Page 12 of Foolish Bride
She nodded toward the brandy.
His eyes grew wide before he shrugged, poured another, and handed it to her, making sure his fingers never touched hers. “I did not know you drank, Elinor.”
“I do not, but I thought this might be a good time to begin.” She winced at the harsh taste, but enjoyed the warmth seeping into her chest.
“Indeed.” He jerked away so quickly he nearly toppled.
It was a struggle not to run to his aid. She took another sip, and it didn’t taste so bad. “What was I saying?”
“What you do not understand.” He downed his drink and slapped the glass down on the table.
“Yes. What I do not understand is why you would think that I would stop loving you or why you have stopped loving me. It occurred to me that perhaps you did not love me to begin with. That would explain your ease in abandoning me.” She wasn’t really talking to him, more to herself.
“I did love you, Elinor. I did not lie.”
“But no longer.”
He wouldn’t meet her gaze. He stared at every item in the room but her. “How did you get here?”
“I came in a hack.” She squared her shoulders and drank more brandy.
“Really, Elinor, what were you thinking? I shall have my carriage brought round to take you home.” He ambled toward the cord to call a servant.
“No!”
“No?”
“I am not leaving until I have an explanation. I waited over a year for you. Then tonight I risked my reputation, came all the way over here in a hack, and I will not leave until you explain to me how you could do this.” She put down her empty glass. She was warm and exceedingly bold.
He limped across the room and grabbed her by the arms.
She squeaked in pain as his fingers bit into her flesh. She had always known that he could hurt her, but until that moment she never thought he would. It made no difference. She had loved him faithfully, but he obviously hadn’t loved her enough. She stood straighter and met his angry stare. “I assume you are going to strike me now. You may as well get it over with. I am not leaving, Michael, no matter what you do to me. I was supposed to be in this house today as your wife, and I will remain until I have what I came for.”
He released her, but did not move away. He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “It’s an act. You act the fool, but it’s not who you really are.”
“I would not call it an act.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Wouldn’t you?”
“No. I behave exactly as my mother and father wished me to behave. In this I am no different than the rest of the husband-seeking women of the ton.” She forced herself to keep her gaze locked with his.
He shook his head. “No. I suppose not.”
She touched his arm. “Michael, tell me what happened.”
He flinched and moved away. “I am no longer the man I was, Elinor. I am sorry. Now I see that you are not who I thought you were either, so perhaps this is all for the best.”
“You are saying that you do not love me anymore because I am not as stupid and vapid as you believed?” The horror sunk in, and she wanted to strike him.
“I am saying that neither of us are who we were.”
“Perhaps the difference is that I would have honored our agreement, Sir Michael Rollins.” She was so angry now, her voice shook. “You are no gentleman. You have no honor. If we could not have children of our own, then we could have found some that needed a home and raised them. Your brother’s children could have inherited, but we would have been happy. I would not have cared, that is how great my love for you was.”
“Was?” His shoulder slumped.
She laughed, but without humor. Pent-up tears rolled down her face. “I shall love you for the rest of my life, Sir Michael, but now I shall also hate you in equal measure.”
“Elinor, please.”
