The barmaid’s demeanor transformed, and Luke tensed before she even spoke.
“You!” She spoke loud enough that any other customers would have easily overheard. “You’ve ruined everything.”
“Pardon me?” Naomi’s expression fell.
“He was mine before he ever met you. Mine! He was going to come back to me. He was going to marry me. But he left because of you. And now he’s gone!”
“You are mistaken.” Naomi reached out a hand to reassure the woman, but her gesture only caused the woman to recoil.
“Arthur. He loved me.”
Luke rushed around the aisles to Naomi’s side, an insidious foreboding causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.
What in the hell have you done, Gil?
Luke saw the exact moment Naomi realized what the young woman was saying. The color drained out of her face and she moved her arms in front of her as though to protect her baby.
“Whatever you believe of my husband is a mistake. He married me last spring because he wanted to marry me. I’m sorry if you think—”
“But that’s not precisely true, now is it? He married you because he had no choice. Do you think he didn’t tell me everything? Do you think he didn’t come to my bed this summer whenever he could? He said goodbye to you and then spent his final night in my bed. My bed! He was mine.” Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her complexion had turned a ruddy pink. “He was supposed to be mine.”
For all Gil’s mistakes, Luke would have done anything to protect Naomi from this one.
You fucking bastard.
Because Luke didn’t doubt the chit was telling the truth. Of course, Gil hadn’t given up his ways simply because he’d married. This was why he hadn’t wanted Naomi to come into town.
It had likely been easier for the scoundrel to return to the front than face the tangle he’d made of his life in England. If the lying codpiece was here now, Luke would plow a fist through his cheating face.
Luke placed one hand on Naomi’s arm and the other on the small of her back and steered her toward the front of the store. She walked as though in a daze while Bridget’s claims molested the memories Naomi had of her brief marriage.
She was carrying Gil’s child, for God’s sake.
Her feet shuffling along, Naomi lifted a trembling hand to cover her mouth. But she was no longer shaking her head in denial. It was as though pieces were falling into place.
Had she suspected any of this?
Bridget refused to move out of their path, pinning her gaze on Luke. “You are more than welcome to ask anyone at the inn, Major Cockfield. Arthur knew me long before she trapped him. He loved me.”
Naomi jerked her head, and her eyes begged him to deny the claims. “Luke?” Tears swam in her eyes.
Luke refused to have this discussion here. If Naomi would take a moment to consider that they were in public, she’d realize that she didn’t want to either.
“Let’s go.” They would make their purchases another time. Already the clerk was watching them with interest, and a few other customers had entered and were watching them curiously.
Aside from going to the back of the store and returning to the front up another aisle, Luke had no choice but to maneuver Naomi around Bridget.
“He was taking care of me, sending me funds. He would have eventually married me. He was never really yours,” Bridget hissed her vile words before they could pass. “And Major Cockfield won’t be either. They’re all the same.”
Naomi tensed beneath his hands, and her steps faltered but she kept moving.
Good girl.
Not until they were out the door and halfway to the cart did her shoulders slump. And not until they were driving away did she speak again.
“Is it true? What she said?”
Was it true that Gil might have kept a woman on the side? Yes.
“It’s possible.” Because he could not know for certain.
Was it true that Luke would never be hers? Hell, no.
“You know her?” Her voice wasn’t as shaky as he’d thought it would be. She asked the question in a straightforward manner. Ah, yes, Naomi was stronger than she gave herself credit for.
“She works in the tavern at the inn.” Not knowing exactly what Gil had done, he only told Naomi what he knew to be certain.
“How did she know so much about me? About… our marriage?” Naomi’s question was a damning one indeed. Damning for Gil, that was. “Arthur frequented the tavern. Did he frequent her as well?” Her voice rose as she absorbed the truth—the truth that Gil may not have been faithful.
“He was thinking of you in the end, Naomi. He insisted I promise I’d look out for you if anything happened.” It was almost as though he’d expected the attack. Luke stared straight ahead as he drove. Defending Gil left a bitter taste in his mouth but he didn’t want her to panic. He didn’t want her to suddenly believe her entire marriage to Gil had been a sham.
Because if Gil had been unfaithful, he couldn’t have entered his marriage with the intention of doing so. Yes, he could be irresponsible, and he’d lied… Oh, hell. Luke removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair before replacing it. It was just that Gil hadn’t considered anyone’s feelings but his own and even if he had, he’d ignored them. Not only had he hurt Naomi, but it seemed he’d hurt Bridget as well.
Fucking hell, Gil!
“Did you know?”
Luke felt sick to hear the doubt in her voice. “No. God, no.”
He turned and met her gaze steadily and didn’t look back at the road until he was certain she believed him.
Would he have told her if he had? There was a code amongst gentlemen, an honor amongst friends that they didn’t involve themselves in one another’s affairs of the heart.
Only there was nothing honorable about this.
“What else? What else could he have lied about?”
Luke glanced over again, expecting she would be on the verge of tears. Her features looked frozen as she stared off into the distance looking lost.
Luke moved the reins to one hand and wrapped his other arm around her. It was all he could do.
Chapter Nine
Luke had told her she’d need proof of her marriage in order to collect widow’s pay. If she had only herself to be concerned with, she would not have pursued it. But she had her little radish… her little potato now, to consider.
What would she have done without Luke? His calm and steady presence had given her just enough strength to walk away from that woman with her dignity intact.
How had she been so naïve? She had been waiting for him to come home to her and he’d been in another woman’s bed! She covered her mouth, willing herself not to be sick.
Had Arthur loved her at all? Her blood turned cold and she exhaled a shaky breath. He’d married her because he hadn’t any choice.
The smallest seed of optimism suggested that the woman had been lying, but just as quickly as it sprouted, Naomi squashed it.
The woman had been telling the truth. She’d known too much.
Naomi had only seen what she wanted to see. She wiped her arm across her eyes and sniffed. She’d cried buckets of tears for him already—rivers—and had given him the benefit of the doubt on so many occasions—too many occasions.