An odd occurrence. He never wanted to talk to her. She could count on one hand the number of times they had even been in the same room since their own wedding. In fact, it seemed a fair assumption that he was only talking to her now because they were stuck in the carriage together, and it was more difficult to avoid conversation.
“What do you mean?” she asked him.
“I understand that you didn’t want to marry,” he said. “But in all the time leading up to our marriage, you told me over and over that you wanted to do this specifically so that your sister would be free to marry the man she loved. I thought you wanted her to get married.”
“I did,” she said sharply. “Why would you suggest otherwise?”
“You didn’t seem very happy about it today,” he pointed out.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she told him. “I was perfectly happy for her.”
“You don’t have to lie to me,” he said. “And in fact, I wish you wouldn’t. You and I don’t give each other very much, but we’ve always been honest with one another, haven’t we?”
Her temper flared. “I’m notlyingto you.”
“Aren’t you?” He fixed her with a steady gaze. “I heard you, you know. When you and she went out of the dining room this morning.”
That hit her like a bucket of cold water over her head. She sat up straighter, staring at him. “What do you mean, you heard us? We were in the coat closet.”
“So that’s what that room was?” He shook his head. “I heard your voices coming from a door off the foyer, but I didn’t knowwhat was on the other side. You made her talk to you in a coat closet?”
“I didn’t make her do anything, and what business is it of yours?” Susan snapped. “I’m aware that you’re my husband, but can a lady not speak to her sister privately once she’s married? Were you eavesdropping on the two of us?”
His mouth twitched.
“Oh, you think that’s funny?” Susan demanded, her rage spiking even higher. “It’s incredibly invasive, Norman. You shouldn’t spy on me when I’m trying to have a conversation with my sister. That wasn’t for your ears.”
“All right,” he conceded. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done it.”
She settled back in her seat, slightly taken aback. She hadn’t expected him to give in that quickly. She’d anticipated an argument—a claim that he hadn’t done anything wrong, somehow.
But the conversation clearly wasn’t over. He was still leaning forward, as if waiting for her to say something more.
She looked back at him.
Finally, he spoke. “You haven’t answered my question.”
“What question?”
“Why do you hate marriage so much?”
She gritted her teeth. “Do you really think you’re entitled to ask me questions when you’ve just admitted that you shouldn’t have been listening in on my conversation?”
“I think if my wife admits to despising the idea of marriage, I have the right to want to know why,” he countered. “That seems like something that is inherently my concern.”
“You always knew that I didn’t want to get married,” she said. “Don’t tell me you’re going to pretendyet againthat I was unclear about that.”
He sighed and sat back in his seat. “And don’t tellmethat you’re going to sit there and act like you haven’t been unclear about your feelings,” he said. “Yes, you told me that you didn’t want to get married. But you got married anyway. And why did you do that?”
“Because my father forced me,” she snapped. “You know all this.”
“Except that that isn’t true at all,” he said. “You and I werenotgoing to marry to please your father. We had every intention of not going through with it, and you know that as well as I do. And then, out of nowhere, you changed the plan. You had me meet you in the park, and you begged me to marry you after all. Andwhy? Why did you do that? You know the reason, but I want you to say it.”
She stared at him, taken aback. “Are you angry with me?”
“I’mfrustrated,” he said. “Anyone would be. I’ve uprooted my whole life on the premise that you wanted your sister to have the right to marry, Susan.”
“Don’t act as if you didn’t get anything out of it,” she shot back. “You wanted to marry too, and you had your own reasons. You and I both know that you wouldn’t have agreed to this arrangement if there was nothing in it for you, just for the sake of what I wanted for Marina.”
