An Unexpected Earl (Lords of the Armory #2) - Anna Harrington Page 0,77

to brush away the droplets of ale clinging to her fingertips. “I should have realized what kind of man he was, that it was all too perfect to be real…too romantic. But he made me feel special and beautiful—”

“Because you are.”

Her bright eyes found his. “Because he reminded me of you.” Her confession was barely louder than a whisper, but it rang between them like a gunshot. “He was everything I’d always loved and admired about you—strong, dashing, brilliant, protective… And you hadn’t answered any of my letters.” She sucked in a pained, jerking breath, as if hiding the start of a sob. “I thought you were gone from my life forever.”

Turning away, she began to pace the length of the small room, wringing her hands in front of her with every step.

“When Aaron asked to court me, Freddie didn’t hesitate to say yes. After all, Aaron was the son of a wealthy merchant with ties to the aristocracy through his mother. Because his parents were dead and he had no other family, the money had all come to him. There was even joking between him and Freddie about what should be included in the marriage agreement, given all the money between us, although it was far too early for that. I thought I was being careful in avoiding fortune hunters.” She turned her face away, but not before he saw the self-recrimination that twisted her features. “But I wasn’t as careful as I’d thought.”

“What happened?” He picked up the glass of whiskey and held it out to her, stopping her in midpace.

“My brother.” She stared at the glass, not yet accepting it. “That was right when he decided that he wanted a career in politics and set about maneuvering his way into the best social circles, the best clubs… He’d been called away to London, with no plans to return for at least a month, because he needed to wrangle his way into a seat in Parliament. But Aaron said he loved me, that he didn’t want to wait for Freddie to return to start our life together.”

Suspicion pricked the little hairs at Pearce’s nape. And dread that he knew where her story was heading.

“So we married anyway.” She took the glass from him, her hand trembling as she raised it to her lips. “Because he lived in York and only visited Birmingham on business, he’d already gotten a special license so that we didn’t have to worry about the banns, one that let us marry in any parish. We’d planned to marry, then drive on to surprise Freddie in London with the good news. Aaron had heard there was a lovely little village three hours’ drive southeast of Birmingham with a pleasant vicar and a fine inn.” She smiled ruefully against the rim of the glass. “A marriage and a honeymoon, all in one. Such a romantic idea…so of course I agreed.”

Pearce said nothing as she took another swallow. Drink would be good for her and give her the courage to get through this. His only consolation was that after tonight there could be no more secrets.

She frowned at the whiskey. “We married as planned, but never had our wedding night. He changed his mind after the ceremony, said that he wanted our first time together to be in our home, not in an inn. So we took separate rooms.” She shook her head. “I should have known something was wrong right then, because what new husband finds excuses to avoid coming to his bride’s bed on their wedding night, even at what turned out to be a flea-ridden tavern?” She idly traced a fingertip around the rim of the glass. “At the time, I thought it was just another example of how much he cared about me, just another example of how romantic he was. Such a damned fool I was!”

She tossed back the remaining whiskey in a gasping swallow, then stared down into the empty glass. Not all the tears glistening in her eyes came from the bite of the drink in her throat.

“When I woke, he was gone. He’d left in the night. No word, no note, just…gone. I waited for him there for two days, but he never returned. Finally, I took the mail coach home to Birmingham and found not Aaron at the town house but Freddie. He’d returned unexpectedly from London, only to find a message from our banker. That was when I realized that I was missing more than a husband…