Chapter Fourteen

P atience's body physically shook when she stood at the entrance to a private salon. When one of the bouncers had interrupted her game at one of the tables in the ladies' gambling room, Cassandra and Patience had shared a knowing look. The summons could only mean that the Widow of Whitehall had another prospective husband for her to meet.

As she began to accompany the wolf down to the lower floor, Patience tried not to think of her encounter with Hades on these same stairs. Nor did she let herself think of his hazel eyes boring into her when she had met him by accident in the garden. There was no point looking in that direction. He would not be there.

She hadn't seen him since their carriage ride. When he did arrive for a visit with his brother, she made sure she was in a different wing of the house attending other patients. It would do her no good to pine over a man who only wanted one thing from her.

"You only need to call out if you have need of me, Mrs. Moore. I'll remain right here outside the door," Demetrius said politely.

"Thank you, Demetrius," she said far calmer than she felt inside. She had no idea who might be on the other side of that door but there was only one way to find out.

"Ready?" the wolf asked and at her nod he pushed opened the door for her.

It closed behind her with a soft click and she stared in disbelief at who she saw. Was this some sort of a trick? If so, it was far from funny.

Asher stepped forward and gave her a very formal, and proper, bow. "Good evening, Mrs. Moore. May I say you look beautiful tonight," he said so politely they could have been in a ballroom.

She remembered herself and the fact that he was a titled gentleman and must be greeted as such. She dipped down into a curtsy. "Lord Rowley… good evening to you, sir."

He pulled a rose from behind his back and presented it to her. She took the pink bloom into her gloved hand. He gestured to a chair and she made her way to take a seat before her legs buckled beneath her. She set the rose down on a small table next to her chair and clasped her hands together.

As he pulled the other chair closer to her own, she could only stare at the man in a silent question. "You must be wondering why I am here," he began quietly.

She nodded her head. "It has crossed my mind. Especially since I have seen so little of you as of late. I thought perhaps you might be trying to avoid me."

A slight smile lifted at one corner of his mouth. "To be perfectly honest, I have done nothing but think of you since I last saw you."

She raised an eyebrow, questioningly. "You have?"

"Yes. I have."

"In what respect?" she asked. "If you wish to propose once more to take me under your protection, you should know that my opinion has not changed. I will not become your mistress, sir." She would not have thought Mrs. Dove-Lyon would arrange a meeting between them for such a purpose…but perhaps Asher had misled the widow as to his intentions.

"No, that is not what I wish to offer. You, my lady, have changed my mind about the prospect of marriage," he murmured.

"I don't understand how I could have possibly managed such a miracle," she said with a shrug. She still wasn't sure the man before her was talking with a sincere heart. A rogue, after all, was still a rake at heart and until he proved otherwise, she could think of him in no other way. How could she trust him and believe that he spoke the truth?

He reached out so quickly she didn't have time to prepare herself before he pulled her glove off and took her bare hand. Those same tingling currents raced up her arm and when his thumb began to make a small circular motion on her skin, she knew with complete certainty that he felt it, too.

" This is how you have changed my mind, Patience," he said repeating the gesture she had performed on him previously. But it was the sound of her given name in such a husky tone that had her heart fluttering inside her chest. Such a tone could be interpreted in so many different ways. The sound was like that of a lover, and she shivered inside.

"You feel it too, then," she replied hoping he would confirm his feelings.

"I will no longer deny the connection between us that you spoke of. If marriage is the only way I can explore it, then I will not close myself off to the idea. The only question now is will you allow yourself the time to get to know me so we can find out together if we might suit?"

"How can you assure me that you will not take advantage of my kindness, using the ruse of courtship to persuade me into intimacies I would only allow to my husband?" she inquired softly while lowering her eyes.

He took hold of her chin giving her no choice but to look directly at the man who was slowly opening his heart to her. "I promise I will never hurt you, Patience, and will never ask more of you than what you are willing to freely give."

"I am at a loss on what to think," she said in a breathy whisper.

"Then don't think. Let us take each day as they come."

