Page 74 of If the Slipper Fits
“That is odd.”
She gazed at him, considering. “Caden, earlier tonight, you indicated you knew Lord Bolton. ”
His expression turned grim. “I wouldn’t say I know him. I knowofhim. I did have occasion to meet him as a boy, with my father. The two were friends. I did not care for him in the slightest.”
He broke off a chunk of bread and handed it to her.
She accepted his offering, nibbled, waited for him to elaborate.
“My personal opinion aside, it’s common knowledge the Baron cares nothing for his title, nor the responsibilities that go with it. He’s long since lost any non-entailed lands. He’s all about the drink, horse racing, and the hells—which is precisely why I can not fathom…” He broke off abruptly, picked up his wine, and took a healthy swallow.
“How did this Angelique expect yourcourtship”—He stressed the word in such a way as to indicate he saw it as nothing of the sort—“to advance in his absence? For that matter, how did this Angelique come to know Baron Bolton?”
She swallowed a morsel of cheese and laughed, self-conscious. “I’m embarrassed to admit, I haven’t a clue how she knew him. As for the two of us getting acquainted, I’m convinced she wanted nothing of the sort.”
Caden leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why-ever not?”
“I believe the man to whom I was introduced, the man with whom I believed myself engaged, was not Lord Bolton.”
“What are you saying? That your step-mother introduced you to a decoy? You’re certain?”
“Certain? No. Angelique denied it whenI asked her about it.”
She ate more cheese, questioning her own memory for the thousandth time. “Maybe I had it wrong. Maybe I saw what I wanted to see at first. So much is a blur about those early days after my father’s death.”
“I see.” His tone said he didn’t see at all.
She lifted her chin. “I’d like to make one thing clear. Even before I met the true Lord Bolton, I decided I could not possibly go through with the marriage. I planned to find employment—as a tutor, a companion, a nanny. Angelique could go back to working in the apothecary. As for father’s debts, I wasn’t exactly sure what to do. I assumed Angelique and I would work it out together.”
He set his fork down with exquisite care. “You changed your mind about the marriage?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t see the point. Perhaps for some marriage is a business arrangement. That’s not a good enough reason for me to wed.”
He searched her face. “What would be?”
For some reason, she found it hard to draw a steady breath. “We’re straying from the subject.”
He inclined his head.
She sipped some wine, then started on the stew. The beef all but melted in her mouth.
She scooped up another bite before continuing. “When I shared my decision with Angelique, I expected some resistance. I never anticipated the rage she flew into. She shook me ’til I thought my teeth would fall out, then ordered her pet footman to lock me in my chamber. Brutus, she called him. He was a beast of a man, more paid muscle than house servant.”
“Good Lord, Anna.”
She smiled a humorless smile. “My goals changed in a blink. First and foremost, I needed to escape, which meant first pretending to come to my senses. Angelique was no fool, however; She kept me under guard. I never said a word in protest. Rather, I became a dutiful daughter, acquiescent and aiming to please.”
Caden snorted.
She slid him a quelling look and he sobered, though his eyes twinkled with a mischievous light that eased some of the growing tension inside her and tempted her to smile at the rogue. She bit the inside of her cheek, resisting the urge.
“When she went out for the day, as she often did, I combed the house, searching for anything I could use for my eventual escape. I knew I would need to find work, so I sequestered myself in the reading room and wrote out several fine letters of recommendation for myself.”
“Ah. The infamous forged letters.” He lounged back in his chair, wine glass in hand. “And what of Bolton? He didn’t…er…trouble you?”
