Julius inhaled sharply and sat upright. “Bess, have I done something wrong?”
She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak for fear the ugliness of her past would spew from her like acid and erode the happiness of their last few days together.
He lovingly rubbed his palm in a circle on her back and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Sweetheart, something has upset you. Won’t you confide in me?”
She bolted from the sofa. “It’s not you, I promise. I-I need a moment.”
The footman posted outside jumped when she burst through the door. She darted around him in her haste to escape.
Chapter Eleven
Bess hurried toward the staircase, intent upon reaching her guest chamber to regain control of herself. She kept her gaze trained on the pale green and ivory Aubusson carpets lining the corridor as she passed other guests chatting with one another away from the noisy ballroom. When she reached the great hall doorway, she tried to catch a glimpse of Gemma, but a broad shouldered gentleman with tawny hair stood in the middle, blocking her view. He must have sensed her presence, because he turned.
“Elisabeth!”
Her wince was involuntary, a reaction to encountering something unpleasant.
“I’d heard you were a fellow guest,” Merrick said.
“Lord Aberglen, it appears you are better informed than I. I’ve not heard your name mentioned since season’s end.” And she preferred it that way.
The Earl and Countess of Aberglen were darlings of Society. Beloved by all. Lauded for their fashionable parties. Admired for their attractiveness and charming offspring. The unending adoration for the rogue was enough to make Bess nauseous. The saying about reaping what one sows was a lie. Liars like Merrick rarely received what they deserved.
“How do you know Lord and Lady Seabrook?” he asked.
She suppressed a sigh. Engaging in chitchat with the man who’d once toyed with her heart and humiliated her was too much to ask. “They are recent acquaintances.”
Merrick spoke in a conspiratorial whisper, “Lady Aberglen’s sister has come to meet Lord Treyhurst in the hope of bringing him up to scratch. The ladies in the family set their sights high, do they not?”
Bess almost rolled her eyes while he laughed at what he apparently thought made him seem clever. Had he always been arrogant or was she too blinded by the sheen of first love to see him clearly?
“My wife traveled to Everly Manor last week as her sister’s chaperone. I only arrived yesterday evening.” He flashed the winsome smile that set hearts aflutter in the ballrooms. It did nothing for her anymore. “I couldn’t bare to spend Christmas away from family.”
“You’ve brought your children to the house party?”
“A house party is no place for children. God’s blood, Elisabeth, think.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as if it pained him to have to explain. “The children are under the care of their grandparents.”
“I see,” she murmured.
“May I speak with you in private?”
Without waiting for consent, he grasped her upper arm and propelled her along the corridor in the opposite direction from Julius. He dragged her into a room around the corner, releasing her before she gathered the wherewithal to react.
She crossed her arms and put distance between them. “Leave the door ajar.”
“Darling”—his laugh was mocking—“that ship has sailed.”
Her palm ached to slap the smugness from his chiseled face.
“I am a married man, or have you forgotten?” He echoed the words she’d uttered years earlier when he’d had the gall to suggest their relationship need not end due to a change in his marital status.
“Address me as Lady Hadley,” she snapped. “I, too, was married.”
“Indeed. I was sorry to hear of Lord Hadley’s passing. I understand the union resulted in no children?”
“Again, you are well informed. One might think you have been keeping abreast of my affairs.”
“You know how gossip makes the rounds,” he said.
The blackguard was probably congratulating himself on avoiding catastrophe by choosing another bride, but the lack of issue with Hadley was a result of her husband’s inability to father children. He had been honest with her before she agreed to marry him. A childhood illness left him infertile. He’d had no children with his first wife either.
“What do you want, Merrick?” He’d been a mere mister when he’d courted her, and in her frustration, his name slipped out. “You have less than a minute before I leave.”
He sobered and cleared his throat. “Sally spotted you with Lord Julius and his sisters in a sleigh yesterday. She said all the siblings left the house party. No one saw them all day.”
“How does this concern you or Lady Aberglen?”
“Sally believes seeing you is a sign it is time to mend the rift between us.” He shrugged, trying to appear sheepish. “Shall we? In the spirit of Christmas?”
Law. If agreeing would end the conversation… “It has been eight years,” she said, “but why not revive old grudges that are already forgotten? You are absolved of any wrong doing.” She flicked her fingers as if sprinkling him with holy water. “Now, go revel in your happy marriage with Lady Aberglen.”
Bess attempted to leave, but he blocked her escape. “You are still angry.”
Actually, she wasn’t. If he had come for her the night they planned to elope, her father wouldn’t have caught her outside looking for him. Father wouldn’t have arranged her hasty marriage to Hadley to save her reputation after she burst into tears in public when Merrick announced his betrothal one day after abandoning her. If Hadley in turn hadn’t been kind and encouraging, she wouldn’t have built a dear friendship with her cousin. She never would have been staying at Davensworth Cottage on a stormy night when Julius, her one true love, arrived on the doorstep.
She cocked her head, studying him. Merrick didn’t require punishment for justice to be served. It came in the form of her receiving what she deserved. Her life was better, richer, as a result of his betrayal.
She dropped her arms at her sides. “The truth is I am apathetic towards you.”
“You are lashing out. I understand; you are still hurt. I am sorry for the injury I caused.”
To believe any woman would nurse a wounded heart all this time was ludicrous and a testament to the scoundrel’s arrogance. “I’ll try to bear the pain,” she drawled.
He failed to recognize the sarcasm. “Perhaps it will help to hear that I did not set out to mislead you. I wanted to marry you, Elisabeth. I loved you.”
She sighed and glanced toward the exit. If she walked around him, would he follow her into the corridor? His gaze darted toward the doorway as if he read her mind.
“It was your father’s fault,” he blurted. “He called the day we were leaving for Gretna Green. He threatened to withhold your dowry and ruin me if I insisted on pursuing you.”
This, she could believe. “Are you implying you loved my assets and not me?”
“No! You dishonor me with your feckless accusation.” Once, she’d thought it adorable the way the ball at the end of his nose turned scarlet whenever he was upset. Now, she felt nothing but mild interest in the biology behind his red snout.