When she made no comment, he continued. “His Lordship understands that, while the situation was in no way of his doing, any other action would be unthinkable.”
“Married?” She cleared her throat. “I don’t know the man, Uncle.”
“You should have thought of that before appearing with him naked.”
How odd she couldn’t think at the moment.
“You should count yourself fortunate, indeed. His Lordship is quite a wealthy man. At least you will be well provided for, unlike your mother.”
“My father was a well-respected scholar,” she said. “A teacher.”
“Who had not held a post since before you were born. He dabbled in poetry, Veronica,” he said, the depth of his loathing evident in the disdain dripping from each word.
Her father’s poetry was beautiful, lyrical, and moving. None of it had survived, however. Yet if she could have shown her uncle, she was sure that he would have appreciated her father’s great talent.
“Your mother’s inheritance provided a roof over your head.”
To that, she had no answer.
He turned and nodded to his sons. Neither Algernon nor Adam had looked directly at her. They only stepped aside so she could precede them, following Uncle Bertrand out the door.
Veronica managed to keep silent all the way back to Uncle Bertrand’s home, a feat easily managed since no one in the carriage seemed inclined to talk, least of all to her.
Instead of being a poor relation, she was to be married. Instead of living forever in Uncle Bertrand’s house, she was to have a husband.
Not only was she free of Amanda, Uncle Bertrand, Aunt Lilly, and her four other cousins, but she was to have an establishment, a family, of her own.
She wanted to dance. Even then, her feet wanted to tap on the carriage floor. If she’d begun to sing at the top of her voice, Algernon and Adam would have nudged each other and commented about poor daft Veronica, who was making a spectacle of herself. Had the girl no sense at all? Uncle Bertrand would have frowned at her again—or still—since he hadn’t stopped frowning.
A husband. She was to have a husband. Not simply any husband, but an American: Montgomery Fairfax.
He was a stranger.
Perhaps she should be more sober, look at the situation with a more realistic view. While it was true he was a handsome man, appearance wasn’t as important as other qualities in a husband.
He was kind and evidently possessed of compassion, or he wouldn’t have rescued her from the Society.
He hadn’t been the least bit happy about it, however. His gaze hadn’t revealed any warmth when he’d looked at her. Her Gift had discerned the degree of his pain. Did he mourn forsomeone? The pain she’d felt in Montgomery had been strong and deep. Did he grieve for a lost love?
Had her uncle pressured him into marrying her? Of course her uncle had used some sort of pressure to induce His Lordship to marry her. He hadn’t developed a tendre for her in the few hours they’d been together. Alone, together in a carriage, with nothing more than a thin robe between her and nakedness.
He’d seen her naked.
Heat traveled over her skin.
So much for lust.
Wasn’t he supposed to be overwhelmed by the power of his feelings for her? He’d seen a great deal more than her shapely ankles. Yet all he’d done was place her in his housekeeper’s company.
What would she have done if he’d made an advance? Of course she would have dissuaded him quite precisely. She would have told him, in no uncertain terms, that she was notthattype of young woman, her actions to the contrary.
Yet he hadn’t done anything. He’d acted the perfect gentleman. She was the one who’d bent every rule of proper behavior.
To be a good wife, she’d have to learn as much about her husband as possible. If for no other reason than to express her gratitude to him for rescuing her twice. Once, from a scandal of her own making, and secondly, from her abysmal future. She hadn’t the slightest idea how to be a wife, but she had some experience in watching a loving couple. Her parents had been devoted to one another.
The carriage stopped in front of the house, and her uncle frowned at her. She nodded in response to the unspoken rebuke and waited until Algernon and Adam preceded her before leaving.
She took the stairs quickly, grateful her aunt was nowhere about. That reckoning could, she hoped, wait until later that morning.
