"You look lovely, miss," the maid called Doris said after I had asked her did I look alright, I had just got dressed and brushed my hair. Her tone was polite, but I could easily pick up a hint of contempt in her voice. It hadn't been difficult to read between the lines what she thought of me, I was some Third Class whore who was here to entertain Klaus and probably his brother as well. I couldn't really blame her for reaching that conclusion, it was lunchtime and I had still been in bed wearing nothing except a towel.

Maybe that should have bothered me, but I really didn't think that I had much honor or reputation left to defend. I would have let Klaus to do whatever he would have wanted if his brother wouldn't have interrupted us, I would have given myself to him without hesitation. What was wrong with me? Mama had explained to me briefly what sex was and she had warned me not give myself to any man before marriage. I had asked her what man would want to marry me, but she had assured that I would find a nice man who wouldn't care about my blindness. Klaus didn't seem to care about that.

A flush was rising in my cheeks when I remembered how his body had felt against mine and how his scent had made my senses run wild. I didn't care how wrong it was, I wanted to kiss him and touch him again. The feeling had become stronger after I had drunk the cup of tea he had brought to me along with the ice for my ankle. For some reason my ankle didn't hurt at all anymore, I felt just great.

"Is there anything else you need, miss?" Doris asked. I had told her that she could call me Viola, but apparently she didn't want to do that. Klaus had sent her here to help me unpacking my clothes. I didn't have many clothes, just a nightgown, three dresses, two petticoats, a sweater, a coat, few pair of knickers, a pair of shoes and four pairs of socks. I hadn't had time to pack by myself; papa had been in too much of a hurry. Of course I could now understand why. I hadn't spoken with him after yesterday and I wasn't sure if I was ready to do that yet.

"No, thank you," I replied absentmindedly and sat on the bed after Doris had left. I was very confused, everything had happened so fast and I couldn't understand what I was feeling. I didn't have time to ponder about that for long when I heard a knock.

"Yes?"

"The lunch is served," Klaus' voice said.

"Thank you," I replied and stood up. "Is… Is your brother…"

I was too embarrassed to finish my question; I didn't want to imagine what Klaus' brother thought of me.

"Elijah won't be joining us; he had…things to do."

"Oh…"

For some reason that made me feel even more embarrassed.

"I would have liked to apologize…" I muttered and heard Klaus' footsteps approaching me. The bed squeaked under his weight when he sat down next to me and touched my shoulder.

"I thought we have been over this already, you have no reason to be embarrassed," he said firmly.

"I…I don't want your brother to think…"

"He doesn't," Klaus cut in.

"Are you sure?" I muttered, although I felt ridiculous. Klaus placed his palms on my shoulders.

"Yes, love, I'm sure. He would never treat you anything less than a lady."

I couldn't help but smile.

"I'm not a lady you know."

"Sure you are," he replied and touched my cheek softly with his lips. Just a brief little kiss raised goose bumps on my skin; I couldn't understand why I was reacting like this. "You are my lady."

My cheeks were very warm and I could feel him gazing at me. For some reason I felt more exposed now than when he had seen me naked. I couldn't understand what I was feeling, but I wanted to be close to him. The rational part of me was concerned that I was just some kind of conquest to him and he was only interested in bedding me, but I wanted to believe that wasn't true. I wanted to believe that he was feeling something too. But even if he was, what kind of future we could ever have, why would someone like him… I almost jumped when he suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist and his mouth nibbled my earlobe.

"What are you thinking, love?" he hummed, his lips touched my rapidly beating pulse point.

"Us," I muttered. "Is there us?"

I was relieved when he raised his head; I couldn't think clearly when he was touching me.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I tried to clear my thoughts so I could give him an answer.

"Do you want more than just my body?"

Alright, apparently I hadn't cleared my thoughts very well and once again I hadn't thought before opening my mouth. At least I had said what was bothering me and hopefully he would give me an honest answer.

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "I most definitely want more than just your body."

I hesitated, he sounded sincere, but…

"Do you mean marriage?"

Oh no, had I really just said that? How stupid was I? There was no chance he would ever want to marry me. Did I want to marry him? I didn't know and it was definitely very hypocrite of me to pretend that I was an honorable woman after how I had acted less than an hour ago. Still I wanted to think that I had at least some kind of honor, I didn't want to be a disreputable woman. I didn't want to be anyone's mistress or a kept woman. Many women in my position would have probably thought differently and maybe I was stupid, but I was concerned about my future. He was quiet for a long time, too long.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I didn't mean… I just…"

"You think I would abandon you after… making love to you?" he stated. His words made me blush, but I needed to know what he thought about this and what he was expecting from me.

"Something like that. I'm sure you can understand what would happen to me if I would…if we would…and then you would just…leave."

I startled when he took my hands between his.

"That won't happen, I give you my word," he assured determinedly. "I'm not going to abandon you."

I bit my bottom lip.

"You said you want me to come to New Orleans with you, but as what? Your mistress?"

"No, as…" He paused. "As whatever you want. If you want me to wed you, then I will."

I gasped; he had definitely surprised me completely.

"What?"

He caressed my wrist with his thumb.

"I want you to feel safe. If a marriage makes you feel safe, then we shall get married."

"We can't do that," I gasped. "How…no, we can't."

"You don't want that?"

I had no idea what to say.

"I… We barely know each other…"

"Listen to me," he interrupted me and touched my cheek. "This is right. You and me. It doesn't matter how long we have known each other, I want you and I know that you want me."

I was more than confused; I hadn't expected anything like this.

"I don't know you…"

He muffled the rest of my sentence with a kiss.

"You know me," he hummed.

I shook my head.

"No…"

Apparently he liked to play it dirty, he kissed me again, this time even more passionately. His scent blurred all my thoughts; my body was yarning for his touch.

"Not fair…" I muttered, like a pouting child when he pulled away. He chuckled, making me to blush again.

"I'm afraid life is unfair sometimes, love."

"Yes, I know," I murmured, trying to gather my thoughts. We were both quiet for a while, he was holding my hand.

"You would really marry me?" I finally managed to ask.

"Yes, if that is what you want. I understand your concerns and I want you to know that I'm not toying with you. Believe me when I say, I have never offered to marry any woman."

"Offered to marry?" I repeated. "How flattering."

"No, no, that came out wrong," he said quickly. "I just… To be honest, I have never even thought about marriage."

"Not ever?"

"No. But you…I'm not letting you go."

He sounded very serious; I believed that he meant what he said. My hand was still on his, he was squishing it tighter.

"What do you say, love?"

"No," I said firmly.

"What?" It wasn't difficult to tell that he was stunned. "No?"

"No. I want to get to know you before…anything else."

"Alright, sure. We can talk; Elijah won't be here before dinner."

I nodded.

"That sounds good."

He leaned towards me and kissed my cheek.

"Good. Oh, I almost forgot, how's your ankle?"

"Much better, it doesn't hurt anymore," I replied. "Maybe the tea you brought me helped, it tasted a little strange. Was there some medicine in it?"

"No, just tea and honey."

"Oh. Well, it was good either way, very sweet."

"Sweet?" he repeated.

"Yes, I thought that there was some sugar in it."

He was quiet for a brief moment before speaking.

"The lunch is getting cold. Shall we go?"