LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter Seven

      ‘I am not set against marriage, as such,’ Thea protested. ‘But it is such a risk. A woman hazards so much. I am resolved not to marry unless I fall in love, which seems to me to be the only reason for taking the plunge. And I can tell you, that is highly unlikely.’

      ‘What about Sir Anthony Meldreth?’

      ‘As I said, we found we did not suit.’

      Perhaps she had sounded unconvincing, for Rhys stopped and looked at her sharply. ‘What happened?’

      Bother and blast, I am blushing. ‘Nothing.’

      ‘Thea…’ Rhys’s tone told her he would not let this go now. ‘Sit down here and tell me.’ He gestured to a bench by the side of the path.

      ‘Oh, well, if you must pry into every last detail!’ Thea sat down with an inelegant thump and stared at her toes. ‘He led me to believe he loved me, that he was interested in the things that I enjoyed, that he respected my opinions, that he wanted a wife who would be an equal.’

      ‘And did you love him?’

      ‘In a way, yes. I thought he would be a good companion and I trusted him when he said he wanted only me, for myself.’

      ‘And he did not?’ Rhys’s voice was softer now.

      ‘I overheard him discussing settlements with my father. They had agreed on his approach together so that Papa could get me off his hands and Anthony would gain my inheritance and a piece of land he had been wanting for a long time that Papa had previously refused to sell.’

      ‘That must have been…difficult to cope with. What did you do? Confront them?’

      ‘No. I told Anthony that I had changed my mind and I did not think we would suit. He told me I was frigid and not worth what my father offered him.’

      ‘Frigid? Did he force you?’

      ‘No.’ It was apparently possible to blush this hard without bursting into flames. ‘I allowed him certain…liberties. When I thought we were in love, you understand.’ Thea fixed her gaze on her clasped hands.

      ‘Certain liberties? What the blazes does that mean?’ Rhys sounded furious. Thea flickered a glance in his direction and saw his face. He was furious.

      ‘Rhys, for goodness’ sake, I cannot discuss this with you!’

      ‘Why not? You are under my protection. The man’s a bastard to trifle with you. I will deal with him when I get back to England.’

      ‘Call him out? For pity’s sake, Rhys—on what pretext?’

      ‘I’ll find one. I am certain I can take offence at his hat, or his face or the way he laughs.’

      ‘Oh, Rhys.’ There was no point in arguing and, besides, Sir Anthony was a long way away. Rhys’s temper would have cooled by the time he got home. He fired up when he saw her predicament as a matter of honour, but he did not truly understand her horror of returning to that life where she was either a pawn or a tool, where her true self would simply dwindle and vanish. A man simply would not comprehend how a woman’s powerlessness could make her feel.

      ‘Love’s an illusion,’ Rhys said abruptly. ‘You realise that now, I presume?’

      ‘No, I don’t. I was mistaken in him and my own sentiments, that is all. You know that love does exist,’ Thea said softly. She reached out and curled her fingers around his forearm for a moment. ‘If it did not, you would not be so set on making a loveless, suitable marriage this time. Love hurts—that is how we know it is real.’

      Rhys moved abruptly, but she kept looking straight ahead so all he would be able to see was the top of her plain straw bonnet. ‘Put your veil down,’ he ordered.

      ‘Oh. Yes, of course.’

      She arranged it carefully, then let him take her hand and help her to her feet. Now that she had satisfied his curiosity, perhaps Rhys would drop the subject and allow her to nurse her battered emotions in peace. Her fears she dared not contemplate.