Page 56 of The Duke's Unclaimed Bride
“They weren’t abusive,” she said hurriedly. “Just… cold, distant. I was very much treated as an obligation, not as part of their family.”
“Ah,” Laurence murmured, his shoulders relaxing. “I imagine that was very difficult for you.”
“Yes.” Edith nodded. “My family had been warm and loving, so ending up with them was disorienting. I was left alone often and had to fend for myself. On occasion, I would have to cook my own meals, because they had taken their servants with them to their second home. When they were at home, I wasn’t spoken to or played with. It was rather clear that they didn’t see me as family. Even on the day of my debut, it was as if I had been forgotten. I think I had been. If I didn’t keep my heart guarded, if I got my hopes up, I’d always end up hurt or disappointed. I promised myself when I left that place that I would care for the people who had no one to protect them.”
Laurence listened intently to her story without interrupting. His expression assured her that he was carefully processing each piece of information she shared with him.
“So, how did your marriage come about?” he asked.
“Well, Lord Nealton could see how poorly they were treating me and offered me a way out,” she sighed. “A marriage of convenience. He was a widower, and already had boys from a previous marriage. I wouldn’t be an inconvenience, and I could escape my guardians.”
“I see,” Laurence said, nodding stiffly.
“Honestly, if anyone else had offered me such an arrangement, I would have said no. But he had stories of my parents that he could share with me, and I needed that comfort at the time. Besides, I knew my guardians wouldn’t let me choose after my debut. If I left it too long, they would choose the person with the best connections. I took the opportunity to choose for myself.”
“This was all before your debut?” Laurence asked.
“Yes. I married him the year of my debut,” Edith said.
Laurence watched as she looked down and fidgeted with the lace of her dress. Edith couldn’t tell whether he was waiting for her to speak or still processing what he had heard.
“Lord Nealton… well, he left barely two hours after the wedding to see his mistress.” She laughed bitterly. The words were coming out before she could stop them or realize what she was admitting. “He loved her very much. She was a retired opera singer. Much closer to his age, so I couldn’t fault him for it. I saw him briefly the next day, and that was the extent of our marriage.”
Silence engulfed them both. She kept her eyes fixed on her hands. When she realized Laurence hadn’t spoken, she looked up at him. The candlelight flickered in his wide, blue eyes, and he seemed speechless. She’d never seen him so shocked.
“Wait one minute. Are you saying that you never saw him on your wedding night?”
She shook her head.
“And you barely saw him after?”
She nodded.
“But…” He stared at her, realization lighting up his eyes.
Edith’s cheeks flushed as she realized what she had just admitted. She hadn’t meant to spill her secret.
“A-Anyway, after that?—”
“Edith,” he said, leaning across the table.
Her cheeks flushed deeply at hearing him call her by her first name.
“You mean to tell me that your husband never consummated your marriage?” he asked.
She sighed, nodded, and looked back down at her lap, where her fingers nervously scrunched the lace.
“Let me ask you…” Laurence rose from his chair, gently putting his forefinger under her chin and turning her head to face him. “Was Lord Nealton blind?”
Her eyes widened, and she blinked before feeling her lips quirk into a smile. “What?”
“I asked, was he blind?”
His eyes became harder, more determined. She hadn’t realized it was a serious question.
“No,” she murmured.
He dropped his hand and shifted closer to her, his meal long forgotten. She could feel his breath on her cheek as he leaned in, but then he pulled back, suddenly deep in thought as hereturned to his chair. His fingers twitched on his folded arms, and she could have sworn a blush crept up his neck.
