Page 66 of Six Nights to Marry a Marquess

“Oh, yes!” Leslie grinned. As they made their way back into the manor, she added, “Will Theo be joining us?”

Agnes tensed slightly, then, “No, he won’t.” She had no intention of informing him about the invitation.

CHAPTER 31

What a fool I am!

Theodore rose from his chair and walked toward the door. He had allowed his fears to speak for him, and he had said the most hurtful things to his wife. He needed to rectify his recklessness, to seek Agnes out and apologize. When he opened his study door, however, he was surprised to find his sister by it, eyes blazing in apparent displeasure.

This was likely the most displeased he had ever seen her, and she was blocking his path. “Will you let me pass?” he asked, his voice calm despite the urgency he felt.

“No, you are not going anywhere, Brother,” she said as she walked further toward him, forcing him to take steps back into the study.

“I have no time for this,” he responded impatiently, but he did not attempt to move past her. “What is the matter?”

“The nerve of you to ask what the matter is, Theodore,” his sister responded angrily.

“You should not have said anything to my wife.” He folded his arms across his chest and glanced at the clock on the fireplace mantle. Two hours had passed since his talk with Agnes, and he did not want to allow more time to go by without apologizing to her.

“Oh, you are now blaming us?” Harriet cried in disbelief. “How were we to know that you were yet to share the truth with your wife, Brother?”

“I am not blaming anyone, Harriet,” he countered, his tone firm yet weary.

“Do you think Agnes deserves what you did to her, Theodore?”

“Of course she does not, and?—”

“Did you see how wounded she was? Yet you saw it fit to do what you did,” Harriet cut him off, her voice sharp.

“I saw it fit to protect her from our ugly past, Harriet,” Theodore ground out, his irritation now matching his sister’s.

“For how long will we continue running away from our past?” Harriet sighed, her expression worn.

“For as long as it takes,” he returned bitterly, his eyes not meeting hers.

“For as long as it takes towhatexactly, Theodore? Change the events and their horrors? If only that were possible,” she countered, her voice softening with a sorrowful wisdom.

Lord! She is right,he thought to himself, but he really had no choice. The past was indeed unchangeable. But it could be left alone too. He didn’t need anyone digging about and reopening wounds.

“You do not understand, Harriet,” he said, his voice suddenly sounding as exhausted as he felt.

“I understand that Agnes is your wife. And she has every right to know,” his sister returned firmly, her stance unyielding.

“What good would it do any of us to go unearthing what has already passed, Harriet?” He asked.

“Perhaps that is precisely what you need to do for us to heal once and for all. Left to its devices, it will haunt us for the rest of our lives. You need to accept that,” she argued, her.

“What if the truth sends her away?” Theo heard himself ask, only realizing his fear of losing Agnes.

Harriet was quiet for a moment before she responded, seeming to choose her words carefully, “Agnes cares about you more thanyou know. She deserves the truth. I am certain it wouldn’t send her away.” Her confidence in Agnes’s character shone.

Theodore paused, considering her words. The notion of confiding in Agnes, truly sharing his burdens with her, was terrifying...

“But—” he began again, and she interjected with a firmness that brooked no argument, “Your wife is a rare woman, Brother. And if you lose her, you shan’t find any other like her.”

He watched his sister silently exit his study after, leaving her last words hanging heavy in the air like a solemn pronouncement. I do not wish for another,Theodore thought to himself. Agnes was more than enough, more than he had ever hoped to deserve.

A sudden realization hit him, and his heart pounded in his chest. Before he had any time to examine it, however, a knock sounded on his study door, yanking him out of his miserable thoughts. Quentin appeared in the doorway with the announcement of his solicitor.

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