“I thought I could love him,” she said. “That my life would have been perfect if Percy had never found us. What afoolI’ve been. And now William thinks he can win me over again with a few compliments?”
“He almost did,” Arabella pointed out.
“Unhelpful, Bella.”
“What will you do now?”
Heavens, wasn’t that a thought. She frowned, worrying on her lower lip. First, she had an apology to make, and then . . . Well, she supposedthenshe would decide what to do about the masquerade.
It was not until a mere few hours before the masquerade that Cecily encountered Percy again in their dressing room. He looked as though he intended to leave without speaking, and she hurried to him, putting a hand on his arm.
“Will you give me a moment of your time?”
“Cecily.” He glanced down at her, a pinch between his brows. “Do you need something?”
“I told my mother to stop asking so many questions about our intimate life,” she said, feeling the slightest glow of pride at the way a slow smile spread across his face.
“Did you indeed? Good. And if she persists, allow me to write to her instead.”
“You hardly have to ask my permission.”
“I’d prefer to have your consent.”
He always did.
Even when drunk, he had stopped before anything could have happened between them. Cecily couldn’t help wondering, in the final moments before sleep, what might have happened if he had given into his natural marital impulses. After all, hewasher husband and she his wife. And she believed him when he said he had not been with Caroline.
When Arabella had spoken about love, she had always mentioned it coming from the heart. Yet after that night, whenever Cecily looked at Percy, it was her stomach that twisted and fluttered and dropped.
Disgust, she told herself.
She could no longer delude herself into believing it was true.
“I did meet William,” she blurted, seeing the surprise cross Percy’s face. His frown deepened.
“And?”
“You arecertainhe would not have married me?”
“As far as any man could be.”
The hurt that she’d once felt at the betrayal now just felt like a lump in the base of her stomach. Time truly had worn away the depth of her feelings, and the shallow inclination she felt towards him now was easily overwhelmed by the force of her anger.
“Then,” she said, summoning her courage, “I suppose I ought to apologise.”
“An apology?” Percy’s brows rose, but he gave the barest hint of a smile. “For what, pray?”
“I thought you married me for selfish reasons.”
He observed her gravely. “Why, my songbird, I did. Yes, in doing so I protected you from other such men, and the machinations of your mother, but I would not have done that if I were not very much in love with you.”
Her stomach flipped with such force that she almost gasped. Such simple words, and he had certainly said things like this to her before, but oddly it had never felt likethis.
She tucked her shaking hands behind her back so he would not see her nervousness. “The masquerade is tonight,” she said, looking up at him. His gaze was intent on her mouth, as though he could read the words on the tip of her tongue. “Do you have plans?”
His eyes flicked from her mouth to her eyes, the frown in them more pronounced than ever, and disappointment crashed through her even before he spoke. “I do,” he said slowly, and her newfound confidence crumbled.
“Oh.” Like a coward, she retreated for her bedchamber door. “Well, then. I suppose I should begin to get ready. Goodnight, Percy. I hope you have fun.”
