Chapter 6 #2
“You don’t understand a thing about me,” she said in a broken voice.
“I thought you were the only honest man in the kingdom. A rake, to be sure, but honest. Yet all along you were lying to me just as Uncle did.” A great shudder went through her.
“Except it was much worse, because you made me . . . care about you. You, a heartless deceiver who played on my trust!”
She turned away, and he stepped forward to catch her arm. “I want to marry you, Althea. Why is that so awful?”
Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she swiped them away with the back of her hand. “Because you gave me no choice.” She looked at him, her lips tightening. “But I do have a choice now. And I’m not going to marry you.”
Her uncle, who’d been watching the exchange with increasing bewilderment, exploded then. “What? But you must marry him! I’ll admit his methods are reprehensible, but the deed is done now, and you’re fully compromised. You have to marry him!”
Wrenching her arm from Neville, she faced her uncle. “You promised I’d have the final say on any man you chose.”
Kensingham tugged at his shirt collar, looking extremely uncomfortable. “Well, yes, but—”
“Was that a lie like all your other lies?”
There was a long silence. At last Kensingham sighed. “Devil take you, no. If you refuse to marry him, I won’t force it.” Then he leveled an angry gaze on Neville. “But I can still fight him. I can still gain justice for you. The seconds are waiting and—”
“No!” she said firmly. “No duels!”
Her uncle drew himself up. “You won’t change my mind on this, Althea.”
She turned a steadfast gaze to Neville. “And you, Lord Foxworth? Have you nothing to say about that?”
Neville winced at her use of his title. But her appeal reminded him that she’d more than fulfilled her part of their unholy bargain. Now it was time to fulfill his, something he’d never expected to have to do. And she knew it.
With his eyes fixed on hers, he said, “There will be no duel, Kensingham. Proclaim me a coward if you wish, but I won’t fight you. I’m crying off.”
“The hell you say!” Kensingham protested, but knew he could do nothing about it if Neville refused to fight.
Althea stared at Neville a long moment. Then she whispered, “Thank you, Nev,” and began to move about the room, picking up her clothes. “Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I shall go dress. Then I wish to go home.”
She was really leaving. She was really planning to refuse his suit.
“Althea, please don’t go.” Neville hadn’t realized how much it would hurt to watch her leave.
He’d been so bloody confident in his plan that it had never occurred to him she might choose not to marry him anyway.
“I only did this because I wanted so desperately to have you marry me. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?
You know I’ve never wanted that from any other woman! ”
She paused on her way to the door of his bedroom to flash him a grim smile. “I do know. But sometimes you have to ask for what you want, Neville, instead of just taking it.” Then she moved into his bedroom, shut the door, and locked it.
Neville stared at the closed door, a gut-wrenching pain assailing him. What a bloody fool he’d been! All she’d ever wanted was for someone to tell her the truth. Yet knowing that, he’d still lied to her. He deserved to lose her. But he didn’t think he could bear it.
“I don’t understand this,” Kensingham said in a strained voice. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen. She should be ecstatic that you’ll marry her, and you should be trying to get out of it. None of this makes sense.”
Neville gritted his teeth. “Not everyone behaves according to society’s expectations, Kensingham. And if anyone goes against type, it’s your niece.”
“She’s not the only one,” Kensingham muttered.
“You bedded her. You could have abandoned her without a thought. Of course, I would have fought you for it, but you’d have won.
We both know that.” He paused. “Instead you offered for her, before I even knew she was here. And then, when she turned you down, you refused to fight me. You’d rather be branded a coward than go against her wishes? ”
His tone was so incredulous that Neville shot him a sad smile. “Yes.”
“But why?”
Neville uttered a ragged sigh. “Why? Because I’ve fallen in love with your niece.
” It was true. He stared at the solemn-faced earl.
“You couldn’t have asked a better revenge for what happened eight years ago, you know.
I love Althea, and she’ll have none of me.
Given the way Nan treated you, it’s most fitting, wouldn’t you say? ”
Kensingham shook his head. “I don’t know. Perhaps. But Althea is a better woman than Nan ever was, as you know. And I never loved Nan as you apparently love my niece.”
“Still, I’ve lost her as you lost Nan.” Neville glanced at the closed door, his throat constricting. “The fact that she’s a better woman only makes it worse.”
Kensingham was silent a long time, watching as Neville stood motionless, his eyes fixed on the door that shut him out from what he’d hoped to gain.
After a while, the earl’s expression grew thoughtful. “You know, you’re not what I thought. I can almost believe you do care for my niece.”
Neville laughed harshly. “Your approval comes a little late, don’t you think?”
“Perhaps not.” Kensingham gestured toward the closed door. “Give her time to soothe her wounded pride. Come back in a few weeks. By then, she may be more willing to listen to your suit.”
“What?” Neville flashed the earl a suspicious glance. “You’re advising me to offer for her again? Why?”
“You want her, don’t you?”
“Yes, but—”
“You were right when you said we shouldn’t let something that happened eight years ago stand in the way of Althea’s future.
” He drew himself up. “No matter what you think of me, I’ve always wanted only what was best for Althea.
” He shrugged. “If I read my niece correctly, she cares for you. Otherwise, she’d never have compromised herself.
So that leaves me only one choice: to smooth the way to her future happiness.
And if it’s with you, then so be it. I’ll do what I can to ensure it. ”
“You’re forgetting one thing,” Neville ground out. “She detests me now.”
“You’ll find a way to fix that, won’t you?” His voice tightened. “You’ve always had a way with women.”
Neville sighed. “Ah, but your niece is no ordinary woman.”
For the first time that morning, Kensingham smiled. “True. But then, you’re no ordinary man. Perhaps you can make her happy. You may be just what she needs.”
Neville hoped Kensingham was right. But Neville feared he wasn’t. Althea’s uncle hadn’t been terribly good at recognizing his niece’s wants and needs heretofore, and there was no reason to believe the man could do so now.
No, it was far more likely that Neville had lost her. And now that he’d tasted her wit, her loyalty to those she loved, her enthusiasm for living, he didn’t know how he could stand life without her.
How the prince will laugh. The Fox has finally lost his head. The pity is, no one wants it.
Not even me.