“There is such pain coming from you, Montgomery. Even during the ceremony, I felt it. A wave of anguish that almost knocked you to your knees. Even here I can feel it. It’s as if you’re bleeding.”
He folded his arms in front of his chest, staring at her impassively. If he could have simply ignored the circumstances that night at the Society, he wouldn’t be here. No, he had to rescue this woman because he’d been unable to save another.
Damn it, hehadbeen thinking of Caroline.
Neither he nor Veronica spoke, the atmosphere in the carriage one more suitable to winter than a fine spring day.
Veronica laid her head back against the cushions, closed her eyes, effectively distancing herself from him. Or so he thought, until she started to speak.
“You love her very much, don’t you?”
He remained still, not from fascination or interest but because he knew that if he moved, it would be to silence her. He’d reach across the seat and place his hand over her mouth to keep her from speaking.
Abruptly, she opened her eyes, her face going pale.
“She’s dead, isn’t she? That’s why you’re in so much pain.”
If he could have left the carriage, he would have. Instead, he fixed a look on his bride that she evidently understood because she suddenly went mute.
Soon, they were at his house. When his driver opened the carriage door, Montgomery ignored all the rules of etiquette by leaving the carriage and striding to the front door, unknowing and uncaring how his wife was welcomed to his home.
She followed him into his library.
“I’m sorry I’m not her,” she said, continuing their conversation as if he hadn’t walked away.
He turned slowly to face her, attempting to regain his composure.
Alisdair and James would be howling with laughter to see what Fate had done. He was married to a woman dottier than Aunt Maddie.
He leaned over, reached for the bell on the corner of his desk, and rang it twice.
“Mrs. Gardiner will show you your room,” he said. “Please tell her if you need anything.”
“Am I being dismissed?” she asked.
“If I could dismiss you, Veronica, I would. However, I’m afraid that you and I are linked by law.”
“Thank you for marrying me,” she said, startling him. “Thank you for being a gentleman, and in some ways, a knight. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Montgomery. If I did, I’m sorry. I can’t help what I feel. It just comes to me.”
“You have no control over it, I suppose?”
She shook her head.
“In that, you and I are different. I have control over my life. I don’t have to suffer your company.”
She flinched as if he’d struck her.
“Feel anything you want about me. I just don’t want to hear what you feel or what you think.”
“From now until the day we die, Montgomery?”
“I’m not as privileged as you, Veronica. I do not pretend to be able to view the future.”
“I don’t see the future. I never said I did.”
He inclined his head. “That’s right, you don’t see the future. You can only read someone’s heart. You can only feel what he’s feeling.”
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “At the moment, you’re wishing you’d never seen me,” she added, her voice so faint he almost leaned forward to hear her. “That you’d allowed me to be raped or that you’d simply walked away.”
