Page 68 of The Pleasures of Passion
“Why not? It’s the truth. My nephew always drowned his sorrows in spirits. I never understood it. What did he have to be sorrowful about? He had a wife he adored, an estate of some consequence, and a son and heir. Yet he couldn’t be content.”
The comment sliced through Brilliana, because she knew why her husband hadn’t been content. He’d never gained her love, and at the end he’d realized he never would. Even worse, he’d found out whom to blame for her damaged heart.
“Reynold simply wasn’t like other men, that’s all.” Brilliana gestured to the pocket watch in Niall’s hand. “He certainly would never have carried one ofthose.”
Niall’s eyes narrowed on her, but before he could retort, Aunt Agatha said, “Of course not. My nephew was rather stodgy, my dear. Everyone knew that.”
Brilliana covered Silas’s ears. “Don’t say things like that in front of his son.”
The woman sniffed. “Silas doesn’t know his father from a peddler. And if Reynold had wanted to be known as anything else, he should have stayed around to raise the boy. For that matter, if he’d wanted to be known as a man of character, he shouldn’t have tried to force a woman into wedding him.”
Swallowing hard, Brilliana looked out the carriage window. She could feel Niall’s gaze searching her, and she just couldn’t meet it.
“So he really did buy Bree’s hand in marriage,” Niall said. “In exchange for his father discharging Sir Oswald’s debt.”
“He did.” Her aunt sighed. “Though apparently he had to convince his father to agree.”
The words caught Brilliana off guard. She swung around to stare at her aunt, her blood thundering in her ears. “What do you mean?”
“Captain Mace Trevor never cared about anything but money, my dear.” Compassion mingled with guilt in her features. “I suppose I should have told you before. I didn’t want to muck around with your relationship to my nephew, but the truth is that Reynold was the one to suggest that the debt be repaid by a marriage between you two.”
That took Brilliana entirely by surprise. She’d known that Reynold was a bit obsessive about her, but he’d characterized their arranged marriage as something that had been cooked up by their fathers because of his interest in her and the gambling debt. According to him, he’d merely gone along with what their fathers proposed.
Apparently that had been a lie. As had so many other things in their marriage.
“Reynold was nothing if not resourceful,” Brilliana said bitterly. “He tended to want his own way in everything.”
“Yes, well, that’s a characteristic of men, too, my dear,” her aunt said.
“Not all men,” Niall gritted out.
He said that a great deal. As if he were different. As if he would never betray her the way her husband had apparently betrayed her.
Hah! She knew better. “Andyounever wantyourown way,” Brilliana said sarcastically. “You’re perfectly happy to go along with whatever I want.”
He smiled. “As long as what you want includes marriage to me, yes.”
She told herself the words were merely part of their subterfuge, but the look in his eyes said otherwise. Unfortunately, his eyes lied.
Or did they? No matter how much she told herself that they did, she wanted to believe they didn’t.
“My point is,” Aunt Agatha broke in, “my dear niece has already had a husband who regarded her as nothing more than a beauty to show off to his friends and a means to produce his heir. She does not need another.”
Niall tore his gaze from Brilliana. “And she won’t get one. Because while I admire her beauty, I also regard her as a woman of intelligence, capable of great things. Why do you think I want her to producemyheir? Because any child would be lucky to have her as a mother.”
Lord, but the man did know how to make a woman swoon.
He glanced out the window. “And speaking of that, we’ve reached the estate that my heir will inherit. Lady Pensworth, I do hope you’ll be willing to keep an eye on young Silas this afternoon. Once I’m done with my business, I’ve promised Bree a tour of Margrave Manor, and I don’t imagine it’s something that Silas would enjoy.”
Aunt Agatha regarded him steadily. “I quite agree.”
And just like that, Niall managed to get his own way yet again.
Except that this time Brilliana could not resent him for it.
Thirteen
As it turned out, Niall’s business only took as long as it took for Brilliana and Aunt Agatha to eat. Though he was still waiting to hear from an important associate, he told her he’d take her around his estate until word came that the man was available.
