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faraway look in her eye. “Is there more?” he asked cautiously.
    She nodded and squared her shoulders, unconsciously, he thought, before meeting his gaze again. “Igather I have the requisite connections and breeding to be considered a suitable match—”
    “Of course,” Adrian interjected.
    “And I agree that either we suit or we don’t, but that there is no point in some protracted courtship in my father’s house.” Sensing victory, Adrian almost smiled. “I am not certain that we
do
suit,” she continued, deflating him a little, “but I hardly think one knows that sort of thing until one has … ah … resided in, ah … 
matrimony.
” Coloring slightly, she gave him a tremulous smile.
    “I agree,” he offered helpfully. “But?”
    She drew a deep breath. “But … you implied we should be companions. Is that true?”
    Companions? Had he actually said that? “Yes,” he said carefully.
    Nodding thoughtfully, she leaned back.
    “Is that not to your liking?”
    “Oh no!” she said hastily. “I
want
to be a good companion to you. But I must have some assurance that I may …” Her voice trailed off; her fingers nervously plucked at the embroidery in the arm of the chair.
    “What, Lilliana? What is it you want? I have the means to give you anything, you know that, don’t you?” he asked earnestly.
    “I want … I want to … 
live
,” she muttered, and jerked her gaze to him. “I want assurances I will be allowed to live. Experience life, that sort of thing. I want to live
freely
,” she added nervously.
    Of all the things she could have asked him, that had to be the last one he expected. She wanted to live
freely
? What in the hell did that mean? “I beg your pardon?”
    Lilliana suddenly shifted to the edge of her chair and eagerly leaned forward. “I want to
live!
I want to know true adventure! I want to
see
things, to travel to new places and hear strange foreign tongues and eat exotic foods!” she exclaimed, her hands gesturing wildly. “I want to meet people who would
never
come to BlackfieldGrange! People who think the sky is red, not blue, and the earth
flat
not round!” she breathed excitedly.
    Adrian was speechless—he had never heard such fantasy from a woman’s mouth! His jaw clenched tightly shut as he considered this unsophisticated Grange Princess. A whirlwind of thoughts tore through his brain, not the least of which was that he might have made a terrible mistake. Not ten minutes ago she had been a demure country girl with absolutely no idea of what to say to a man. At the moment, she sounded like a budding lunatic with her talk of red skies and a flat earth.
    Her expression crumpled into bewilderment, and she sagged against her chair. “I have offended you, haven’t I? Proper ladies would never profess to wanting more than what your good name and title could give them, would they?” Good God, certainly not, he thought, and unthinkingly shook his head. “I was afraid of this,” she muttered sadly. “I am very sorry, my lord, but I cannot accept your offer.”
    What? What
in the bloody hell was this?
He
was the one who should have the opportunity to cry off at this moment,
not
her! And because he had not, apparently, responded to her absurdity in the earnest manner she seemed to think was necessary, she would
refuse
him? Irrationally disgruntled, he almost came out of his seat. “I, too, am sorry, but I cannot accept your refusal,” he said curtly.
    “Pardon?” she squeaked.
    “You may live however you please, madam. If you want to wear grass skirts or speak in foreign tongues or howl at the moon, I will not stop you. If you want to believe the sky is red, I will be the last person to contradict you.”
    Lilliana’s mouth dropped open. “You … you will honor my wish to experience life?”
    He didn’t give a damn what she did with her life, but she would
not
refuse him. “Of course I shall,” he said bluntly. “Insofar as you do it without