Page 70 of A Gentleman's Wife

Jaw clenched painfully tight, Marianne turned her gaze toward her father, the man who should have loved her and protected her all her life. He was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, not meeting her gaze.

“You must understand what position this puts us in, Marianne. We have no other choice in the matter but to bring you home,” he said, eyes on the floor.

Marianne tried to clear her throat. “I apologize that you were put in such a position, and that you came all the way to Primrose House, but as I said, I am not leaving with you until I speak to my husband.”

“No amount of begging will change his mind, Marianne,” Mother said snidely. “The annulment was likely his idea to begin with. No doubt unsatisfied with the marriage from the beginning, he went seeking a solution for the problem.”

Each word stung more than the last, breaking her heart to think such things. Marianne’s chin quivered, but she shook her head, unwilling to fall apart in front of them.

“For that’s all I am to you, isn’t it? Simply a problem to be solved instead of a daughter to be loved.” Her voice wavered as her father’s head shot up with something akin to regret in his eyes.

“Marianne, don’t say such things…”

“You ungrateful child,” Mother spat. “After everything we’ve done for you.”

“I know for certainty, Mother, that nothing you ever did was for my benefit, but to save you from shame and embarrassment.” Already feeling herself wilting, she went on. “Rest assured, I am no longer your problem to deal with. I belong to my husband, and he belongs to me, and nothing you can say will change that.”

“Marianne, stop this nonsense. You’re speaking like a lovesick child. If he’s unsatisfied with you, it’s likely he’s already taken up a mistress. Shouldn’t you be gone from here so you won’t have to face that humiliation?”

Her stomach soured further, recalling her interaction with Lady Slanton at the dinner party. She couldn’t fathom Thomas would ever agree to such a thing, not after he’d explained countless times over that he wanted nothing to do with the countess. But then why had he left without a word, almost as if fleeing Marianne’s presence? Was she part of the business that kept him occupied? Had she already made good on her threat? Surely Thomas would have an explanation, but could Marianne trust him to tell her the truth? Whatever secret he kept had something to do with this revelation brought by her parents, something to do with his grandfather’s visit, and she didn’t know what to think anymore, how to feel about him, or what it all meant. She only knew one thing for sure.

“The thought of being a disappointment to my husband may be unbearable, but I would rather die than return to your home.”

Finally, Mother was speechless, gasping and pressing a hand to her chest. Father stood, completely crestfallen as he took a small step forward. “Marianne, please…”

Shaking her head, Marianne turned toward the door. “You must excuse me. Please see yourselves out.” Then leaving the drawing room, she unknowingly slammed the door shut, its sound echoing throughout the house.

“Are you all right, madam?” Collins asked, immediately by her side.

Marianne wanted to bury her face in her hands, to scream and cry, but mostly she wanted to be held by her husband. She wanted Thomas to explain why these things were happening and provide some clarity for her fears, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Collins, might I burden you with a troublesome task?” she asked in a low trembling voice.

“Remove them from the premises?”

She nodded.

“With pleasure.”

“And please send up Eliza when you can.”

Before Collins opened the door again, Marianne was halfway up the stairs. She wanted to be within the safe confines of Thomas’s room so she wouldn’t have to hear her mother’s complaints on the way out. But even now, Thomas’s room was no longer a sanctuary. Her heart broke at the thought of what he could have said or done, what it meant for how he felt about her, and how she would ever recover from what she felt for him.

Enclosing herself in his blankets, Marianne allowed for one brief moment to consider if it might be true that he could have gone back to the countess. Collins said he’d had legal matters to attend… is that what he would say every time Thomas sought company with his mistress? Had Marianne not been enough for him, sending him back to his first love? Is that where he had spent the night when not in his own bed? But of course he would prefer her. Lady Slanton was beautiful and perfect in every way that Marianne wasn’t. He may still even require an heir of his wife, but that he might seek out his pleasures and emotional satisfaction with his mistress made Marianne want to sob and wretch all at once.

She would not stand for it. She would have it out with her husband. Even if he didn’t want her anymore, Marianne would never go back to her family. She would rather take up employment than be subject to their whims ever again. She didn’t know where she would go or how she would manage, but she would not stay anywhere she would not be appreciated.

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