“In order for that to happen, the groom would have to share his wife’s bed for three years, prove she’s still a virgin at the end of it, and prove that he couldn’t get aroused by two other women, such as, ah, professional courtesans, before an annulment would be granted.”

She ran out of breath. When Wylde failed to answer, she glanced up to gauge his reaction. His heated gaze turned the tingle in her lips into a full-body flush. She curled her toes inside her shoes.

“Then it seems we have a problem, Miss Caversteed.”

His eyes held hers, and Georgie found she was breathing rather too fast.

“Even if we shared a bed for three years, and managed not to touch one another in all that time”—his intent expression seemed to indicate the unlikeliness of that eventuality—“I would still be found more than capable of consummating our marriage.” His brows rose in unmistakable challenge. “If you have any doubts, I am more than willing to prove my ability. Just say the word.”

Chapter 11.

Georgie experienced a mad, irrational urge to blurt out, Go on then, but bit her tongue instead.

Wylde let the silence play out for another long, uncomfortable moment, then said, “So, no. An annulment due to my impotence is out of the question.”

She dragged in a calming breath; she felt as if she’d survived a close encounter with a wild animal. “Well, the only other reason for an annulment would be on account of fraud. But you’ve already said that the name you signed on the register was enough to bind us legally, so I can’t see how we could argue that. And we’re both over the legal age of consent.”

The ticking of the porcelain clock on the mantel seemed unnaturally loud and condemning. Georgie worried her lower lip as waves of guilt and shame rolled over her. She’d ruined this man’s life—albeit unintentionally—by barging into Newgate and forcing him to marry her. An awful thought suddenly occurred to her. “Oh no! There wasn’t anyone else you wanted to marry, was there?”

His mouth curved faintly. “No. Although I’m sure the ladies of the ton will go into mourning when they hear I’m off the market.” His tone carried a cynical edge.

“Have you never considered marriage?”

“Honestly? No. I thought I’d die in France or Spain before I ever had to make a decision.”

Her heart twisted at the blunt truth of his words. What horrors had he faced? She’d pored over Juliet’s scandal sheets last night, gleaning every scrap of gossip about him. He’d fought in the Peninsular War and at Waterloo. Three years in the Rifles under General Graham. It was disconcerting to realize the depths of his worldly experience so vastly outweighed her own. He would be a formidable opponent. Or ally.

“Why were you in Newgate?”