Because if it were, she knew why all the warnings had been issued to her and to any unmarried woman. If she’d known, if they’d all known, what seduction was like, they would have fallen, moaning, into the hands of their seducers, begging for more of the same.
Chapter 10
By the time they reached Inverness, Veronica was furious with her new husband.
For hours, she’d sat beside Montgomery in the first-class cabin with a dozen other people, all prosperous citizens. The accent of Scotland welcomed her home, and the closer they got to their destination, the more grateful she was to Montgomery for making the journey possible. Her gratitude did not, however, offset her irritation with him.
Montgomery had been taciturn, if not downright forbidding, for the whole of the journey. Whenever she was tempted to broach a subject, he’d send her a look, and she’d keep silent.
After a full twenty hours aboard the train, they’d finally reached Inverness station in the middle of a storm.
The station was very loud, its tall, pitched roofs and ceiling windows echoing the rain. Dozens of arches led from one platform to another, each of them filled with talking people, purposefully walking toward their destinations.
She waited while Montgomery finished attending to other matters, and when he joined her, they hired a carriage.
“I wanted to meet with the stationmaster,” he said, as they entered the carriage. “The trunk containing the mirror came from Inverness station.”
“Was he able to tell you anything?”
Montgomery shook his head as he settled opposite her.
Tomorrow, they’d finish their journey to Doncaster Hall, but tonight they’d stay in Inverness, in a hotel, information Montgomery had imparted before leaving London.
Their departure from London had been accomplished with some rapidity, a fact for which she’d be eternally grateful. She’d only had time to utter a hurried thank-you to Mrs. Gardiner before being rushed into a carriage. She had not, blessedly, had to face the woman for long.
Montgomery had no such reserve. He’d thanked the housekeeper, spoken softly for several moments, giving her instructions as to the care of the house, no doubt. Was he returning to London? Were they?
Twice, she almost asked him. Twice, she stopped herself from asking.
As they traveled through the city, Montgomery remained silent.
He was too easy to read, his emotions a combination of grief, irritation, and an odd touch of anxiety. Why was Montgomery anxious? She knew he wouldn’t tell her if she asked.
“You were more communicative to me when I was drugged,” she said, jerking angrily at the bonnet ribbon before retying it in a perfect bow. She hated bonnets, hated wearing anything on her head. “Is it me? Or are you simply this uncommunicative around everyone?”
Montgomery didn’t say a word, didn’t even glance toward her.
“I felt my lips move, Montgomery. I know I spoke.”
There, that garnered her a glance before he once again stared at the rain-streaked window.
She leaned forward, looking into his eyes. “I was just assuring myself you were awake,” she said, sitting back. “Very well, shall we talk of the weather? It’s raining again. We’ve now exhausted that topic.” She glanced out the window. “The scenery? It’s difficult to discuss the scenery when it’s raining so hard. One could say everything looks a bit watery.”
They crossed the River Ness on the Black Bridge, the wooden timbers making a hollow sound of welcome.
“Tell me about America,” she said. “Tell me about Virginia. Or your home there.” She was searching her mind for a list of other acceptable topics when he smiled at her.
“You don’t like being ignored, Veronica.”
“I have spent the last two years being ignored, Montgomery,” she said. “I’m quite used to it. I was not, however, expecting it from my husband.”
Especially after he’d seduced her in the parlor.
“My home is called Gleneagle,” he said, turning his head and staring out the window at the curtain of rain. “My grandfather was both its architect and its builder, and he named it as well.”
“Do you grow tobacco in Virginia?”
He glanced at her, evidently surprised. Both the look and its implication annoyed her.
