Page 98 of Wedded to the Scottish Duke

“But that hope did not last long. What began as a fascination with me became an obsession. I don’t just mean in terms of his fascination with me, but an obsession tocontrolme.” Elizabeth looked up. The agony was obvious on her face.

Celia threw caution to the wind. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know this woman very well. She placed a hand over Elizabeth’s, and the old woman promptly turned her palm up so that they clasped hands.

“I fought against him. The pain was inevitable. He was a brutal and violent man who made his displeasure known. When my children were born, he took his anger out on them too.”

Elizabeth’s lip trembled, and Celia leaned toward her, longing to take her pain away.

“I tried many times to escape him, to know what freedom would be like again, but it was impossible. He would not let me go, and as I was bound by marriage, I had no choice. I had to stay.”

Celia hung her head. She was reminded of her cousin, who had lost her life after being seduced by an older man who did not truly care about her. How many times had Celia heard of unkind men inflicting such pain on women? How was it that no woman could ever be cherished enough to be happy?

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t be, please.” Elizabeth shook her head, still holding her hand tightly. “I’m not telling you this to gain your sympathy but to help you understand your husband. When Keith was old enough, he put himself between me and my husband, to protect me.”

“His heart,” Celia murmured more to herself than to Elizabeth.

“Yes. He has the best of hearts. He ended up suffering just to keep me safe. The pain stopped when Keith became so strong that his father couldn’t hurt any of us anymore. Then… he was gone.” Elizabeth looked blankly around the room.

Celia wondered if the woman’s mind was elsewhere, perhaps in a castle deep within the Scottish Highlands.

“Keith has spent his whole life being told how like his father he is. How much he looks like him, how sometimes they are alike in manner?—”

“Don’t tell me.” Celia’s voice was quiet but firm. She saw quickly what other assumption Keith may have made. “Don’t tell me that Keith thinks he could one day become his father?”

“I am certain he has made it his life mission not to be his father. When he left this morning, he talked about giving us all our freedom. What else could that have been about, unless he is distancing himself from his father completely? Turning his backon the woman he cares about in fear that he could one day hurt her the way I was hurt?” Elizabeth looked at her, at last.

“That’s mad!” Celia stood up abruptly. “How could he think that? He has never hurt me. Not once in all the time I have known him. He’s… he has protected me, more than once.”

She pushed back her chair and paced up and down, thinking about how even on the night they met, he had rescued her.

“From the moment I met him, he was not his father. His father married you and made the arrangements with your own father. He controlled you from the beginning. Oh, Keith! He even vowed never to marry a woman like me. He never intended to control me. Not… not like that.”

She looked away, fearing Elizabeth would see a glimmer of something on her face. The only control Keith had ever exercised really was in the bedroom—but that had been different. It was all a game, a thrill, a way to excite them both with playful orders. In the time she’d known him, he had never truly tried to manipulate or control her.

“How could he think he is like his father?” Celia protested, turning back to face Elizabeth again.

“He’s still afraid,” Elizabeth whispered.

“That doesn’t give him the right to do this—to turn his back on me and not explain any of this, not to give me a chance to object.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Oh, what is the trouble with men?” Celia went back to pacing, throwing her hands in the air. “I knew this would happen. This is why I never wanted to get married. Men are only capable of mistreating us.”

“Not all men, dear.”

“Yes, there are exceptions, but with the Lord as my witness, they are rare!” She circled the table this time. “My father is one of them. My sister’s husband too. And our friends’ husbands. They are the exceptions. I thought… I thought Keith was one of them too. How wrong I was.”

“I thought this would help,” Elizabeth murmured, wringing her hands. “I only wished to offer some insight, dear.”

“I am very grateful to you, Elizabeth. Very grateful, indeed.” Celia stopped behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder affectionately. “You have helped me see the light.”

Celia now understood Keith so much more. If he wished to isolate himself and be miserable, then that was what he deserved. He had proved he didn’t care about her feelings.

When he said goodbye, he could have explained why he was doing this. He could have given her the chance to tell him that she loved him, that she didn’t believe him capable of causing her any pain, but he had taken the decision from her.

Like all men… thoughtless!

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