Page 58 of The Marriage Wager

“Indeed,” Francesca replied. “Who could have imagined that Muriel would behave so foolishly? I am sure that her mother will ring a peal over her head for letting her spite lead her to damage her own cause so severely. It is no more than she deserves, certainly, but I cannot help but feel a little sorry for her. Lady Rutherford is a demon when her ire is raised.” She paused, then added consideringly, “Of course, Lady Rutherford frightens me even when she isn’t angry.”

“But it isn’t right! It isn’t fair that Dominic should have to pretend that we are engaged. It is not his fault. We talked at the promontory, and we let the time get away from us. We did not notice that the storm had built up. Then when we were caught in the rain, we took shelter in that cottage. Nothing happened.” At such a bald-faced lie, Constance could not meet Francesca’s gaze. She turned away, saying, “Dominic in no way wronged me. He should not have to marry me. Please, you must believe me, I had no intention of forcing Dominic to marry me.”

“I am quite aware of that fact,” Francesca replied calmly. “Do you think I do not know by now what sort of person you are?”

A maid entered at that moment in answer to Francesca’s summons, and Francesca sent her to draw a hot bath for Constance and bring her a pot of tea.

When the maid had bobbed a curtsy and left, Francesca turned back to Constance. “Now, I think we had better get you out of those clothes.”

Constance nodded, her fingers going to the buttons of her bodice. “Perhaps I should have something brought up to my room instead of going down to supper.”

“Oh, no,” Francesca replied decisively. “That is precisely what you must not do. I know it is difficult to face everyone, but it is important that you make it clear that you have nothing to feel ashamed of. That you did nothing wrong. You have to give Dominic and Calandra and me a chance to show that we do not care what the gossips may say.”

Constance knew that Francesca was right. If a duke’s sister and an earl’s daughter supported her, showing that they did not believe the gossip, then it would do much to quell the rumors that were no doubt flying around right now. But she hated the thought of having to smile and chat with everyone and pretend that nothing was wrong.

“I know. It is just…It is so unfair! The wind blew my hat from my head, and my hair went every which way. It was so wet, and then I could not put it back up right. I know I looked a mess. But it was not Dominic’s fault,” Constance insisted.

“It is an unfortunate circumstance that your absence was so long and so public. Even more unfortunate that your cousin dropped out of the party, and Calandra and the others had to stay with her,” Francesca commented. “And it is even more unfortunate that Muriel is such a spiteful fool that she would do everything she could to hurt you, even at the risk of losing precisely what she wants.”

“Why would she do such a thing?” Constance exclaimed.

“I am sure she would not have if she had realized what Dominic would do. However, she misjudged my brother, because she does not know him at all. She assumes that everyone else in the world has the same lack of honor and scruples that she does. I think that Muriel must have thought that if she branded you a loose woman, Dominic would distance himself from you. She did not understand, of course, that he would not let your reputation suffer, that he would, of course, act in an honorable manner.”

Francesca helped Constance out of her riding jacket as she spoke, then began to work at the buttons of her skirt.

“Muriel is desperate, of course. That may have clouded her thinking. No doubt she sees my brother as her last hope of marriage. Her family’s fortune ensured that she would have ample suitors, but her cold, unforgiving temperament has frightened them all off. And, of course, the number of available men whom she would accept was rather low to begin with, as she refused to look as low as a baron for a mate. Muriel sees little point in marriage unless one improves one’s standing.”

Constance shook her head. “Dominic must not marry that woman,” she said fervently.

She slipped her skirt down and let it fall to the floor, then sat to remove her boots. Francesca went to the dresser and took out Constance’s dressing gown, coming back to hold it up as Constance finished skinning off the rest of her clothes and slid her arms into the robe.

Constance felt warm for the first time since she had dressed in the cottage, and she hugged the dressing gown to her gratefully. She turned to Francesca.

“But Dominic must not marry me, either,” Constance told Francesca earnestly. “You know that better than I. He told me about the encumbrances on the estate. I know that he must marry to help his family. He cannot marry someone who has not even a decent dowry, let alone a fortune. I cannot let him make such a mistake.”

Francesca looked at her for a long moment. “Dear girl, you must let Dominic decide for himself what he will do. Quite frankly, you have no other choice. No one can make Dominic do what he does not want to, I am certain of that. He has always been his own man.”

Still, Constance could not help but fret. She could not allow Dominic to ruin his life out of a sense of obligation to her.

After Francesca left, as Constance lay soaking in the soothing warmth of the tub and later, as Maisie helped her dress and do her hair, she continued to worry over her problem.

She could not bear to have Dominic forced into marrying her. What made it all worse, of course, was the fact that she wanted to marry him. She had realized today how very much in love she was with him. It was for that reason that she had made love with him in the cottage. When she allowed herself to think of being his wife, her heart thrilled inside her.

But, of course, she could not give in to that longing. She could not sacrifice Dominic’s future for her own happiness. He was a man of duty, and if he married her, he would be ignoring that duty. More than that, she was certain that he did not want to marry her; he had announced that they were engaged only to protect her honor. He did not love her. Even when they had been making love, he had not told her that he loved her. He had wanted her; she was quite certain of that. But he did not love her as she loved him.

It would have been a different matter if he had asked her to marry him because he could not bear to live without her. If he had ignored his duty to his family because he could not face the unhappiness of never having the woman he loved, then Constance knew that she would have tossed all caution to the winds. She would not have cared if she had to live the rest of her life in poverty, as long as she was with Dominic.

But he did not love her. He had not asked her to marry him. And she did not want him without love any more than she wished him to be forced into marriage.

Something must be done, she knew, and she was the only person who could do it. She glanced at the clock on her dresser. There was still time before supper. She must do what she could to right this wrong.

Taking a deep breath, she strode purposefully out of her room.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CONSTANCE MADE HER WAY down the corridor to her aunt and uncle’s room. She knocked softly at their door and entered at her aunt’s response.

Her uncle was sitting in a chair, waiting for his wife, who was fussing over her hair and jewels in front of the vanity mirror. Both of them turned to look at Constance in some surprise.