"I can wait for your hiccups to end," Damien said, making himself comfortable. "It wasn’t in my plans to share this with you now to make you uncomfortable, but after hearing your assumptions about why I married you, I felt it was important you knew the truth."

Eloise cautiously lowered her hand, testing that the hiccups had stopped.

What was she to say when one of the most eligible bachelors was now claiming he liked her before their arrangement?

They were already married, but still. Eloise thought there were no feelings involved.

"I am not asking you to like me now, Eloise. I know I can win you over as the years go on. You know the truth now, so you don’t need to worry about me having plans to use you. Are you broken?" Damien asked, wanting to touch Eloise’s face, but knew she needed her space.

"No," Eloise answered. "I am merely surprised. "From what little conversations we have had during the times I collided with you, I did not get the sense that you had feelings for me."

"I am glad you told me the truth, so I will no longer question your actions. You used the bodies to your advantage. I don’t mean to insult you, but without my desperation, I wouldn’t have said yes to a marriage with you," Eloise confessed.

Iris’s feelings would have made Eloise decline Damien’s courting.

"I wasn’t going to propose to you right away. I was going to take my time considering your cousin’s feelings, which would make it difficult for me. Now that I know more about your uncle’s wife, I see that she would have hidden you away from me," said Damien.

"She would have, and she did. The reason I stumbled upon you the second time that night was because Agatha sent me to get her coat. She wanted to show Iris to the suitors and didn’t want me present. It didn’t matter that I had any interest in marriage," Eloise said, vividly remembering how Agatha acted.

"She is not the first mother to be that way, and she won’t be the last. You could have done well this season, but they lowered you to men like Percival so they could make use of you. They didn’t want you to surpass Iris, but you were quite popular," Damien shared.

Damien was long prepared to get rid of the other men eyeing Eloise.

"It didn’t matter to me. None of those men knew me. They only want a pretty face and a lady who can have their sons. Oh!" Eloise exclaimed, reminded of one important matter. "What about you? Are you to have an heir for the estate? You are the oldest."

"It is expected of me, but I am young and not yet interested in having children running around here, right now. Fortunately, I have two brothers. If I don’t have a child, I can push for Quinn and Kyle to have one," said Damien.

"How awful of you. If they were the ones to have a son, wouldn’t that mean you would lose control of the estate eventually?" Eloise asked, hoping it wouldn’t be so.

"It would. I don’t mind it as long as another relative does not get control of the estate. It must stay within our hands. Why? Are you offering to give me a son?" Damien asked, intrigued.

"No. Not right now, but I am your wife. If not me, who could you have a child with, especially now that I know you do not have a secret lover?"

"I hope you do not feel as though you owe me because of all that I am doing for you. I don’t want a child as payment, nor do I expect any other kind of payment. Get children off your mind, and while you do so, forget about my aunt’s children," Damien advised Eloise.

Eloise chuckled, humoured by Damien still being concerned about his cousins. "I happen to adore children, but since it upsets you, I will tell your aunt I cannot go to her home."

"Perhaps it is best you go," Damien changed his mind.

Eloise leaned back, suspicious of Damien’s sudden change. "Why are you allowing it now? What is it that you want to get?"

"You said you enjoy children. I am confident that after one afternoon with those three, you will sing a different tune," Damien explained.

"Hmm. What if I dislike being surrounded by them so much that I do not want to be around any child? What would you do then?" Eloise asked, attempting to spoil Damien’s plans.

"I would take you to the children I consider to be lovely. If my aunt’s children were more well-behaved, I would not be concerned about you going there. She doesn’t have control of them, which is why she often leaves them in the hands of servants," said Damien.

"I see. Still, I must meet them eventually. Perhaps if you are near, they would be on their best behaviour. I would be afraid of you if I were a child. Will you join me?" Eloise asked in a sweet tone.

"And now you have spoiled the moment," Damien replied and stood up. Despite his objection, he now felt his hands were tied to visit Camille’s home with Eloise. "Do not think you can always win me over."

"I do not think so. As for your heir, Damien. I was not ready for marriage, but I always adored children. One day, when my troubles with my family have settled, we are in a good place, and perhaps there are more feelings, I would not be against giving you an heir," Eloise offered.

Damien turned around to face Eloise.

"I do not say this because I am yet to be in a good place with your brothers, but from what I have seen now, there is no one better than you to be in control of this estate. It shouldn’t leave your hand," Eloise explained her reasoning. "I assure you, it has nothing to do with repaying you."

Eloise started to worry that she had spoken too soon due to Damien’s silence. "Do you not like that I have said this? If it has always been your intention to let your brothers have heirs so they could run the estate, then I am fine with it. I didn’t mean to disrupt your plans."

"Eloise," Damien said, returning to her side. He knelt before her and held her hands. "You must breathe. I am not upset or bothered by your offer. I am well, so I have not been concerned about heirs as yet, but I will consider your offer."

"Until you have feelings for me, we mustn’t speak of children, nor must you allow outsiders to pressure you. We’ll reserve this talk for the future when we’re more," Damien said, pausing to think of suitable words. "Familiar with each other."