Page 76 of Her Tiger of a Duke
Her husband placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she softened.
“Come now,” he said kindly, “Beatrice is a capable lady, and you know that. Owen cares for her, you know that, but all this fretting will not bring her back. For whatever reason, she has seen fit to leave, and we will not know why until either she has returned or the carriage has and His Grace can search for her.”
“But–”
“Helena, this is not good for our child. Do not worry yourself so; she will be all right, and this will all be mended.”
Helena seemed to give in at that and nodded sadly. Owen was pleased that his wife had a good friend, one that cared enough to speak her mind to a duke, but he wished that the vitriol was not directed at him. He had done what was necessary, and Beatrice had not liked it. It was not his fault that he did not change his mind.
“I must work,” George explained. “Do tell me if she returns.”
When Helena and Owen were alone, he noticed that she was trembling. He went to speak, but he did not know what to say to her without angering her more.
“She could be in danger,” she said after a while. “I know that you and my husband think she is a perfectly capable lady, but she is a lady all the same, and a wealthy one at that.”
“I know the risks,” he sighed, “and so does she. This is what she wanted, Helena, and there was no changing her mind.”
“No? And how hard did you try?”
“How is it my fault that she chose to leave? She is not a child. I told her before our wedding day that I had no intention of forming an attachment, and she cannot be angry with me for not having done so regardless.”
“Is that so? Have you truly not formed an attachment? Because I saw how you looked at her yesterday, when it was clear that she had been crying. You care for her, Owen, and there is no hiding from that. I would wager that that is what has hurt her– the way you are forcing yourself to keep away.”
It was a reasonable suggestion, but Owen felt it was all the same. If she was upset that he refused to tell her he loved her, then it did not matter whether he loved her or not.
And, given the pain in his chest at her absence, he knew precisely how he felt for her.
“Helena, if you only knew why I had to do all of this, you would understand.”
“Then tell me. For that matter, when you see your wife, you ought to tell her too.”
He bit his lip. It was true; he had to say what had happened, but he had not talked about it in years, since he told Lord Stanton of it all. He cleared his throat, hands trembling.
“I will explain everything to you,” he said carefully. “But first, I must know why my wife was crying.”
“Why?”
“Because you seem to believe that I do not care about her, except you saw with your own eyes that I do. Given that, it isunderstandable that I would want to know what had happened, is it not?”
Helena sighed, leaning forward.
“Beatrice was crying,” she explained, “because she feels lost. She feels as though she has no home, nor any real place in the world. Her family have not asked after her, and her friends all have husbands and children, and after not being invited to my wedding she seemed to think that it was because she was unwanted.”
“Which is not the case.”
“Of course not! We only married at Gretna Green because it was the most convenient, and it meant that our child would be legitimate. She understood that much, at least. When it comes to everyone else, on the other hand…”
“Yes, well, her family never deserved her in the first place. They treated her as lesser-than, even I could see that.”
“And how, pray tell, did you show her that you did not feel that way yourself?”
“I did what I could. I let her do as she pleased with the house, and I did not forbid her from doing anything needlessly. I am a good husband, Helena. I might not be dashing or doting, but I am good to her.”
“Then why have you made her so miserable that she left?”
He sighed. He had gotten his answer, and now it was his turn.
“Last night,” he explained, “Beatrice and I had a dispute. In the end, she learned why I was so determined to help you.”
