Page 33 of The Seductive Love of a Lady
He loved me for less than one month.
‘It is up to you what you do, of course it is, and there is no definite evidence she is his mistress. But if you stay with him and the rumours begin, it will be unpleasant in the least. You will not be welcomed anywhere, even though you have done nothing wrong.’
‘You think I should leave him.’
‘It is your choice. But you are not happy. We all see it. You barely spend an hour at his rooms. There is no shame in leaving. The whole family will protect you. Perhaps your father, or Robert, or John, could have him followed so you would have evidence and grounds to sue for a divorce.’
It is not that simple.
‘I need to think,’ she said, withdrawing her hand from her aunt’s. ‘Please do not tell anyone.’
Jane’s smile was warm and sympathetic.
‘Don’t pity me!’Andrew yelled in her head. She understood that anger.
Her entire family pitied her. Everyone looked at her with sadness in their eyes.
But she would not pity herself. She had made this choice.
‘Aunt Jane, would you take me home? My carriage driver is not due to return until after three.’
‘Will he be there?’
‘I doubt it.’ At least now she knew where Andrew went.
‘Will you leave him today?’
‘No. I need to think.’ What could she do when she loved him so much?
‘My dear.’ Aunt Jane’s arms rose, offering an embrace, but Mary sat rigidly straight. ‘I was separated from your uncle for years, but we found each other again. Fate will always run its course. There is someone who will love you as you deserve.’
‘But I love Andrew. I do not want anyone else. Please take me home. I could not sit among everyone downstairs today.’
‘Of course I will.’
‘I shall say goodbye to Mama, or she will know something is wrong.’
The door of Andrew’s apartment was locked. He was not there. She was glad, because Aunt Jane had insisted on coming to the rooms with her. She opened the door and encouraged Aunt Jane to come in. The luncheon that had been delivered stood untouched on the table.
Aunt Jane looked about the small sitting room. ‘Your mother told me he joked that he keeps you locked up.’
‘He likes to annoy Mama and Papa.’
Jane sighed. ‘Would you like me to stay awhile?’
‘He really does not chain me up, Aunt Jane.’
‘But nor does he make you smile.’
Mary noticed her aunt looking at the broken chessboard, her gaze lingering as she pondered the cause of it.
‘Things were good between us,’ Mary told her. ‘Until the day of the Caldecotts’ ball. It is my fault everything changed. I insisted on meeting his parents. He did not want to take me. He said they would not want to see him or me, but I persuaded him. He was right, of course. He knows his own family.
‘I think it humiliated him to be treated so horribly in front of me. That is when he broke the chessboard, just in case you think he threw it at me; he did not. He tipped it over in anger, went out and was not back in time for the ball.
‘His friend, Lord Brooke, called and offered to take me. That too was a nail in the coffin. He has not forgiven me for allowing Lord Brooke to escort me. But Andrew is polite. He is not ill-treating me. I have everything I need. My meals are provided, I have a maid and a carriage. And we do not share the bed any more. He will not touch me, and he does not spend time with me…’ Pain sliced through her heart.
‘And now there is another woman, and I suppose it never really was good.’ Mary crumpled into a chair and pressed a palm to her forehead as her headache throbbed.
