Why did he hesitate? Of course he didn’t love her. And there was no need to keep pretending. Not after the way he’d spoken to her father.
She drew near enough to get a good look at Corbyn, his beautiful face stricken with a stronger emotion than she’d seen before. When had his eyes grown so vulnerable? He was supposed to be guarded and strong. Unyielding. He never showed his feelings so clearly.
For me, or for the lies he’s told Eli?
It wasn’t right that Corbyn should look that way. It wasn’t right that he should kiss her and dance with her and make her feel things she wasn’t supposed to, only to ruin the one thing she truly wanted.
Why had she put herself through all of this if Mama still wouldn’t take them home? It couldn’t have been for nothing.
I need to know your intentions are genuine, Eli had said. AndCorbyn still hadn’t answered. Hannah couldn’t decide which would be worse: if he scoffed at the idea, or if he confessed some deeper emotion. She darted forward, suddenly desperate to speak before he could.
“Eli. Give us a moment, please.”
Both men started at the sound of her voice. It had come out louder than she’d intended. But after a hesitant glance between them, her brother padded from the room.
Hannah hardly knew how to begin. The snippet of conversation she’d overheard had turned her straightforward outrage into something more complicated.
“Did you do it on purpose?” she finally asked. “To ruin our engagement?” It was the most important question: Had this all been some misguided attempt to fulfill her instructions? If she was to blame for the row that had ruined her only chance to repair her family, she might never forgive herself.
Corbyn’s face changed back again; he was once more the cool, stoic being that she’d first met. A flawless statue. It made her wonder if she’d only imagined the image before.
“Does it matter?” No trace of emotion reached his eyes. “You got what you wanted. Your parents will insist you call off our engagement.”
No elaboration. Nothing more.
“It matters tome. You didn’t need to say such horrible things to him! You ruined the entire evening.”
“Your father ruined the evening. I only said what everyone else was thinking.”
Hannah couldn’t make her voice work properly after that.He isn’t even sorry!How could he stand there and behave as though he’d done nothing wrong?
“Hannah.” Corbyn’s voice softened on her name. She couldn’thear it without remembering how he’d asked permission to use it, and how readily she’d granted it. “I know you love him, but you must have heard the way he talks to your mother. The way he talks to everyone—”
“Stop it!” she interrupted. “You don’t understand anything. We haven’t seen him in months! This was supposed to be our reunion, and you spoiled it before they even had a chance to talk.”
“He said plenty.”
“Don’t act as though you know him. You only just met him an hour ago.”
“I didn’t need an hour; I saw what he was within the first minute.” Corbyn’s words assaulted her ears with merciless precision. “Your mother must have been proud of the time she took with those decorations, and he tossed his aside for no good reason except to snub her in front of the whole room. He’s a browbeater, Hannah. He enjoys making other people feel small.”
“Because he was angry that my mother left him!” she burst out. Immediately, her face grew hot. She hadn’t meant to speak the truth aloud, except that Corbyn had goaded her into it. Had the others heard them from the dining room? She couldn’t let the admission stand alone, so she added in an urgent whisper, “Anyone would be angry if their wife did such a thing, but they could still have mended the damage if you’d only given them more time. He would have calmed down. I know it.”
Corbyn didn’t reply. He studied her for a long moment, while she grew uneasy under the weight of his gaze and the stretch of silence. Hannah wasn’t sure what he was searching for, except that something in his face had softened.
When he finally spoke, his expression was very different than it had been a moment ago. “Do you really believe that?”
Was that pity she heard?
No. Corbyn had no business feeling sorry for her. She wasn’t some misguided child, engaging in flights of fancy. Who was he to walk in here and judge her family?
He reached out a hand, but she pushed it away before it could come to rest on her cheek. “I’m not imagining things,” she insisted. “I know my own parents better than you do.”
Again, Corbyn said nothing. His censure hung in the air like a gathering rain cloud. Why wouldn’t he say what he really thought, as he always did?
Why won’t he stop looking at me that way?
Her eyes started to sting. Hannah blinked them quickly, determined not to break down.
