“That wasn’t your certificate then? Culpepper was lying?”
Damn and blast. Stone exhaled in disgust. “No. They lifted it from my jacket when I took it off in the taproom.”
“Then you and my sister are not, in fact, legally married, and the two of you are going to have to wait to be… alone until after that elaborate wedding you just promised her.”
Stone hadn’t considered this.
“You’ll need to have banns read. My mother’s going to want to send out hundreds of invitations. Likely, she’ll plan a prewedding ball…”
Stone rubbed the back of his neck. Banns? That meant waiting three weeks. “Rather like closing the barn doors after the horses are out, don’t you think? I was thinking more along the lines of a special license.”
“Ha!” Westerley shot him a look. “Not likely. Accept it, Spencer, you have at least three weeks of socializing and kowtowing before our mothers allow you to settle into wedded bliss.”
Stone tore the long stem of grass he’d been holding in half. “Unless I choose to be difficult.”
Westerley shot him a narrowed glance. “That wouldn’t be very gentlemanly, now would it?”
“Although I could perhaps be cooperative,” Stone went on as though Westerly hadn’t spoken. “If allowed a few hours alone with my wife. In order to ascertain her wishes—"
“Your betrothed,” Westerley interrupted. “With your betrothed.”
“Meddlesome detail.” Stone waved a hand through the air.
He then gestured toward Tabetha’s maid, who had nodded off in the shade of a tree not ten yards away. “The maid’s presence ought to be sufficient.”
Westerley broke the stem in his hands as well, apparently contemplating the merits of Stone’s proposal.
“Very well.” He sighed, pushing to his feet. “But I’ll expect your full cooperation henceforth.”
“Of course.”
Gently sliding out from beneath Tabetha, Stone rose along with his friend, strolled across to the carriage to ensure the villains remained properly restrained, and then bid Westerley farewell.
When he returned to the shaded tree, Tabetha was sitting up and looking adorably sleepy. “Where is he going?”
“He’s going to meet up with the others to let them know you are safe. They likely won’t catch up for at least a few hours.” Stone dropped onto the blanket beside her and opened his arms. “Come here.”
“I didn’t dream it then?” She burrowed into him, her soft curves reminding him how much he’d missed sleeping beside her. She fit him perfectly.
“You did not dream it. Did I?”
“No.” She laughed.
“Trouble is,” he began, playing with one of her curls, “we are going to have to delay living as husband and wife again until after another wedding. Your brother says we’ll have to have banns read, and that means three weeks.”
“Oh.” She tilted her head back to stare up at him. “But…” She kissed the corner of his mouth. “That means we’ll have to wait… Three whole weeks?” As she realized what that meant, she appeared as appalled as he was.
Stone touched her chin. “But we have right now. Am I a cad for wanting to take full advantage of your brother’s absence?”
The dark center of her eyes grew large and her lips parted. She slowly shook her head from side to side.
“What did you have in mind?” Her breath sounded huskier than it had a moment before, and the tips of her breast pebbled beneath her night rail.
“Making love to my wife, Tabetha Spencer, knowing there are no more falsehoods between the two of us.”
“I don’t deserve you.” She blinked. “I’ve been horrid to you all spring. You were only honoring your word to my brother. How can you love me?”
“Westerley released me from my promise the day he arrived in London.”
“But that was weeks ago!”
He shrugged. The truth was… “It gave me an excuse to be with you.”
Her mouth dropped open, and a startled sigh escaped her lips.
“Oh.” Her eyes were wide with… wonder?
“It didn’t make sense. Loving you. You made it crystal clear you didn’t want anything to do with me, but that didn’t change how I felt.”
“But I annoyed you.”
“Yes,” he agreed with a smirk. “In a thousand ways.”
Stone gently laid her onto the blanket again and bent down to kiss the tender skin on her shoulder. “The more you provoked me, the harder it was to keep away from you.”
“I provoked you to no end,” she admitted.
“Case in point.” He opened his mouth and trailed it to the slope of her neck.
“Oh, Stone,” she moaned.
“Nothing feels as right as loving you, and I doubt anything ever will.” Stone cradled her face in his hands. She needed to know