Page 48 of The Viscount's Diamond Bride
Georgie sighed theatrically, leaning against the window.
“Well, I suppose you shall just have to hope that Lord Sinclair sides withyou, then, and not the woman who raised him. The thing about a woman and this is most distressing is that you only really have the power your husband gives you. Isn’t that so, Charlotte?”
“I believe you have a rather dismal way of looking at things,” Charlotte responded coldly. “Come, Ursula, sit down again. Let’s talk of something more pleasant.”
Ursula turned to join her friend, but the instant before she turned away, she watched a quick, secret smile flash over Georgie’s face.
***
Graham, she had been reliably informed, was in the library. Outside, the sun was setting, and the few wax candles threw little light. Ursula blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the gloom. She tapped on the library door out of habit, waiting for a response.
“Who is it?”
“Only me,” she responded, cracking open the door.
Graham sat in a high-backed armchair by the window, reading a book. He set it aside as soon as she entered but did not rise to his feet.
“You don’t have to knock before entering a room, you know,” he said, sounding amused. “Not in your own house.”
She gave a tight smile. “I know. I daresay I’ll get used to it. I wanted to speak with you, Graham.”
His expression stiffened. “I see. Well, you’d best sit down. Shall I call for more light?”
“No, thank you, this is sufficient.”
She crossed to another armchair set opposite his and settled herself down gingerly. There was a faintly anxious look on Graham’s face.
He assumes I have come to discuss the events of last night,Ursula thought with a pang.Which is a sure indication that he does notwantto discuss them.
She cleared her throat, offering a faint smile. I had hoped to talk to you about a rumour which my cousin mentioned to me.”
“A rumour?”
“It’s not an accusation. It is something about your past which I wished to clarify with you. I believe it will… will help me understand you better.”
Graham bit his lower lip, glancing away. Carefully, he marked his place in his book and set it aside. “Ah. I believe I know what you are about to say.”
“It is regarding your birth mother. The first Lady Sinclair.”
Graham nodded slowly. “Yes. I imagine you’ve heard the story, then. My father’s first wife, my birth, my mother’s subsequent escape and recapture, and her confinement in an asylum before her premature death.”
Ursula flinched. The story sounded remarkably sordid, laid out so callously. “Yes, that is what I heard. I… I was told that he waited only three months before entering into matrimony again.”
Graham gave a hoarse, mirthless laugh. “You are misinformed.”
“He waited longer?”
“No, he waited only one month. My father was an awful man, Ursula. I spent little time with him, spending most of my life at school or with the woman I came to call Mother. It never occurred to me to think of her as anything else. My mother Lady Margaret Sinclair raised me. She cared for me then and still cares for me now. She… She means the world to me. I’m sure you can imagine that with a man like my father she did not lead a very happy life.”
“No, no, I suppose not.” Ursula bit her lip, glancing away. “I am sorry, Graham, I did not mean to pry.
“You aren’t prying. I suppose you ought to have learned this from my lips, not from hearsay.”
On impulse, Ursula reached out, taking his hand. “I only want to know that you are not the kind of man that your father was. It… It is difficult for women, you know. We rely on ourfathers and husbands, or even brothers or other male relatives. Our freedom is relative, and our lives often hang in the balance. I barely knew you before our matrimony, Graham, and I want to know that I can be safe with you.”
His grip on her hand tightened, but not unpleasantly so. He leaned forward until their noses were only inches apart.
“I understand,” Graham said softly. “As a child, I watched my mother, Margaret that is, suffer under my father’s thumb. He threatened her with the asylum more often than you can imagine. He was… he was a vile man. I promised myself that I would not become like him. My greatest fear is to discover his traits in myself. I will work at being the best husband I can be, Ursula.”
