lot to answer for.
She went for a different tack in her argument with Drake. "Well, if you have no thought for my feelings on the matter, consider what an upset you have probably given my aunt."
He went stiff beside her, his hands tightening on the horse's reins. "Are you worried she will not approve your marriage to a bastard? Are you ashamed of our association, Thea?"
The hot fury that welled up in her made her earlier irritation pale into insignificance.
"Don't ever call yourself that again," she growled.
He drew the carriage up in front of his aunt's town house, halting the horses. He turned to her, his face an impassive mask. "That's what I am, Thea. You might as well accept it now."
"You are not a bastard." She gripped her parasol so tightly that she thought the handle might break. Better that than Dr
ake's neck. "You are the illegitimate son of a woman who by all accounts is both a lady and a wonderful mother. Your father is just plain too stupid to acknowledge you, but that doesn't make you a bastard. Do not ever call yourself that name in my hearing again."
She did not realize that her fervent speech had been overheard until a servant cleared his throat. He had come from the house to care for the horses.
Thea ignored him. "Well?"
Drake's expression did not alter, but the heat in his eyes burned her. "If that is your wish."
She nodded. "It is."
Finally, he smiled. "Very well. Can we leave the curricle now? We are starting to draw a crowd."
She looked around them and realized that he spoke the truth. They were the object of interest not only for Lady Boyle's footman, but also for a well-dressed couple in a passing carriage and a nanny with her charge. Had she embarrassed Drake with her outburst? If she had, he had only himself to blame. After all, she would not have been pushed past the point of reason had he not called himself such an atrocious name.