He was surprised but gratified to hear she'd already given her staff notice. He was gratified for a moment, anyway, until suspicion set in. It was too accommodating. If done for the right reasons it was gracious, but if she felt she had to let them go in order to appease him then it would likely come back to haunt him. Maybe not this exact issue, but the resentment it would eventually engender.

He considered her with a frown. "I expect we will leave the country, to help disguise the timeline somewhat," he remarked impassively. Of course he knew that wasn't what she meant, and he opted to take a small sip of tea before he addressed the real issue at hand.

"You said you wanted this," he pointed out quietly. Marriage. Him. It had all been her idea to begin with, before the issue of progeny had even been raised.

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