Page 8 of The Baron's Return
Cranston waited while Abigail asked the butler for a fresh pot of tea. With a formal nod, the man removed the tray that currently rested on the table of the drawing room.
Abigail turned to face him then, her hands clasped at her waist again. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
He lifted one shoulder. “Neither was I, but curiosity overcame me. I couldn’t imagine why you needed to speak to me. But apparently I’m not the only man to whom you’ve issued a similar invitation. How long do I have before the next man arrives?”
“I only invited you,” she said as she sank onto the settee. “That was my late husband’s heir, the new Lord Holbrook. He was calling to let me know he would be leaving town next week.”
Cranston said nothing as he sat in one of the two comfortable chairs placed at right angles to the settee. Her admission should mean nothing to him, but he couldn’t deny he was relieved. And he hated himself for that emotion.
Apparently, despite the way she’d broken his heart, he still wanted to think well of this woman. She’d led him to believe they had a future together, only to cast him aside with casual cruelty. He’d been made to feel like the worst sort of fool, but it seemed a small part of the young man he’d once been was still alive within him.
He blamed Ashford and Lowenbrock for that fact. Seeing his two friends happily married was giving rise to emotions and desires he’d never thought he’d feel again.
Silence descended as a footman brought in a new tea tray.
Abigail poured his cup and was reaching for the milk when he stopped her. “I drink it without adding anything now. We didn’t always have luxuries in the army, and I quickly learned to do without.” He didn’t bother telling her that he also drank coffee now instead of tea.
She nodded and handed him his cup. He watched her closely as he took a sip and noted the way her hands shook slightly as she prepared her own cup before leaving it on the table.
She met his gaze and he waited. This was just another battle for him, and he was determined not to betray any weakness.
She gripped her hands together in her lap, no doubt hoping to hide the way they trembled, but he’d already seen it. His own hands were steady as he took another sip of the black, unsweetened tea before he placed his cup on the table.
He raised a brow, letting her know that it was up to her to start this conversation.
She let out a soft breath. “Thank you for coming.”
He leaned back and waited.
“You’re not going to make this easy on me.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Is there a reason I should?”
Her shoulders sagged. “You shouldn’t.”
He continued to wait, and after a tense silence, she shook her head.
“I don’t know where to begin, but I did want to tell you that I never wanted to marry Holbrook. I very much wanted to marry you.”
He couldn’t hold back his snort of amusement. “I’m sure you didn’t. If only the title I was in line to inherit one day wasn’t so far beneath the daughter of an earl. Then you wouldn’t have needed to marry someone old enough to be your grandfather.”
She winced. “I was horrified when Father confronted me and told me that I had no choice.”
Somehow he kept from swearing. “I don’t believe you. You had to know that the young fool you’d so easily wrapped around your finger would have done anything for you. Anything.”
She paled, but he was too angry now to stop.
“I’d planned to return in the middle of the night and spirit you away to Gretna Green if you’d given me any indication you were being forced into the marriage against your will. Instead, you called me a fool.”
Her hands came up to cover her face.
“Come now, it’s too late for acting. I’ll admit your theatrics once worked on me, but I’m no longer the same gullible youth.”
She took a shuddering breath and lowered her hands. He was impressed to see that she’d managed to conjure up a tear. Clearly she’d had time to perfect her already impressive acting skills over the years.
“I had no choice.”
He leaned back in his chair and waited for her explanations. But instead of continuing her attempts to convince him of something they both knew was a lie, she shook her head and drew in a shuddering breath.