"And how will we spend the coming days, my lord? I suspect you are not entirely happy about the possibilities of rounds of balls and other Society events for the Season."

"As much as I would like to spend as many hours as possible of the day alone with you, I fear that we will most likely not have many moments such as this for private conversations," he said, and she swore she saw a small bit of unhappiness flash in his eyes.

She gave him a small smile as she had cherished the rare moments alone with him. "No more teasing between Hades and Persephone?"

He chuckled. "Maybe only when we do have a stolen moment or two together."

"I pray you know what you're getting yourself into, Lord Rowley. I didn't lie to you when I told you I was not raised within Society. I would hate for your reputation to be tarnished because of your association with me."

He pulled her to her feet and stood close. "And I didn't lie when I said perhaps we can fix things together. I will have my mother help with getting you accepted within the ton ."

"Y-your m-mother?" she gasped out. "She hardly thinks the best of me and only tolerates me because of my care of your brother."

"She will come around. Trust me."

"My lord—"

"Call me Asher when we are alone," he replied interrupting her. "I loved hearing my name as it passed your lips when you learned my identity."

She smiled at him shyly again. "Asher…"

"Patience…" he whispered in reply before he leaned forward until their lips barely touched.

He gave her the opportunity to either step forward to lean into his kiss or step back to refuse the offering. But she still had concerns. She had done her own bit of investigating Asher Tyler, Earl of Rowley once she learned his identity. He was known to have dallied with multiple different women in the past few Seasons and there was at least one woman he had kept as a mistress. Unfortunately, Cassandra wasn't able to find out if Asher still had one. How was she to know the true nature of this man? He might only be telling her what she wanted to hear. And heaven forbid if she fell in love with him and he later left her rather than going through with their marriage. She wouldn't be able to stand it.

"I understand you have your reservations. Tell me what is troubling you so I might set your mind at ease," he said stepping back to give her some space but also so he could watch her intently.

There was no reason to not be completely honest with him and what she was feeling. "How am I to know you are being truthful in what you are saying to me?"

"What do you mean?"

She lifted her chin and spoke her mind. "When I first met you, you were coming from upstairs. I can well imagine what happens on the upper floor. You have told me repeatedly that marriage doesn't interest you. You say you have changed your mind because of the attraction between us, but what's to stop your mind from changing again? If the intensity of your feelings begins to fade, will you discard me to return to your lifestyle from before?"

He shook his head and stepped closer. "Dearest, I would never dishonor you in such a way. If we are to be together, I will be with you and you alone. You will hold my heart, and I will gladly give it."

"Perhaps I am too bold in my assumptions, but I have to be wary."

"I understand but even a rake can change for the right woman." He gave a grin. "The fleeting attraction I've held for women in the past bears no comparison to the depth of my feelings for you. And while you might doubt my morals, please know that my loyalty is beyond question. Those I truly love remain in my heart forever. If you can place your trust in me, I guarantee my affection for you will never diminish."

"You have given me much to think on, Asher," she said using his given name. "You may just have to prove the sincerity of your words to me in the coming weeks. Do you think you are up to the challenge?"

"If it takes the rest of my life to convince you of my feelings, then I shall do so but the choice is yours, Patience. I now only wait here for you to take a step toward me to show me that you are willing to continue the journey with me at your side."

Asher once again leaned forward, but as their breath mingled on a heartbeat, her intuition where this man was concerned took over. She stepped forward into his embrace and wound her arms around his neck bringing him closer. His eyes sparkled in delight as he gently kissed her.

And that kiss… It was everything she had hoped for and held a promise of what was yet to come. Patience took advantage of the moment. Flashes of what their future could hold ran rampant through her mind and she held onto the man as if for dear life as she accepted that he might be the one to claim her heart completely.

A sound on the other side of the door was an unwelcome reminder that their time alone would have to come to an end—and yet they still stood there with heaving chests as they returned together back from the brink of what might be. Two souls captured in an instant of time. Both bound to the other as if Fate had finally found them and would never allow them to be apart again. For Patience, her life would never be the same.