the memory, then resolutely thrust it away.
This moment wasn’t anything like that night of bewitchment. These feelings were thrilling, but they were natural. She liked him so very much. She knew him to be a kind man behind his self-conscious facade, and to be a man of integrity and honesty. Now that the maleficia no longer interfered, they could be friends. Perhaps even more than friends.
When her hair, though still damp, was free of tangles, she lifted her head. James helped her drape the heavy strands of hair back from her face.
“I like your hair around your shoulders that way,” he said. He was blushing, but his gaze was steady. He hadn’t cleared his throat once. He put a hand under her arm to help her up, and they sat together on the divan before the fire.
“Annis,” he began. “I spoke to your father today.”
“You didn’t need to. I’m eighteen now. I can make my own decisions.”
His mouth turned down in that priggish way that made her want to laugh. “It’s the proper way to go about things.”
“All right, James,” she said. She still felt the laugh bubbling up in her throat. She covered her lips with her fingers to prevent it escaping. “Tell me what Papa said.”
“He gave me permission to propose to you. He gave us his blessing.”
“His blessing? I haven’t said yes yet.”
His lips relaxed to their normal pleasant line. “I think you’re going to,” he said.
Her eyebrows shot up. It wasn’t like James to jump ahead that way, to make an assumption. It was—it was confident. She found it charming.
She said, “Do you?”
“Yes. Because I’m going to persuade you.” Surprising her even further, he bent and kissed her mouth. There was nothing offensive in it, but neither was it a hesitant kiss. His lips were closed and firm, utterly unlike his awful attempt when he was driven by the maleficia. He pressed his mouth to hers for just the right amount of time, enough to make her breath quicken in her throat and her solar plexus quiver. When he straightened, he said, “That’s my first argument.”
She gazed at him, her lips a little apart, her cheeks warming. All she knew of actual kissing was what her schoolmates had said, and she had never been sure they weren’t making things up. The actual event made her suspect she was going to like kisses.
James said, “I have other inducements.” He reached into the pocket of his jacket and brought out a small black velvet box. He opened it with one finger and held it out for her to see. The ring inside was a simple one, gold, a ruby surrounded by pavé diamonds. It glittered temptingly in the firelight.
Annis buried her hands in her skirt to stop herself from touching it. “Are you sure you want to marry me, James? I’m not a proper sort of girl at all, not the sort you’re used to.”
He smiled. “I already know that, of course.”
“Did Papa say anything about my dowry?”
James gave a wry chuckle. “Your father made it clear there wouldn’t be one. He said, ‘I don’t want to talk about money.’ So we didn’t.”
“You mean—there’s to be no money, but you still want to marry me?”
He gave her a gentle, very James-like smile. “I do, Annis. I do, very much. It’s too bad about the money, of course. I’ll just have to find another way out of our difficulties.”
“Are they very bad, those difficulties?”
“They’re serious, I’m afraid, and my mother isn’t going to like the solutions. She loves the London house, for example. And I love High Point, but there’s no help for that. It’s a big debt, and we must be free of it.”
“I’m so sorry, James. I wish I could do something.”
“Well, it’s not really your problem, is it? I will manage,” he said. His smile faltered, and his jaw tightened. “I must manage, actually, whatever it costs. People are depending on me.”
“Yes, I see that.” She sighed and looked away, into the jolly little fire. “There’s something else, James. I don’t know how you’re going to feel about it.” He found her hand and held it. “I want to complete my studies with Aunt Harriet. To be an herbalist.”
“What does that mean?”
She took a breath. “I will have to spend several months a year in New York.”
His hand tightened on hers. “But what about Black Satin?”
Startled, she glanced up at him. “Sorry?”
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. “It’s my idea, Annis,