doing.”
Aaron studied him. Lord Halloway hadn’t come here to do either of that. He was treating Aaron like a cat would treat a mouse. He was playing with him. “I might have fallen for your lies before, but I’m not going to make that mistake again. If you want to keep up this ridiculous charade, you can do it with someone else.”
He went over to pull the cord that would summon the footman when Lord Halloway said, “My sister was part of the wager. She went with the money. Rumor has it that she’s no longer living in this townhouse.”
“What does that matter to you?” Aaron demanded as he turned to him.
“It matters a lot since that was her dowry.”
“It was her dowry. It wasn’t yours.”
“Yes, but she was my sister, and I gave her to you. When you got her, you got her dowry. You can’t just throw her out of this townhouse and keep the money.”
“I didn’t do that,” Aaron said. “She went with the dowry.”
Her brother stared at him for a long moment as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “You sent her away from here with the money?”
“It was her choice to leave, and yes, I let her go with her money.”
“Why would you do something foolish like that?”
“I did it because it was the right thing to do. She didn’t ask to be married to me. All you wanted was to get rid of her. You didn’t care about her.”
“You didn’t, either.”
The words stung, but Aaron refused to flinch. Lord Halloway was the type of person who took advantage of someone’s weakness, and if he detected Aaron’s guilt, he would use that to his advantage. Keeping his expression neutral, he said, “She deserves that money. She didn’t need to be passed around for someone else’s convenience. She should be free to do what she wants.”
“I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous in my entire life. Have you lost your senses?”
“She’s not a decorative piece of furniture. She’s a person with thoughts and feelings. It’s to our detriment that we didn’t take the time to acknowledge that when we should have. Is there anything else you came here to discuss?”
“I want that money back.”
“I don’t have it.”
“Then give me the money from your account.”
Aaron rolled his eyes. “This discussion is over.”
“You were supposed to keep her under your roof. You were supposed to feed and clothe her like I did. That’s your job as her husband. Since you got rid of her, you owe me that money back.”
“The money isn’t yours and it isn’t mine,” Aaron replied. “It’s hers.” He went to the cord and pulled it. “We have nothing else to say to each other.”
Lord Halloway studied him for another moment. Aaron had no idea what he was searching for, but whatever it was, he didn’t find it since he shook his head. “No, I suppose we don’t, even though you’re bringing disgrace to her name.”
Aaron narrowed his eyes at him. “Are you worried about what people are saying?”
“Why shouldn’t I worry? That’s my sister they’re talking about. Some are even laughing about it.”
Ah, so that was it. Lord Halloway was afraid he’d end up being part of the gossip since everyone knew he had arranged the marriage.
“If they laugh, then it’s because you and I deserve it,” Aaron said. “That will teach both of us not to get into wagers in the future, won’t it?”
Lord Halloway glared at him.
The footman came to the room, and Aaron motioned to Lord Halloway. “Escort him to the front door.”
Aaron turned back to the books while the footman led Lord Halloway out of the room.
***
Kitty didn’t hide her surprise as Aaron set down the large stack of books on the desk in Emilia’s drawing room. “When you said you were going to bring over a few books, I had no idea you meant you’d bring half of your library here,” she commented.
He gave a playful roll of his eyes. “These wouldn’t even fill one shelf. You’ve seen how many books I have.”
“Yes, but I didn’t realize so many were for children. I assumed only a certain section of your library was from your childhood.”
“No, I have books all over those shelves. I have them sorted according to topic.”
“You do?” Why hadn’t she or Gretchen noticed that when they were sorting through his books?
“I have a section for funny ones, another for scary ones, another for the Christmas season, another for interesting people, another for interesting places…”