Page 30 of The Gentleman Was Right
Could he be any more delusional? “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” she demanded. The assumptions she’d made about money seemed to be entirely false.
His brow shot up. “It’s your inheritance, I assumed you knew how it functioned.”
She clenched her jaw. Her blasted father had never told her anything. Basil, either. Why did they assume she knewsomethingwhen no one told heranything?
“When you finally accept that we must marry, inform me and we’ll post the banns.”
She huffed with frustration. She couldn’t trust Basil for much, but she could trust him to be insufferable. Instead of arguing further, she spun on her heel and started out of the room.
“Lovely to see you, as always,” he called after her.
She stomped up the stairs and entered her sister’s bedchamber without knocking.
“Isabelle,” she said loudly as she pulled open the heavy drapes.
Her sister blinked at the muted light that spilled through the window. “We arrived late last night, why are you not still abed?”
Violet ignored the question. “I have spoken with Basil. He is…the same.” She would not mention what he had revealed about her inheritance, but she would think about it. Was Basil’s insistence on their marriage because of the money? Or was he really so committed to his word?
Isabelle rubbed her eyes and sat up. “Of course Basil is the same. I don’t understand why you thought that talking to him again was going to yield a different outcome. Edward has the right of it. Basil will not give up his plan to make you his wife unless you’re already married.”
“He had the nerve to suggest we take another trip.”
“He…what?” Isabelle flipped her braid over her shoulder and leaned forward.
“He’s in no rush to be wed, and therefore he thinks we should disappear until I have come to my senses and will agree to marry him.”
“He was not mad that we fled in the dead of night without leaving word of where we were going?” Isabelle asked.
“Apparently not. He didn’t even search for us.” She was more than a little put out that they’d been terrified he would find them and demand they return, and he hadn’t even cared they left. He really was the worst excuse for a fiancé.
“And now that we’ve returned, he thinks we should leave again?”
“Yes. Apparently he enjoys living here without us.”
Isabelle started laughing. “I know it isn’t funny…but we were so worried he would be angry. And that he’d find us. We hid in that cottage like our lives depended on it.” She laughed so hard that tears trickled down her cheeks. “What did we think he’d do if he found us?”
Violet sighed and flopped backward onto the bed. She was less amused than her sister. In hindsight, she could admit it had been foolish to cast Basil as a dastardly villain.
Basil was many things, but he was not violent, and she’d never witnessed any displays of anger from him. He always remained coolly controlled, even when she was agitated and yelled at him. She’d fled in the dark of night in order to escape his clutches, but it seemed she needn’t have bothered. He still intended to marry her, but it truly seemed as if he’d wait patiently for her to be ready.
Isabelle finally stopped laughing and asked, “Do you think we ought to leave again? Even if he isn’t going to force you to marry him straight away, he’s still intolerable.” Isabelle’s loyalty was absolute, and she disliked the falseness of Basil’s charm even more than Violet did.
“You were right. We can hardly spend the rest of our lives flitting about England while he lives here. I want him gone from our home and out of our lives.”
“Simply telling Basil to leave is not enough. You’ve already tried countless times.” Isabelle hesitated and then said, “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you shouldn’t have rejected Edward’s offer outright. We have no leverage whatsoever, and Basil has no conscience. You cannot reason with him, nor can you change his mind. Edward offered a viable solution, and you know it. You’re being stubborn because of what happened between you and Basil. You might not want to rely on a man to save you, but what other option do you have?”
Violet chewed on her lip. She wasn’t being stubborn.
She was being careful.
Wasn’t she?
It would be foolish to marry a man she hardly knew, especially when the man in question was self-assured, confident, and handsome beyond measure.
There was no way to ensure his fidelity.
In mind or body.
