An Offer From a Gentleman

“I can live with you hating me,” he said to the closed door. “I just can’t live without you.”

Suddenly the world was a very simple place. He loved her, and that was all that mattered.

But one of the things I love best," he continued, "is the fact that you know yourself. You know who you
are, and what you value. You have principles, Sophie, and you stick by them."

"They say that a smart person learns from her mistakes," she interrupted, her voice forcefully ending his
protest. "But a truly smart person learns from other people's mistakes." She pulled away, then turned to
face him. "I'd like to think I'm a truly smart person. Please don't take that away from me."

Because it could never last.
But maybe she could stay just a little while. Not long. A few weeks—maybe even a month. Just long
enough to get her
affairs and thoughts in order. Just long enough to relax and pretend she was more than just a servant.

"I can live with you hating me," he said to the closed door. "I just can't live without you"

"I like your Sophie. May we keep her?"

Benedict choked. On what, he didn't know, but he choked nonetheless. "I beg your pardon?"

Colin sighed as he pushed up his mask. “Why don’t you just do us all a favor and marry the girl?”

'Tonight I am transformed," she whispered. "Tomorrow I shall disappear."

Then we must pack a lifetime into this very night."