He bitterly resented that he couldn't enjoy the present moment to its fullest, the wound was quickly changing from a not so minor inconvenience to torturous. The sooner he asked the question, the sooner she could go home, and the less likely it would be that he would have to set foot on the staircase. The worry that he might be bleeding through his bandages also did much to inspire him with a sense of haste. She absolutely could not find out that he was injured and she absolutely could not leave without his ring on her finger; everything else was of secondary importance.
"Then perhaps you might be its impertinent mistress." The words shot forth more abruptly than he cared for and would have been more flirtatious had he given himself the chance to think before speaking. Hopefully he hadn't accidentally insulted her. "Not that you could ever be impertinent, Miss Lestrange." This wasn't how he'd planned for it to go but he also hadn't planned on letting Macnair get the first shot in or letting the bullet wound trouble him this much. Now that he had thrust himself into the proposition and the moment was upon him, the rush of adrenaline was enough to momentarily mute the discomfort he felt.
Charles freed his left hand from hers but raised her other hand to his lips to kiss it so he could distract from the rummaging of his lefthand as he sought the ring. The pocket was on the same side as his injury, the bottom dropped out of his stomach when he felt dampness against his knuckles. Fuck. It was slight enough that he wasn't entirely certain he hadn't imagined it but there wasn't much he could do but to hope he had. Thankfully the box itself was black leather and could easily be wiped down but she'd surely notice if he brandished a ring between bloody fingers. As discreetly as he could he tried to wipe box both and fingers off on his trousers where his jacket overlapped, just in case the black he'd specifically chosen to hide blood wasn't as effective as he'd hoped.
Once he was satisfied enough that he probably wasn't going to have blood on his hands, he finally brought the ring box into view and presented it to her. He lowered the hand he still held so that it was in the same position it had been before he'd kissed it so she could withdraw it if she preferred. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a faint, pinkish smear on his hand. Thankfully it wasn't in a place easily spotted from her angle but that didn't mean there wasn't another within her view. Perhaps if he could distract her she wouldn't notice or at the very least wouldn't pay it enough attention to make anything of it. "Tatiana." He stared intently at her, hoping to keep her eyeline from dipping. "You are perfection itself." In his desperation to keep her attention on his face he resorted to compliments, or more accurately the sort of feelings he held for her that he'd ordinarily be too insecure to utter out loud to anyone least of all her. "Had I known it was possible for such a woman as yourself to exist I would have found you long ago. I cannot countenance the idea of calling any other woman my wife; would you spare me that fate, will you marry me?" He'd said way too much but once he'd opened the floodgates he couldn't seem to stop himself.
If he hadn't successfully distracted her from any potential blood on his hands, he'd at least managed to make himself forget.
"Then perhaps you might be its impertinent mistress." The words shot forth more abruptly than he cared for and would have been more flirtatious had he given himself the chance to think before speaking. Hopefully he hadn't accidentally insulted her. "Not that you could ever be impertinent, Miss Lestrange." This wasn't how he'd planned for it to go but he also hadn't planned on letting Macnair get the first shot in or letting the bullet wound trouble him this much. Now that he had thrust himself into the proposition and the moment was upon him, the rush of adrenaline was enough to momentarily mute the discomfort he felt.
Charles freed his left hand from hers but raised her other hand to his lips to kiss it so he could distract from the rummaging of his lefthand as he sought the ring. The pocket was on the same side as his injury, the bottom dropped out of his stomach when he felt dampness against his knuckles. Fuck. It was slight enough that he wasn't entirely certain he hadn't imagined it but there wasn't much he could do but to hope he had. Thankfully the box itself was black leather and could easily be wiped down but she'd surely notice if he brandished a ring between bloody fingers. As discreetly as he could he tried to wipe box both and fingers off on his trousers where his jacket overlapped, just in case the black he'd specifically chosen to hide blood wasn't as effective as he'd hoped.
Once he was satisfied enough that he probably wasn't going to have blood on his hands, he finally brought the ring box into view and presented it to her. He lowered the hand he still held so that it was in the same position it had been before he'd kissed it so she could withdraw it if she preferred. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a faint, pinkish smear on his hand. Thankfully it wasn't in a place easily spotted from her angle but that didn't mean there wasn't another within her view. Perhaps if he could distract her she wouldn't notice or at the very least wouldn't pay it enough attention to make anything of it. "Tatiana." He stared intently at her, hoping to keep her eyeline from dipping. "You are perfection itself." In his desperation to keep her attention on his face he resorted to compliments, or more accurately the sort of feelings he held for her that he'd ordinarily be too insecure to utter out loud to anyone least of all her. "Had I known it was possible for such a woman as yourself to exist I would have found you long ago. I cannot countenance the idea of calling any other woman my wife; would you spare me that fate, will you marry me?" He'd said way too much but once he'd opened the floodgates he couldn't seem to stop himself.
If he hadn't successfully distracted her from any potential blood on his hands, he'd at least managed to make himself forget.
