Page 68 of To Tempt a Scandalous Lord
“If you’re thinking of correcting me, please don’t bother, dear Lady Inverray. Any person with half a bit of sense knows the marquess is just the sort of man one would pine over.”
Alicia could think of no argument to that.
“How have you liked being Lady Inverray?” the duchess inquired, sliding onto the settee between Alicia and Charlotte with a swiftness that was surprising for such an older woman.
Lud, this was not the conversation she wanted to engage in. “I have learned a great deal during my short marriage, and hope I’ve been a worthy companion to his lordship.”
Each word was acid on her tongue.
The Duchess of Claremore leaned forward to pat Alicia’s knee. “You are a clever chit. Inverray needs an intelligent wife, and I am vastly relieved to see the woman he married is such.”
“Relieved?”
“Of course I’m relieved,” the duchess snapped. “For all that young man does to help and protect others, he needs someone to protect him.”
Alicia dammed up her tears by a sheer force of will. She had thought she was protecting Niall…but she’d only lied to herself, and all in a failed effort to protect her own interests.
Juliana inclined her head. “I believe Niall has found the perfect partner to help him shoulder the weight of his many responsibilities. It’s obvious that he respects her a great deal.”
“Well, from what I’ve seen of them together, I’d say he feels a lot more than respect for her,” the older duchess volleyed.
Alicia’s mouth sagged. “W-what?”
The duchesses exchanged a look, but it was Charlotte who leaned forward with a smile. “Come now, Alicia dear. You’ve been lighting up Inverray like a thunderstorm in June since we met at that soiree.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Well, do catch up, my dear,” the Duchess of Claremore declared. “You are woefully behind.”
They thought Niall loved her?
How utterly laughable.
Any regard he held for her was smashed like a crystal vase on a cold stone floor when her secret was so cruelly revealed. Even now she could close her eyes and remember Niall’s face, his voice, his steely gaze as he told her he already knew she was the anonymous writer.
The entirety of her life she had wanted to belong. To have a purpose. And she’d finally found it through her political essays. And then she’d met Niall…had been forced to marry him…and that intangible thing she never even dreamed could be hers was suddenly a possibility: love.
Life had taught Alicia that love was not meant for her. Her love had killed her mother and brother. Her father had left her penniless and defenseless because he did not love her. Lindsay hadn’t loved her so much as he’d needed to possess her. Effia was a dear friend, but their friendship was entwined with a professional element. The only love she knew was that which Jane showed her. Of everyone in her life, Jane had been the most steadfast…and then perhaps only because she paid her wages. It was a depressing thought.
But for a while, at least, it had seemed possible she had earned Niall’s love. His gentle touch, the tender way he looked at her, his eagerness to spend time with her even when it would be wiser to utilize the clock to further his bid. He had even hinted he would not have stopped her from continuing to write her essays. And she had destroyed it all by trusting her instincts instead of her heart.
Shame turned her stomach.
Struggling to maintain her bearing, she lifted her chin and gazed at her friends. “To answer your question, Your Grace, it’s been…” Alicia cleared her throat. “We have not been married long, so of course we’re still adjusting to each other.”
The duchess tutted. “Adjustment is normal. There are times Claremore surprises me and we’ve been married for over forty years.”
She nodded. “If I’m surprised by anything during these weeks of our marriage, it’s that Niall is so much more of…everything than I could have imagined.”
At that moment, the parlor doors swung open and various gentlemen sauntered into the room. Alicia ignored all of them, only interested in one man.
When her eyes locked with Niall’s gray gaze, her chest grew tight. Gone was the affection that once shined in his eyes, leaving behind only apathy.
Still, Niall made his way to her side, bussing a circumspect kiss to her brow before greeting her friends.
“Inverray, your pretty bride was just telling us about married life,” the Duchess of Claremore said.
“Was she?” He did not look at her, focusing all his attention on the duchess. “We’ve only been married for a short time. Asking her to expound upon our marriage seems unfair.”
