“Do you love him?”
“What?” The question came so abruptly it felt like a punch to the stomach. Wilhelmina gaped at her daughter. Inquisitive eyes stared back in expectation. “I…I…I…”
Cynthia chuckled. “I gather that’s a yes then?”
Wilhelmina was not about to admit any such thing. “Let’s talk about something else, like you and Michael, and all the trouble you’ve caused.”
“Have you told Mr. Dale the truth?” Cynthia persisted, ignoring her completely.
Wilhelmina crossed her arms and looked out the window. Clouds blocked the sun, casting dark shadows across the landscape to match her mood. “No.”
“Perhaps you should.”
“Why? So he can despise me for the right reason instead?” When Cynthia looked unconvinced Wilhelmina said, “He knows I’m not the adulteress I claimed to be, but he has given me no reason to think he won’t resent me if he learns how far I have gone to deceive everyone. Mr. Dale is on the law’s side, and I bent that law to my will until it broke. However good my intentions may have been, George and I got away with something we shouldn’t have because we lied. What if people find out? What if the consequence of our true actions makes everything worse? I could go to prison, Cynthia. The divorce could be reversed and George’s marriage to Fiona annulled, the children they have, made illegitimate. I’ll not risk that.”
“Surely that’s not possible,” Cynthia said.
“Perhaps not, but what if it is?” Wilhelmina shook her head. She and James hadn’t stood a chance of finding happiness together. In light of his recent deductions, it was probably good they’d been denied more time alone.
“Michael knows.”
A shiver stole across Wilhelmina’s shoulders. “I beg your pardon?”
“I didn’t want to enter into my marriage with a lie, so I confided everything in him.”
“Oh God.”
“Don’t worry, Mama. I swore him to secrecy, but maybe you can take comfort in his reaction. He actually applauded you for your selflessness and begged me to let him tell his father. He’s certain the truth will alter Mr. Dale’s opinion of you for the better.”
“I cannot risk it,” Wilhelmina said. “And you had no right to betray my trust.”
“I’m sorry, Mama.”
Wilhelmina dug her nails into her palms and fought the urge to scream. The secret she’d carefully guarded for more than two years had been shared with someone she barely knew. Control had been removed from her grasp and the realization made her feel like she was spinning. “We were wrong to confide in you.”
A pained look stole into Cynthia’s eyes. “Don’t say that, Mama.”
“You’re too young – too naïve to appreciate the repercussions of your actions.”
“I’m sorry, but Michael can be trusted. I assure you.”
Wilhelmina closed her eyes for a second. “You cannot assure me of any such thing.”
“Mama…”
“We will return to Renwick. Once there we’ll arrange for you to go back to London. The sooner you re-enter Society, the quicker you’ll find a husband. That will be your goal from now on – to marry and get yourself settled as fast as possible, before the decisions George and I made destroy whatever remaining chance you have of securing a happy future.”
As much as James wished he was inside the carriage with Mina, he was glad to be able to race alongside it. The exertion did him good. It cleared his head and brought the last few days with her into focus. His heart pounded with each heavy hoofbeat, drumming a rhythm that spurred him onward. He glanced across at Michael whose stark expression suggested his thoughts were elsewhere. Tightening his hold on the reins, James returned his own to the woman who’d not only charmed him, but captured his heart.
The fact she would rather end things between them – walk away from him forever – than take a chance on being honest, angered him in the most unexpected way. Before, when he’d thought she was just like Clara, he’d loathed her. Now that he knew she was anything but, he wanted to try and find a way for them to nurture their relationship rather than see it destroyed. He’d no idea how to do such a thing without getting targeted by the gossips and bringing scandal to his name, but maybe if they worked together they could figure it out.
She didn’t want that though. In fact, she had every intention of keeping him in the dark and in so doing, of forcing distance where there had been closeness that very morning.
He cursed her stubbornness and the loyalty she seemed to have for a man who’d since taken off to God knew where. James had not seen Mr. Hewitt’s name in the papers since the divorce was announced, whereas Mina’s kept popping up. Apparently there was an interest in knowing what a treacherous woman got up to and how many times she’d been cut in public. Mr. Hewitt, however, was allowed to move on with his life with no concern for the damage done to Mina. James hated him more with each passing second.
A village came into view and James slowed his horse to a trot. Michael did the same, and together they followed the carriage’s progress through the narrow main street.
“I trust your opinion of Mrs. Lawson has changed since last we spoke,” Michael said while they rode. When his horse shook its head and snorted, Michael leaned forward to stroke its neck. “The two of you seem surprisingly amicable with each other.”
