completely, his eyes retained a glimmer of something, possibly a challenge this time. ‘It isn’t late and we must both accustom ourselves to being in each other’s company for at least part of most days. Besides which, I cannot imagine you’ve found the day such an ordeal that you must retire so early. Considering everything had to be arranged in such a short space of time, I thought things went rather well.’
While speaking, he had risen to his feet and had come slowly down the length of the table towards her, bringing the port decanter with him. He was undeniably continuing to be deliberately provocative. Yet, behind the gentle goading, she sensed there was a genuine desire for her to remain. She hovered for a moment, undecided, then, against her better judgement, resumed her seat, curiosity having got the better of her.
‘No, I haven’t found the day an ordeal in the least, sir.’ She shrugged, attempting to appear more at ease than she in fact was, now that he had positioned a chair so close to her own that she could almost detect the warmth his body exuded. She watched the strong yet shapely hand tilt the decanter and fill a glass. ‘As—as weddings go, I suppose it did go rather well, even though it was perhaps unusually private,’ she added tentatively, feeling a little more comment was expected of her.
He regarded her in silence for a moment. ‘Since the marriage was, to all intents and purposes, forced upon us, it would have been somewhat hypocritical to have had a grand affair to celebrate the union, attended by all our relations and friends,’ he pointed out. ‘Those who needed to be there to witness the event were present—Mr Pettigrew and … your Janet.’
Was that a note of disapproval in his voice? ‘My Janet?’ she echoed.
‘She’s quite evidently become devoted to you.’
Briony saw no reason to deny it. ‘Yes, I suppose we have become very close over the years. You don’t object, surely?’
‘No, not at all …’ his regard all at once became more intense ‘… providing, of course, your obvious affection for the housekeeper doesn’t induce you to confide in her more than is wise. The result might be unfortunate for you if you do.’
Very much resenting the evident threat, she made no attempt to disguise the fact. ‘I have confided in no one, sir. You above anyone should realise how far I’ve been prepared to go to make this farcical union of ours appear real. Was it not I who suggested you should occupy your late aunt’s bedchamber so that we might be as close as possible in order to allay any suspicions with the household staff, which might ultimately result in gossip spreading throughout the locale? I assure you your mistrust is quite without foundation. I have every intention of keeping to my part of the bargain, providing you keep to yours.’
‘Come down off the boughs, girl!’ he ordered gently. ‘Here, drink this,’ he continued in the same mildly authoritative way, after filling another glass and steering it across the table towards her. ‘It might help calm you. We must at least attempt to appear perfectly at ease with each other, even if we are not. And six months is a very long time to maintain the pretence.’
She couldn’t argue with that and meekly took the glass of port he had offered, which obviously pleased him, for his smile was clearly one of approval.
Undoubtedly, he was going out of his way to be amiable in an attempt to maintain cordial relations between them. Yet, she wasn’t so foolish as to suppose there mightn’t be a darker side to his nature, which might so easily surface if she was to prove an annoyance. At the moment, though, he seemed intent on remaining in an affable mood, so she decided to take advantage of the fact by attempting to discover what had really induced him to relinquish his bachelor state, if only for six months. After all, everything was for her benefit. She couldn’t for the life of her see where he profited at all!
The instant the question had been voiced, he lowered his eyes and appeared to consider what remained of the rich liquid in his glass. ‘There were several reasons, m’dear, for taking such a drastic step.’
The response was hardly destined to satisfy her, and it didn’t, of course. Furthermore, she wasn’t overly impressed, either, by the quick return of that infuriating drawl he continued to affect whenever the mood happened to take him. She was instantly on her guard, all at once intensely suspicious of his motives.
‘Come, sir, let us have a degree of honesty between us at the outset, otherwise relations between us are likely to become strained indeed, if we become mistrustful of each other,’ she suggested, refusing to admit defeat so easily. ‘I made no secret of the fact why I agreed to marry you. My motives were purely mercenary. Marriage offered me financial security, which I would never have attained without it.’
‘True, but I strongly suspect you would never have married for money alone, otherwise you would have done so long before now.’ There was a suspicion of a challenge in the look he cast her, almost daring her to deny it. ‘I clearly recall Aunt Lavinia being quite vexed because you flatly refused to accompany her to London for a Season. Hardly the actions of an avaricious miss, now were they, m’dear?’
Resentful though she was, she was obliged to accept that he knew a deal more about her than she did about him. She couldn’t help wondering what else Lady Ashworth had revealed in recent years and was doubly determined to discover the reason for his wishing to marry.
‘What a persistent little madam you are to be sure, Briony!’ he scolded, after she had reminded him that he hadn’t satisfied her curiosity. ‘Still, my aunt did warn me that there was a stubbornly determined streak in your nature. And Aunt Lavinia—bless her!—was a rare, truthful woman.’
He grinned at the look of exasperation he received. ‘Oh, very well, though I’m obliged to own it doesn’t redound to my credit.’
Once again he appeared to find the contents of his glass of immense interest. ‘You may or may not have heard that I’ve been playing rather deep of late. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m even remotely close to ruining myself, but my recent losses have been steadily mounting and, more significantly, have come to the ears of my uncle. Lord Kingsley is a most abstemious fellow, almost to the point of meanness, some might say. All the same, since his son died, and I became his heir, Uncle Augustus has made me a generous quarterly allowance. Furthermore, you’d need to go a long way to find an ancestral pile maintained to such a high standard as Kingsley Hall. It is little wonder that he would be concerned over its future well-being. By marrying and settling down in the country for a spell I hope to put the old man’s mind at rest as to my worthiness to step into his shoes.’
Briony wasn’t at all sure she liked the explanation she was being offered. Or believed it, either, come to that! ‘But won’t he think quite the opposite—that you’re utterly fickle, when the marriage is annulled?’
He shrugged, appearing completely indifferent to the prospect. ‘Oh, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. He hasn’t been at all well of late. That’s why he didn’t attend Aunt Lavinia’s funeral.’
Yes, at least Lord Kingsley had some excuse for not attending. Which is more than can be said for you! Briony longed to retort, but managed to check the stricture long before it reached her lips.
‘In fact, he hasn’t enjoyed good health for some time, not since the death of his only son,’ he continued, quite oblivious to the fact that he had plummeted in her estimation. ‘Sadly, I don’t believe he’s long for this world. Which I cannot imagine troubles him overmuch. He’s never been the same since Giles’s death.’
This did succeed in diverting her thoughts. ‘Yes, very tragic. I only ever met your uncle on one occasion, many years ago, when your aunt took
