But she didn’t finish her thought, but she didn’t have to. Louisa had been telling him the truth. She wasn’t in love with anyone else because the person she loved had passed away.
“I’m sorry,” he said, too quickly, as she looked back at him. Rhys had known his fair share of people taken too soon. “May I ask, who he was to you?”
Louisa’s cheeks paled at the intrusive question. Though they were married, they still hadn’t known each other longer than a day. It felt bizarre, asking the question, but then they were alone, and he was curious.
Louisa blinked a few times before answering.
“He was a lovely man. Kind and studious,” she began, her tone gentle. “A true and refined gentleman. We were friends for years, and he was my greatest confidant, but he was often ill. He told me a dozen times how he almost died as a child from scarlet fever. He wasn’t terribly strong because of his illnesses. Sometimes he needed help climbing stairs, but he was brilliant,” she said, her eyes shining for a moment. “He was so terribly clever. He knew everything. Well, not everything, but he at least knew something about everything. There was never a lull in conversation, never a subject too obscure.”
“How was he so clever?”
“He read. Books upon books. He was the greatest reader. He even told me his dream was to read all the books in the world, even though it was impossible.” Her smile turned wistful as her gaze drifted down. “He proposed to me, not a week before he passed away.”
Rhys stared at her.
“Did he?”
She nodded.
“Yes, but he asked me not to tell anyone. He knew he wasn’t long for this world,” she said with a frown. “Kitty and I went to visit him, having heard of his sickness, but the doctor didn’t allow us to stay long. He asked me to marry him though, right in front of Kitty. I accepted but kept my promise to keep it secret.” She cocked her head. “I always wondered if he knew he was going to pass away. Sometimes he asked me as some sort of joke, knowing that he wouldn’t be around to do so, but I only think that when I become overtired.”
She looked up at Rhys.
“So that’s why the whole marrying a man in a gambling hell wasn’t such a strange concept,” he stated.
She shrugged.
“I’m grateful to be married. Particularly to someone so honorable,” she said, causing Rhys to rankle within himself. “And I promise to be a dutiful and faithful wife. It’s the only way I’ll get to see John again.”
Rhys’s brow lifted.
“You mean, in heaven?”
She nodded.
“I do.”
Rhys leaned back against the velvet cushion of the coach, unsure how to proceed. He did not believe in heaven, or any sort of afterlife. He couldn’t, having seen the horrors of war. Surelyno good God would allow such suffering, such innocent deaths, and yet, the idea that this woman, whom he barely knew for more than twenty-four hours, was promising to be a good little wife for the rest of her life so that she might get to see her former sweetheart made Rhys tense in places he didn’t understand.
He should be happy to hear this. He had a guarantee that his wife would be good and faithful. And he had promised a marriage based on convenience, not one tinged with emotions. But something about Louisa’s lack of affection set him in a dark mood for the rest of the day.
Chapter Five
The Fox andRaven Inn was situated in a little valley, near a grove of oak trees right along the main road north. A tiny, babbling stream could be heard running somewhere in the distance when Rhys and Louisa exited the carriage sometime after midnight. The late start to their journey had kept them on the road later than anticipated, and Louisa was happy to be out of the jostling carriage.
Rhys escorted her across the unseasonably cold courtyard and into the warm, thatched-roof inn. Though it was late, there were still a number of people drinking and merrymaking. Louisa was barely able to keep her eyes open as she followed Rhys across the dining room and up the stairs. A short hallway held four doors, two on each side. They were escorted into the last door on the right.
Louisa was in such a state of exhaustion, she merely mumbled as she went straight to the bed and dropped her body down immediately.
“Are you that tired?” Rhys asked from behind her.
She grunted, but then, remembering he couldn’t hear her, she sat up and looked at him.
“I’m not usually up this late.”
“You could have slept in the carriage.”
“It was moving too much. I need peace and quiet to sleep.”
