'Speechless' could rarely describe Angelica, but Emrys Selwyn managed the nearly impossible. He'd denied her the one thing that could solve both of their concerns, even if he was too bullheaded to understand. She'd been certain, after a few hours apart, that he would see the sense of her solution; the sense of having her as his. He'd surprised her in the most disappointing way, still certain in his delusional choice to deny her, but then he truly muddied the waters.

There were other solutions she refused to voice now, at least the only one she'd consider. If - what a dangerous word - she was currently carrying his child, she would raise it, but she wouldn't need to do so in Britain. Her family had extensive property in Italy, going back to Russia was out of the question. She could live as a widow with her child abroad, reinvent her life another time. She'd rebuilt after her late husband and she would do it again if she must. The thought that truly stung wasn't the possibility of leaving the country again, it was his evaluation of her worth. How could he see so little in her? She should let it rest, let it be, and hold her grief close, but speechlessness was temporary and Angelica relentless. "I will not satisfy you, but an heir would be sufficient grounds to marry me?" It stung, but even voicing that felt unfair. Reluctantly, resignedly, she amended, "Now I am the irrational one. Of course, an heir would be enough. How ridiculous to think otherwise when you lack one."

---