Sighing heavily, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Judith, I don’t need to tell you how scandalous it is to meet a man in private, or how it can ruin a girl’s reputation.”
The corner of her mouth quirked. “Of course not. Did I not blame you for trying to do that when we were at the woodsman’s cottage?”
“If you knew, then why did you continue to meet Mr. Cutler in private?”
She blew out a ragged breath. “Because I loved him, and I knew my parents would not approve. I knew it would take awhile before I could convince them I wanted to marry him and it did not matter if we were caught alone because we were—and still are—engaged.”
“But only in secret, correct?”
“Correct. We do not have anything in writing.”
Facing her, he took hold of her hands once again. Moisture from her palms coated his fingertips. Nervous? Of course she was. She had every right to be with the questions he threw at her. Especially if she were guilty.
“You mentioned both of you were in love. So now my question is, how much did you love him?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Did he…did you…” Good grief, why did this have to be such torture? Her hands were stiff and he tried to relax her by rubbing his thumbs along her knuckles. “Judith, I might as well come right out and say it.”
“I wish you would.”
“Judith.” He held her gaze. “Did you…give yourself to him?”
She gasped, yanked her hands away from his, and jumped to her feet. The quick motion scooted the chair back, which put distance between them.
“How dare you!”
He stood. “Now, Judith. I have every right to ask.”
“You certainly do not.”
“My mother is sponsoring you. She is spending money on your coming out ball. If you are already um…deflowered, then she has the right to know. Why should she spend money on instructing you for a ball you do not need?”
Tears glinted in her eyes, but she blinked the moisture away. “Just because you took liberties and kissed me in the woodsman’s cottage, does not mean I’m the kind of woman who gives them freely.”
He admired her courage to stand up to him, and—he believed her. She could be lying, but deep down inside, he didn’t think so. Relief poured through him, and he nearly sighed aloud.
“I’m relieved to hear that, Judith.” He reached for her, but she took another step backward. “Now that we have that out of the way, would you like to finish writing this letter?”
Several minutes passed as they stared at each other. She stood straight with her arms at her side, her hands fisted. Lines of anger marred her beauty, and he wanted to stroke the skin and make them disappear.
Finally, she nodded and walked to her chair. As he settled in his seat, he picked up the quill. “Now, let us continue.”
As Trey wrote, he asked for suggestions, which she responded to coldly. His heart twisted, knowing he was responsible for humiliating her. But he had to know. Not only for his mother’s sake, but because he needed to know for his own peace of mind.
It surprised him that Lieutenant Cutler was such a gentleman. That man must have been immune, because Trey found it almost impossible to be near Judith without wanting to take her intimately in his arms. Even now as he glanced at her, regret for making her feel this way wrung his heart and he wanted to hold and comfort her.
Once the letter was written and sealed with his family’s crest, he leaned back in his chair and smiled. Still, her expression remained impassive, her attention remaining on the missive.
“Now what happens?” she asked.
“I will have this delivered to my solicitor. Then we wait.”
She bobbed her head, but stayed in her chair. Silence stretched through the room. In the hallway, the grandfather clock struck two. There was no light in her eyes. No lift to her mouth. It was as if the life had been sucked right out of her.
His throat tightened. What had he done? “Judith?”
Slowly, she moved her gaze to meet his. “Yes?”
