Ash took a sip from his glass. “And I’m also going to tell you that you are being an obtuse, hypocritical fool,” he finished.
She frowned at her older brother. “Hypocritical?”
Ash’s brow lifted. “That’sthe word you take exception to?”
“Yes, actually.” She tightened her crossed arms. “How exactly have I been hypocritical?”
Ash took another quick sip. “Look, Southbury has been too scared to tell you how he felt about you for years. He’s been in love with you for as long as I can remember.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I fail to see how that makesmea hypocrite.”
“You’re scared too. Too scared to tell him thatyoulovehim.”
“I’m not scared. I’m…” She trailed off and bit her lip.
“Confused? So is Southbury. You’re not the only one who can be confused, Meredith.”
She drummed her fingertips along her arms. Her anger quickly ramped up again. “If he loved me so much, why didn’t he tell me years ago?”
“Hetriedto tell you. The night you told him of your engagement. He said that he proposed to you that night.”
“Yes, he proposed, but it was out of pity.” Honestly, how could Ash not understand her anger?
“He was supposed to just blurt out how much he loved you that night after you made it clear you intended to follow Father’s wishes?”
Meredith ground her teeth together. “Ihadto follow Father’s wishes. I had no choice.”
Ash expelled his breath and stalked over toward the window, where he took another hefty sip from his glass. “Damn it, Meredith. This has troubled me for years. I told you at the time that I would help you escape. I wasn’t jesting. I never thought you should marry that disgusting old man.”
“I wouldn’t have run away, Ash. I would never have disobeyed Father.”
“Don’t you think I know that? That’s the only reason I didn’t abduct you myself. I knew you would have just gone back and done your duty.”
“I would have,” she exhaled. “Why is that so difficult for you and Griffin to understand? How can either of you blame me for it?”
Ash turned from the window to look at her again. He drained his glass and set it on the sideboard. “There’s something we need to talk about after all this time, Meredith. Something I daresay neither of us has wanted to.”
Meredith closed her eyes. “No. Don’t say it.”
“Father never loved either one of us.” Ash’s words weren’tfilled with pain. They were simply matter-of-fact, as if he were saying nothing more important than the state of the weather.
Meredith shook her head, eyes still closed. “Mamawanted meto marry a duke.” She opened her eyes again. They were blurry with unshed tears.
“No, she didn’t.” Ash stalked toward his sister, abandoning his empty glass on the sideboard. “He told me the truth, Meredith. Years after you’d married Maxwell. The old bastard got foxed and told me the truth.”
Meredith’s lip trembled. She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear it.”
Ash put his hands on his hips. “I’m certain you don’t. I can’t say I wanted to either, but it’s time you did. The truth is that Father sold you to Maxwell when you were a girl. To pay off agambling debt. He insisted Maxwell wait until you were of age, but the contract was signed when you were fourteen. Do you remember him telling you that you would marry a duke one day? It was always going to be Maxwell, Meredith.”
She couldn’t stop shaking her head. “Father wouldn’t sell me,” she insisted, but her throat closed and her stomach roiled. She felt as if she might be sick.
“Yes, he would. He did. Think about it, Meredith. What was the cleverest way to get you to agree?”
Meredith swallowed hard. She closed her eyes again. She already knew the answer, but she waited for her brother to say it.
“He knew damn well that if he told you Mother wanted it, you’d do whatever he said.”
Tears trickled down Meredith’s face. Ash lowered himself to the sofa next to her, pulled her into his arms, and hugged her. “I’m sorry, Meredith. It’s painful to realize your own father doesn’t love you.”
