Page 81 of A Virgin for the Duke of Scars
“There is no misunderstanding here. Theresa is twice the woman you will ever be.” Aaron stood straighter at the mention of his wife.
He was still staring back at Isabella when her father, Earl Ashton, approached them from the side. The old man’s appearance defused the situation, but the tension lingered, crackling in the air.
“Your Grace,” the Earl greeted with a slight bow. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company this evening?”
He looked at his daughter with narrowed eyes. If he knew what she had said to Aaron or the trouble she intended to cause, he said not a word.
Aaron pinned the Earl with the same scathing look. “Your daughter has overstepped her boundaries,” he bit out. “I am here to make you an offer. You will send your daughter away within the week. If she is still here, I will make sure that she can never show her face in public again.”
He drew himself up to his full height, took a deep breath, and puffed up his chest.
The Earl looked at him with the same expression on Isabella’s face. The pair looked so similar that he almost laughed at howhandsomeIsabella looked.
“Now, if you would excuse me, I must find my wife.”
With that, Aaron pushed his way through the crowd to get to the back door. He never looked over his shoulder, but he could feel their eyes drilling holes into his back.
Isabella had caused this rift between him and Theresa. The only way he could ensure that she never interfered in his life again was if she disappeared from thetononce and for all.
He should have done it when their betrothal ended.
Regret filled him; he had taken great care to protect her reputation after they parted ways. Perhaps it would have been better if he had demanded that she leave London then.
Before Theresa arrived. Before he got to know her and developed feelings for her.
Now that he had been around her and her innocence, he could no longer go back to life as he knew it. He could not spend his days getting foxed alone in his tower. He could not drown his feelings in red and black paint.
Everything he did was colored by Theresa and her affection for him. He thought about the day he returned to the lake and painted her half-naked form in his bed—the first time he had painted something other than violence. She had completely changed his worldview.
By the time he made it out of the house, she was already in the stables, waiting for the carriage to be brought around. Aaron stood at her side, but she said nothing to him. He felt her stiffen when she sensed his presence.
There was no hint of affection between them.
Aaron hoped that he had not ruined his marriage this evening, as perfect as it had been for him.
The carriage pulled in front of them, and he offered her his hand. Theresa took it somewhat reluctantly and quickly climbed into the back of the carriage. He followed and sat beside her.
“Will we discuss what happened tonight?” He asked, hopeful that he could smooth over whatever was brewing between them.
“I do not think there is anything to say,” she muttered, slumping into her seat so that she would be as far from him as possible.
Recognizing that she would say no more on the matter, Aaron fell silent. She would come around, eventually. Surely, she would remember what they had shared in that library and realize the truth—that he was falling in love with her.
She had accused him of loving Isabella. His first mistake was that he had underestimated Isabella’s cunning. He should have sent her away the first time she had accosted Theresa at the garden party. She had caused his wife to question him with her snide remarks.
That night, too, had ended with Aaron and Theresa sharing an intimate moment. Aaron had felt certain that he could smooth things over by showing Theresa how he felt for her.
But Isabella had taken things too far this time.
Now, Aaron was no longer certain that he could live without Theresa in his life. She was the bright spot in his day, the one thing that kept him from holing up in his tower.
The problem was that he was no longer sure it was up to him to decide what she would do with her days. Had he ruined the one good thing in his life by refusing to reveal his true self?
He did not know if he could bear to live separately from her under the same roof. When they wed, she had demanded that they spend time together daily. Would she want to uphold that rule, now that she knew exactly how beastly he could be?
He had a feeling that she would not want to spend time with him, which would create a void in his days.
He was still mulling over the shift in their relationship when the carriage approached Blackwell Manor. Theresa said nothingas they pulled to a stop in the stables. She stepped out of the carriage without assistance and hurried through the gardens without a backward glance.
