Page 19 of Foolish Bride
“Did you notice how many times you said ‘I’ in that little speech of yours, Michael?” She was angry, but determined to keep her composure. He had abandoned her, and she couldn’t forgive him for that. Their noses were practically touching as they argued. “It made no difference to me if you had money or title. I loved you. You wanted to go off for one last exciting mission. Somehow, you thought that our life together would not be entertaining enough for you. Everything you did, you did for yourself, even ending our future together. I am just glad that I learned of this flaw in your character before I made the mistake of marrying you.” She turned and strode back to the carriage.
* * * *
Michael resisted the urge to run after her.
The angrier she became, the more vibrant the blue of her eyes. Her eyes flashed, and her hair came loose from the chignon. Still his sweet Elinor, that lovely naïve girl, but more exciting and more intelligent than he realized. Magnificent.
He was excited by this new Elinor he hadn’t known existed, stirred in a way he hadn’t been in a long time. Perhaps the doctors had been wrong about the severity of his injuries and their permanence. He wouldn’t be fathering any children immediately, but there was sensation, which he had not experienced in the ten weeks since his injury.
Pain shot through his neck. Searing pain that he tried to ignore as it crept up his skull and into his forehead, where it skewered him. The joy from his revelation was gone as he struggled not to collapse from the pain in his head.
Thomas walked over, allowing the carriage to leave without him. “Are you all right?”
“Perhaps I am. I do not really know yet.” Michael held his head. It might split in two. As the pain ebbed, he grabbed Thomas’s shoulder to keep from succumbing to a bout of vertigo.
Thomas grinned like an idiot. “That is a far cry better than you have been, Mike.”
Her carriage disappeared into the mist.
“I have a bit of a headache and need to rest.” Michael knelt on one knee. With his elbow resting on his thigh, he put his head in his hand.
“You are unwell.” Thomas crouched next to him. “Daniel is sending the carriage back for us. I think it is unwise for you to ride your horse in your condition.”
“You may be right, Tom.”
They waited in silence. By the time the carriage returned, the pain had eased to a dull ache.
Chapter 4
Michael ducked behind a group of trees but kept his eye on the road, where many carriages passed. Hyde Park had become his daily stop.
“What are we doing here, Mike?” Thomas asked.
Michael had dragged Thomas out for a ride in the park under the guise of needing the exercise.
“Waiting. She and her mother always ride through the park when the weather is fine.” Michael’s heart pounded.
Shaking his head, Thomas whacked at the bushes with his walking stick. “Do you mean that we are waiting here to spy on Lady Elinor and her mother?”
Not sparing him a glance, Michael kept his eyes fixed so as not to miss her carriage. “It sounds quite tawdry when you put it that way.”
“I believe it is disturbing without regard to my phrasing.” Thomas tugged on his gloves.
“I must see her.”
“Why don’t you just go to her and beg her forgiveness?”
He shook his head. “It won’t work. And besides, I am not yet ready to make that commitment. I am not quite the man I used to be, Thomas.”
Despite their longstanding friendship, they hadn’t discussed Michael’s injuries in detail. His potency was a topic he found uncomfortable. He imagined it would be the same for whomever he shared his troubles with.
Thomas cleared his throat. “I have heard the rumors, Mike. Is it certain you shall not recover?”
“I thought the damage was permanent, but lately I am not so sure the doctors are correct.” No amount of circling the facts would make the topic easier to discuss.
“I realize this is a prickly subject, but I am at your disposal if you need to speak to someone.” Another bruising hit on the bushes, and Thomas leaned on the stick.
Michael had no idea how to respond. Luckily, the Burkenstocks’ open carriage, carrying two lovely blonde women, saved him from having to. He pointed. “There.”
