She loved Randolph and would do anything in her power to make this right – to make him see she was innocent of any wrongdoing. Somebody hateful had obviously gone to great lengths to discredit her in his eyes. But who?
Unsure, she decided to keep the appointment. After all, her bags were already packed. She would be leaving for Fennly House in the morning. Once she did so, her marriage would be as good as over, so what did she have to lose?
The question jarred Angelica’s brain as she awoke, startled by the reality of the dream she’d just had. It had been so vivid and clear, she actually found herself searching her bed for the man who’d been in it. Relief steadied her thunderous heartbeats as she came more fully awake and aware of what had transpired. She’d been Lady Sterling again. She’d felt her almost sluggish confusion upon discovering Marcus in her bed and her painful distress later, when Randolph hadn’t believed anything she said.
Angelica blinked.
She couldn’t dismiss what her recent experience suggested – that maybe the late Lady Sterling had not been the unfaithful wife she had seemed.
Three days later, Angelica was having tea outside with her mother and Randolph when he asked if she’d like to take a turn of the garden with him.
“We rarely have the chance to converse in privacy,” he said once they’d gone several paces. It was true. Since the other young ladies and their chaperones had departed, Rose was keeping a much more vigilant eye on her daughter. “And I wanted to ask if you’ve had any more…” he seemed to search for the right word and finally settled on “…encounters.”
Angelica shook her head. “No. Not since the dream I mentioned.” She’d woken from it in a cool sweat and with deep anxiety due to its tangibility.
“I know this may not be what you wish to hear,” she added, “but I’ve been thinking back on everything I felt during that dream and after – on what I saw and how I reacted. How your wife reacted.” Randolph’s arm stiffened beneath her hand. Angelica took a deep breath and then ploughed ahead. “Lady Sterling’s head wasn’t clear and finding Marcus there with her was more than surprising. It made no logical sense.”
“She had a few glasses of wine with dinner the evening before. It affected her more than usual, and she eventually claimed a headache, though the truth is she was intoxicated by the time she retired.” He cursed beneath his breath, offered a hasty apology and said, “Mrs. Essex later confided that she’d seen my wife and Marcus conversing several days prior in what she described as an inappropriately intimate manner.”
Angelica leaned into Randolph’s strength and carefully asked, “Why did Mrs. Essex not mention this to you sooner?”
“She chose to approach Katrina instead in an effort to stop any wrongful behavior before it went too far. Her hope was that in doing so, no harm would be done. But it seems Katrina ignored her.”
“Even so, I find it unlikely that Marcus would risk his position like that.”
Randolph snorted. “He was a groom who caught the eye of a viscountess. As her lover, he probably received all sorts of benefits. And even if he did not, you’ve seen Katrina’s portrait. She was beautiful beyond compare and more than capable of luring any man to her bed.”
His words gave Angelica pause. Insight washed over her like ice water. She tugged on her arm and pulled away. “That’s why you chose us, isn’t it?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“It didn’t make sense, your reason for inviting the six most unmarriageable women to your home with the prospect of making one of us your wife.” Good lord, she couldn’t believe it was only occurring to her now. Most likely because her mind had been too consumed with everything else to give Randolph’s reasoning behind his selection much thought. “You want a wife who will not appeal to other men – a woman who has in effect been labeled undesirable.”
“Angelica, I can assure you I—”
“Do you deny it?” She knew she was being unreasonable, but the knowledge pricked at her pride.
Having stopped his progress, he turned to look at her so his back was to the house and the spot where Rose still sat.
“No.”
His eyes drilled into hers, adding a sense of finality to the blunt word.
“Then I am no more than the best option among the worst.”
“Not to me.” He suddenly gripped her arm. His mouth became