Tiberius was affronted at her suggestion, and his facial expression clearly demonstrated that. "It won't be my fault if you die from the Vow — it'll be your own. And it was your fault it's in place in the first place, or did you forget about your surprise trip through the continent?" he snapped. "I was perfectly content to let you about your business until you revealed that you had no business being a respectable wife!"

Why were they even talking about the damn Vow? It hadn't been relevant, at least from his perspective, in quite a while. She was behaving. In fact, she was more than behaving — she had developed, particularly over the past year or so, into the sort of woman who might actually be worthy of the last name she now bore. Not that she was likely to appreciate that.

"If you're determined to keep it, what do we need your sister for?" he continued irritably. "You'll either produce a child, or you'll die — and either way my problems are solved."