Hawk’s amusement faded. He would not tolerate anyone mistreating his wife.
“Lady Ayles ambushed you?” he asked, frowning. “At the ball?”
“Not publicly.”
Fiona shot him a look that he wasn’t used to receiving. The kind that implied that he might not be very bright.
“Her sort never says what they think to your face. She and her conspirators were gossiping behind my back in the retiring room. They didn’t know I was in the water closet, and they…theyslanderedme, Hawk.”
He clenched his jaw. “Tell me what they said.”
“They called me an ill-bred hussy. Said that I trapped you into marriage by doing things that…well, that no lady would do.” Fiona’s cheeks reddened. “Lady Ayles said that you were a glutton for bed sport, and she ended her affair with you because of it. Then she said that I used your lustful appetites to get myself in an unfortunate way and trapped you into marriage. She said there are wagers going on about when our babe will be born!”
“I see.” Hawk kept a firm leash on his anger. “Did she say anything else?”
“She said I’d probably had other lovers before marriage.”
“I will take care of her,” he said grimly. “Leave it to me.”
“What can you do about it?” Fiona threw up her hands. “The gossip she is spreading is insidious. You cannot fight it. The more you try, the more tongues wag. Do you know how often I’ve been calledMiss Banksbehind my back? Trust me, I have dealt with this brand of condescension and snobbery my entire life. The fact of the matter is, I would have dealt with her then and there, but…”
“But what?”
“But yousleptwith her. Shared intimacies with her,” Fiona wailed. “How could I put her in her place knowing that you treated her the same way you treat me?”
Then she burst into tears.
Fiona felt Hawk’s arms close around her. He lifted her as if she weighed less than a feather, carrying her to her sitting room. He settled her firmly on his thighs and wiped her wet cheeks with a handkerchief. She didn’t have the wherewithal to stop any of it. She was overwhelmed—distraught, angry, heartsick…she couldn’t name everything she’d kept bottled up inside.
At the ball, she’d thought about finding Livy and Glory and telling them what she’d overheard. Yet the idea of sharing Hawk’s intimate dealings had made her feel nauseous. She didn’t even want to think about him with Melinda Ayles, let alone tell her bosom friends that the other woman had turned him away for being a “glutton.”
Fiona felt humiliated and crushed. While she knew her marriage was one of convenience, she’d believed that her physical connection with Hawk was…unique. That they were building something special. Yet, apparently, he was randy and intense with all women. Although she tried to tell herself that what went on before their marriage didn’t matter, she couldn’t stop despair from spreading.
Hawk thought you were a frivolous and temperamental flirt,a voice inside her whispered.He only proposed because you leapt into that alleyway, and he feels responsible for compromising you. And you willfully used the situation to maneuver him into a marriage of convenience. If not for his honor, Hawk would never have married you. He has no emotional attachment to you. You are just a convenient bed partner and a way for him to fulfill his duty.
Self-doubt attacked like a pack of ravening wolves. She couldn’t defend herself from her spiraling thoughts. She felt desperate and out of control, and she didn’t like it.
She pushed him away, burying her face in her hands. “Just leave me alone.”
“I will not. Not until you clarify what you just said.”
“You said you didn’t like emotional outbursts.” She lowered her hands to glower at him. “In case you haven’t noticed, I am having one now.”
“Carry on,” he said.
His calmness annoyed her. How could he be so dashed controlled when she was coming apart at the seams?
“There will be weeping, raging, and likely name-calling involved,” she warned.
He raised his brows. “Will you be callingmenames?”
“Quite possibly.”
“Noted. Now, you were claiming that I treated you and Lady Ayles in the same fashion,” he said with equanimity.
He wants the truth?she thought darkly.I’ll give it to him.
“Lady Ayles said that you do not believe in love,” she stated. “That you told her you were not interested in emotional entanglements. Which is the same thing you told me when you proposed.”
