“It is good you see reason,” Slatter said, “since it isn’t only solving the problem of our unexpected marriage that needs to be settled that keeps us together. We also need to remain together until I capture this culprit and lay this problem to rest.”

“Why would that be?” she asked, wondering how it could possibly matter.

“What if for some reason you arrived home before our marriage was disavowed and I claimed you were my wife and that you would stay my wife? And what if it wasn’t me, but the man you saw at the market? Would you be able to tell the difference?”

“You make a good point, a worrisome point,” she admitted. “Still, how do I trust that you speak the truth to me?”

The old woman’s voice sounded in her head. It is a good man you married.

She had begun to believe that, had seen it for herself with the people that Slatter had gathered here, by the way he had helped her when he could have walked away and left her to Beck’s greed. Then there was the way she felt in his arms, that she belonged there. Or how his lips had brought hers alive, or the way her body had responded to his gentle, intimate touch. She felt something for this man whether she wanted to admit it or not.

And she wasn’t ready to admit anything, not with her recent, unexpected thoughts. A new voice had chimed in, a devilish one, tempting her to do things she would have never considered even giving thought to. So how then did she see reason in this situation?

“How long do you think this will take?” she asked, worried that too much time spent with him could prove far too challenging. If she responded so easily to his offered hand, how would she respond if he kissed her again?

“It is difficult to tell.”

“My family will be worried, more so when news of the market incident reaches them. And a message will not suffice, since they will think it comes from you. And what of Tarass? He will continue to search for you. We will be hunted as we hunt your culprit.”

“Regret not going with Tarass’s warriors when you had the chance?” Slatter asked, it sounding that way to him.

“No, I don’t regret it.”

That she didn’t hesitate in her response brought a slight smile to his face.

“I would suggest you make sure that I don’t regret it or regret joining you on your quest to find this culprit and clear you of the harm he has done you. And also to make sure our marriage is absolved so that we both may go our separate ways.”

Her last few words wiped the smile from his face. It was inevitable they part, and yet, the thought disturbed him, which troubled him even more. Why should it matter? She would never fit into his life, and she would never want to.