her answer. “Are you prepared to say in definite terms that you are? You know that Tristan would no longer tell me.”
Marguerite sat upright in her chair. She could not believe this was happening. She had always heard that life in London was far different, but surely sitting with your husband’s mother, and listening to her discuss who he slept with was unthinkable and unbelievable. Only apparently it was not.
Lady Carrington let her arms drop. “No, actually I am not. You are correct. Tristan and I have never been more than friends – the best of friends, actually.” She smiled at Marguerite. “I suppose that makes me ideally suited for what you want. Would you care to tell me what exactly that is? I must confess that it is still not apparent to me.”
Felicity stood. “I think I will say my farewells, now.” Marguerite and Lady Carrington both looked at her with wonder. Marguerite had to snap her mouth shut.
Felicity laughed. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. Marguerite, you have not said one word beyond the greetings and even that was a mumble. If I leave, then you will be forced to speak to each other and that, I believe, is the purpose of this exercise.” She left the room with no further comment.
Marguerite and Lady Carrington looked at each other. Lady Carrington sat straighter. “Would you care for some more tea? I notice you finished yours.”
Remembering her hurried gulp, Marguerite nodded.
“You do speak, don’t you?” Lady Carrington asked.
“I am not often required to.”
“No required to? How can one not be required to speak?”
“I know it sounds strange, but it is amazing how my life has progressed without it. Up to this point in my life, others have seemed happy to manage it quite well. They never seem to require, much less desire, my input.”
Lady Carrington came over and filled her teacup, then, rather than return to the chaise, she sat beside Marguerite. “I do actually know what you mean. I ended up with two husbands over eighty that way. Being a young woman is not easy. I can only assure you it gets better as you age. There are some advantages to wrinkles.”
Marguerite did not see any sign of lines on Lady Carrington’s ivory complexion. “I thought you had three husbands. Oh dear, that was rather rude.”
“Don’t worry. You are right. I actually chose the last one myself. He needed someone to take care of him, and I, well, I’d grown used to caring for old men.” She set down her own cup of tea. “But you are not here to talk of my life. What is it I can help you with?”
“It is awkward.”
“I would be amazed if it was not. Marriage is not simple, and Tristan is certainly not a simple man.”
“You do know him well, then?”
“Yes, in truth, though I have never been his lover in a physical sense, I have been closer to him than to any of my lovers.”
“Oh.” Marguerite felt the flush rise again. Why was she plagued by such blushes? Other women did not have this problem.
Lady Carrington leaned forward. “What bothers you, that I know your husband so well or that I admit to having lovers?”
“I, well, I do not know – I mean I have never talked like this before.”
“Tristan is a wonderful man. He takes the time to really see things, see people. He observes and then acts. He does not aim to cause pain and does not hold a grudge. He understands human weakness. Is that more or less than you want to know?”
It was Marguerite’s turn to lean forward. This was her opportunity, she could not be sure she would get another one. “You say he takes the time to see things, but I do not feel he has ever really looked at me. Sometimes I think he intentionally avoids looking at me. And you say he does not hold a grudge, but what about him and his mother? I must admit I have seen no evidence of cruelty.”
“No evidence of cruelty, what faint praise. If you care so little, why do you bother with trying to know him better?” Lady Carrington leaned back, removing the intimacy of the moment.
“I express myself badly. If you were the one who summoned Lady Smythe-Burke, then you must be aware of how things stand between Tristan and myself.”
Lady Carrington moved forward a fraction of an inch. “I know more of how the situation began than perhaps anybody else, although