Page 52 of Foolish Bride
“A bit.”
“Good. Have another drink, then tell me what has been going on.” Daniel spoke softly, but it was a demand nevertheless.
The pain in his head dulled to a bearable throb, and Michael sat up. He tossed the cloth on the tray and picked up the brandy glass. “What are you talking about?”
“We have been friends a long time, Mike. I know you are exalted to the title of duke now and far outrank your lowly friend, The Earl of Marlton. However, I feel privileged.”
“How so?”
“I am glad you asked.” Daniel sipped his brandy, leaned back, and crossed one leg over his knee. “I know all your secrets. So, duke or not, I would like to know what is going on. Are you still pursuing Lady Elinor and, if so, why did you toss her aside to begin with?”
“I did not toss her aside!” Shouting had been a mistake. He gripped his head.
Daniel wagged his finger and tutted. “Best not to lose your temper.”
After several moments, Daniel still waited for an explanation.
“Relentless.” Everything that had happened to him since returning from France defied all honor. “I did not think I could be a true husband to her on account of my wounds. The indications were I would never recover fully. All the doctors were certain the effects were permanent. I thought it only fair to release her from our contract, and her father was most adamant about it.”
Putting his glass on the table, Daniel leaned forward. “What did the lady think?”
Michael drank the remainder of his brandy, reveling in the slow burn. “She said she did not care about my injury. She still wished the marriage. Of course, she is innocent and had no idea what she was talking about. I had to release her. It was the right thing to do.”
“Hmmm.” Daniel had been both serene yet intense since they were boys. “What changed?”
“The doctors appear to have been wrong about my…capabilities returning.”
Daniel clapped, but apologized immediately for the sharp noise that went right to Michael’s head. “And the headaches?”
“A new phenomenon. When I become excited, the pain is quite leveling.” Michael took the brandy decanter from the shelf, refilled both glasses, and sat back down.
With a shrug, Daniel accepted the drink and leaned back. “The pain may also be temporary.”
“I hope so.”
Tugging on his cravat, Daniel pulled the knot free. “What were you doing in the orangery to bring on this headache tonight?”
Every moment of his life was public domain. Elinor would be mortified, but luckily only their true friends would ever know anything. Their secrets were safe. “I have not ruined her, if that is what you are asking.”
“Good. Middleton would not appreciate his wife being sullied before his wedding night.”
“Middleton will never have her!” Pain shot through his skull. He gripped his throbbing head. “I will somehow repair all of this. Elinor Burkenstock will be my wife. Hell, she should already be mine. If I hadn’t been such an ass and allowed myself to be talked into that damned last trip, I would be happily making love to my sweet wife every night.”
Daniel lifted his glass, then cocked his head. “Then you might never have known who she really was. The events of the last few months have brought out a lot of intriguing characteristics in Miss Burkenstock. She is much more interesting now, and she has lost none of her sweetness. I rather like her more.”
“She is different,” Michael said. “I think of her night and day, Daniel. I can barely manage my estates. My mind is constantly preoccupied with her and how I will win her back.”
“What are you going to do about these headaches?”
It was a fair question, and he wished he knew the answer. As it was, there was little to be done. “I am going to hope they are as temporary as my original malady.”
“Perhaps you should discuss the matter with your physician.”
Michael loathed every doctor and nurse as if they were the cause rather than the cure. “No. If not for that idiot, I might have begged Elinor to wait a few months. We could have postponed the wedding. That damned doctor acted so certain that all was lost. What a fool I was to believe him.”
A wide smile spread across Daniel’s face as he downed another brandy. “Do you remember the time we caught all those frogs?”
All the troubles of his adulthood fell away with the memory. “I cannot even remember why we started that.”
