Page 60 of To Tempt a Scandalous Lord
She nodded again.
“How old were you?” he demanded.
“I was just shy of eight and ten.”
Niall stared at her for a long moment, his eyes a brewing thunderstorm. “I assume he thought leaving you alone and penniless in the world when you were fresh from the schoolroom was a just punishment. Your father was a fiend.”
Alicia didn’t know what to say. She had long forgiven her father for his cruelty, but hearing Niall angry and indignant on her behalf made her want to cry anew.
“Is that how you came to marry Lindsay?” he bit out, unaware of her emotional struggles.
Swallowing down the tears, she nodded. “He and my father had known each other, but were not necessarily friends. Lindsay was traveling from his estate in Scotland and stopped for the night in the village when he learned of my father’s death. And of my plight. He found me at the vicarage and offered to marry me.”
Even in the dim light, Alicia could see his brows knit together. “Just like that? He barely knew you.”
“But he knew I was desperate for help.” She brushed a tear off her cheek. “I think Lindsay was lonely. He’d been married twice before. His first wife died in childbirth when they were quite young, and his second died from a wasting disease. I represented companionship. I may have been some twenty-five years his junior, but it didn’t seem to bother him. And I was certainly not in a position to be bothered by the fact that he was so much older than me.”
“Of course not.” Niall stroked a hand along her cheek and let his fingers trail down to her jaw, which he cradled tenderly. “But he was kind to you, yes?”
Her smile trembled. “He was. I was never terribly fond of Lindsay, but he made me feel safe. I had never felt more hopeless, morealone, than I did in the days after my father’s death. Safety and security became paramount.”
“And then you were forced to marry me, and I couldn’t even manage to be kind to you. I was reserved and distant.” Niall pressed a kiss to her forehead and kept his mouth there, his soft breath heating her skin. “I’m so very sorry.”
Alicia nibbled on her lip, desperate to preserve the moment. “And I’m very sorry that we found ourselves married before we allowed fate the opportunity to determine if we should be.”
“Hush,” he murmured against her skin. “Truth be told, I was already battling an infatuation with you when the mishap occurred.”
Alicia groaned, dropping her head to his chest. “Did you truly think I considered you a villain? Oh my dear, I have long considered you the exact opposite.”
Grasping her chin, Niall tilted her face until her gaze met his. “Then show me exactly what you think of me.”
Looping her arms around his neck, Alicia pulled his head down until his face was scant inches from hers. “Gladly.”
Then she pressed her lips to his, and forced herself not to think of all the things she left unsaid, the secrets she still kept, and indulged in this moment of intimacy with this man she’d come to love.
Chapter Twenty
Grasping the weed near the base of the plant, Alicia gave it a strong tug, grunting in satisfaction when the dirt-covered roots dangled from her hand.
“Well done, my dear. You have become a most effective weeder.”
Dusting her gloved hands together, she beamed her pride at her husband. “I believe it’s my greatest accomplishment.”
“Even greater than landing a future duke and a Prime Minister hopeful?” Niall asked, expression severe, but his magnetic gray eyes twinkling.
Since they had consummated their marriage, their wariness for each other had been abandoned for playfulness. Flirtation. Instead of sniping at every offense, valid or otherwise, they gave each other the benefit of the doubt. The more they learned about the other, the more they had kissed, the more they had made love, bringing them closer together. He’d invited her to attend social events with him, introducing her to his many colleagues and friends with a note of pride in his voice. For the long years of their marriage, Lindsay had only ever made Alicia feel like a toy he took down from her shelf at his fleeting whims. Niall engaged her as his equal every day.
Alicia could not think of a time she had been happier, and that knowledge frightened her. This idyllic honeymoon could not last. Especially because maintaining her secret became more taxing with each day that passed. Until a child labor law passed, and other legislation was drafted that made the welfare of children a priority, Alicia would not relax her critiques. She was determined no child would face the fear she had experienced, however briefly, as a girl.
The urge to tell Niall her secret grew each passing day, until the weight on her chest became almost unbearable.
She tapped her chin as she forced her attention back to the moment, scrunching her brow as though she considered his question seriously. “Well, I don’t rightly know. Some have said our marriage has undercut your ambitions, and I don’t see how that’s any different than weeding.”
A dark cloud passed over Niall’s expression, and he dropped the shears in his hand and came to her, assisting her to her feet. “I don’t agree with that nonsensical assessment. In fact, several MPs have told me my popularity has gone up since I wed the ‘pretty countess’, as you’re referred to.”
“We both know your surge in popularity is due to your recent illness.” But his words eased some of the tension that coiled in her chest. “I would hope those who truly know me would use other adjectives to call me besidespretty.”
“What’s wrong with being called pretty?” he asked, stripping her dirty gloves from her hands and tossing them on the bench behind him.
