of well-being. Sunlight warmed the side of his face. Without opening his eyes, he let the sensation bubble up inside him and spread out, and he realized with a slight shock that he was happy. Not merely content, but joyful. He wanted to leap out of bed, fling open the window, and shout out his happiness to the world. He felt invincible, as optimistic as he could ever recall.
Last night with Emmy had been extraordinary. He slid his hand sideways, searching for her, and encountered only cool sheets. He sat up, seized with sudden panic, and glanced around the room.
Where was she? Had she played him false? Sneaked back to London without him? The little—
No. She was sitting in the window embrasure in her chemise, her knees drawn up to her chest, looking out at the inn yard. She turned when she heard him move and gave him a shy, tentative smile as if unsure of her reception.
The morning light behind her made a halo of the soft curly fuzz of her unbrushed hair, a red-orange glow around her head, and Alex was momentarily struck dumb. With that peachy glow to her cheeks, pink lips, and those damnable freckles, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He wanted to cradle her against him at the same time as he wanted to overpower her. He tamped down a fierce tide of lust.
Sometime over the past twenty-four hours, he’d come to a decision. He couldn’t turn her over to Bow Street. She needed his protection. Not just from prosecution, but from Danton too. And the best way he could think of to do that, after catching Danton and having him tried for the Italian’s murder—was to give her the protection of his name.
He was the Earl of Melton. If she married him, even if Bow Street did decide to prosecute her for the theft of the jewels, as the wife of an earl she could claim “privilege of peerage.” As a countess, she couldn’t be arrested or imprisoned, except at the request of her fellow peers. She would have the right to be tried by a jury of peers in the House of Lords, who would determine her sentence, and—since she wouldn’t be accused of either treason or murder, the two exceptions to the rule—even if she were found guilty, she could escape punishment if it was her first offence.
Alex was hoping she could avoid prosecution altogether if they returned all the jewels to the Prince Regent, not just the diamond she’d stolen from Rundell & Bridge. Prinny was immensely fond of grand, dramatic gestures, and he never tired of opportunities to flaunt his benevolence. He’d be thrilled at the idea of being able to present the missing French crown jewels to the French ambassador or to the newly reinstated King Louis at the next state visit.
The Prince was also a fan of settling feuds by marrying enemies off to one another. A secret romantic at heart, he abhorred violence and always preferred a peaceful solution to any problem. Alex would personally vouchsafe his wife’s future good behavior and swear to keep her out of trouble.
He almost laughed aloud. Good God. Was he mad? He’d never thought he would marry, at least, not for another decade or so. And yet the idea of being wed to Emmy Danvers wasn’t unappealing. Quite the opposite.
He was attracted to her in ways he hadn’t experienced with any other woman. If he married her, he could kiss her whenever he wanted. And yet his desire wasn’t completely sexual. Lust was undeniably a factor, but there was more to it than that. He loved her strength, her bravery, her quick wit. He loved catching her eye in a shared joke across the room, the way they seemed able to engage in silent communication. He appreciated her humor, and even the quiet moments, holding her in the darkness, just standing next to her without speaking. She engaged his mind. His heart.
Alex blinked. Good God. Was he in love? The kind of thing the poets went on about?
It definitely wasn’t the moping, gloomy love of Shelley, or the quiet admiration of Keats. Nor was it the desperate, soul-rending agony of Byron. But the prickly, teasing, exasperating love of Shakespeare’s Beatrice and Benedick, or Katherina and Petruchio?
Maybe.
There were so many things he didn’t know about her, things a man ought to know before considering a woman for his life partner. What foods she liked and disliked, whether she