Page 42 of The Seductive Love of a Lady
Mary
This morning had been the worst lie of all. She clung to him and came for him… when she could not have wanted him.
Hell!He was an ass. His soul writhed with pain. But a broken heart did not kill a man. It only made him bitter.
He crumpled the paper in his fist and tossed it into the empty hearth. Then dropped into a chair and held his head in his hands.
There would be no happy ending to his life.
It is your own fault. You should have left her alone. You are poisonous! Let her be now, for God’s sake. You have done enough harm.
Tears flooded his eyes and spilled onto his cheeks. He was not a man who cried.
He threw himself back in the chair, tipping back his head, trying to release the pain thrashing in his chest.
If this was how she felt these last weeks, no wonder she had gone.
Devil take it!Crying for her, or burying his sorrows in a glass, would change nothing. He sniffed and wiped his cheeks and nose on his handkerchief. He must sell the carriage and the blacks he bought for her and go to the bank.
21
Kate, John’s wife, walked across the room and set down a tray on the bedside chest. ‘I brought you some lemonade and biscuits. Would you like me to stay with you for a while?’
Mary was sitting on the bed with her knees bent up and her body curled over her legs. She was too agitated to lie down. Her mind could not settle enough to rest. ‘Thank you. But I would rather be alone.’
‘You have been closeted away all day, why don’t you come down to dinner?’
Her mother, a number of her aunts and her cousins, Eleanor and Margaret, had come to the room to speak to her; offering comfort and setting aside the marriage they had all predicted would fail. It was, apparently, an unfortunate situation that should be filed quietly away as history.
When she arrived with all her possessions, Aunt Jane told her parents Andrew had been seen with a woman. Her father held her and told her he would publish a notice in the newspaper announcing the separation, to manage any gossip and ensure she was no longer tied to Andrew’s reputation.
She did not care. She had no intention of stepping out in public again. When she told him that, he did not believe her. ‘You will in time. Time will heal.’
He was wrong. Andrew’s scent lingered on her skin from their lovemaking this morning. Time would take that away and her memories would fade, but her love would never ebb.
Her forehead dropped onto her knees and silent tears spilled from her eyes. All she had done since she reached here was cry.
Her mother sat beside her for the first hour, until Mary asked to be left alone. But her family were unable to stay away, every half hour someone would come up to see how she fared, each of them bringing fresh words of reassurance.
None of their words could give her the Andrew she loved. The words he whispered as she had lain on his chest held more weight in her heart than any her family said. She wanted the man who cared for her last night and made love to her this morning – not the man who had betrayed her.
Why did he make love to me?
This morning, he had promised to be different, to make a home with her.
As well as buying a home for his other woman.
Kate’s fingers touched Mary’s shoulder. ‘Drink a little lemonade and eat. We can all see you have lost weight these last weeks.’
Like an automated toy, Mary lifted her head, reached for the glass and sipped; hoping that obeying would make Kate go away.
Kate sat on the edge of the mattress, looking at Mary. ‘What will you do?’
‘I asked Papa to take me home, but he said he cannot today or tomorrow as he has business in town.’
‘Are you sure what Jane said is correct?’
Mary smiled weakly. Trust Kate not to jump to conclusions, her sister-in-law had a tender heart. She gave people a chance.She had saved John from himself, with her refusal to accept him at face value. She was the first one not to begin by saying that leaving Andrew was the right decision.
