Page 18 of Suddenly a Bride
He poured himself some wine, then almost knocked it over when a voice said, “Pour me another, will you?”
Geoff leaned out from his cushioned chair and grinned up at him, holding out his goblet.
Shaking his head, Edmund filled it to the brim, sat down in the other chair, and stretched his feet toward the hearth. With a sigh, he sipped his wine and closed his eyes.
“So, what game do you play?” Geoff asked.
He didn’t open his eyes. “Game?”
“With your new bride.”
“I am not playing a game. I married her; now she’s here.”
“Considering that all I heard about this marriage was your order to escort her up from London, I’d really like to know more.”
Edmund swallowed his wine. “There is nothing much to tell. The Langstons offered her to me. I accepted her and the dowry.”
“You swore you’d never marry a daughter of a noble house again,” Geoff said in a low voice, as if someone could be listening.
He found his own voice dropping. “I was about to lose Wintering, and the dowry was attractive.”
“Of course it couldn’t have been Gwyneth’s attractiveness, because you’d never met her.”
He glanced at Geoff, wondering if that was sarcasm in his voice. But his friend seemed merely weary as he stared into the fire.
“Geoff, do you have something to say?”
“I saw you out in the courtyard last night.”
Edmund sighed and drained his wine. “What of it?”
“You didn’t go to her, did you?”
He gave no answer.
“I saw you watching her when her coach arrived yesterday afternoon. You made sure that no one was there to greet her, and you deliberately remained hidden. Edmund, what is going on?”
“You need not concern yourself with this. I mean the girl no harm, if that is what worries you.”
“You don’t mean to doanything, do you?”
Geoff turned and looked directly at Edmund, who met his gaze impassively.
“I spoke to her often on our trip north,” Geoff said. “She’s a good woman, Edmund, far superior to your first bride.”
“But she is still a Langston, is she not?”
Geoff let out a low whistle and sank back in his chair. “So that’s it. She’s related to your first wife—”
“And her family,” he interrupted.
“—so you’ve decided not to give her even a chance.”
“That’s too simplistic, Geoff.”
“Then please explain it to me. I can only imagine how she felt on her wedding night when you didn’t come to her.”
“Probably relieved,” he said mildly.
