Christine Merrill - Two Wrongs Make a Marriage

And he was whistling. Thea could not identify the tune. But she suspected, judging by the look in his eyes, that the lyrics were inappropriate for female ears.

She glared at him. ‘Stop that incessant noise.’

Jack stared back at her, all innocence. The whistle paused. ‘You do not like music?’

‘That is not music. It is precisely the opposite. If you had any manners …’

‘And the kind of breeding and education …’ he said, in a pompous tone, waving a hand. ‘We have already established that I do not. You were the one who wished to marry me. Now you must learn to make do.’ He went back to whistling.

‘It is vulgar,’ she said with desperation.

‘And so am I.’ His eyes were narrowed, as though it had been possible to hurt him with a statement of truth.

‘I have no doubt that you are vulgar, after your comments of the previous evening. But it is all the more reason for you to stop. You should aspire to be something better than you are.’

‘As you do?’ He folded his arms across his chest, waiting for an answer. His cheerful manner disappeared. He was looking at her, for all the world, as though he were the one who had been wronged by her scheming.

‘Is this some veiled reference to my willingness to—’ her mouth puckered in revulsion as she parroted his words back to him ‘—hold out for a man of sufficient rank?’ It was as if he thought her no better than a whore for marrying him. ‘There is nothing wrong with seeking a decent future through marriage.’

‘For a woman, perhaps,’ he said.

‘You were quick enough to do it yourself.’

‘I was doing it in service to another,’ he said firmly.

As was she. Her family would have seen the benefit, had her plan worked as expected. But his comment rankled. ‘You are little better than a servant to Spayne, then? If so, I order you to stop whistling.’

‘I may be a servant to Spayne. But to you?’ He grinned. ‘I am a husband. And humble though I might be, it is not your place to command anything of me. As I remember, it was you who promised to obey.’

‘But not to obey you. I said the words when I thought you were Kenton. I promised loyalty to a man who does not exist.’

‘The majority of women who marry would say the same thing. I fail to see why I owe an alteration of my behaviour to you, if you were not aware of the fact that marriage changes everything between us. Now hush, woman, and cease your nagging. I am trying to think.’ He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes with a blissful smile upon his face.

Marriage changed everything. He was right in that, at least. For the moment, it left her completely dependent on the man across from her, for she could think of no way to explain away what had happened without making matters even worse than they were. Jack had stopped whistling, though she doubted it was in an effort to spare her nerves. But she found the silence even more annoying than the noise had been. ‘What are you thinking about?’ she said at last.

He opened one eye. ‘Are you to be one of those women, then? The sort that is continually trying to pry out the contents of a man’s head for their own entertainment?’

‘It is not entertainment that I desire. I merely wish to know what you have planned for our future together.’

‘Together?’ He laughed. ‘I do not plan any such thing. I am taking you to Spayne, just as he wished. He will explain as much or as little of his situation as he chooses. Between us, we will see if there is anything that can be salvaged of his original plan. You will help us. And when it is through, I will return to my life. Beyond that, we have no future together.’

The glee with which he contemplated the end of their connection hurt, although why it should she had no idea. She wanted to be rid of him as much as he wanted to break with her. ‘You seem to be angry at me, which is hardly fair.’ Had she not worked long and hard to mould herself into the perfect wife? The least he could do was appreciate her effort.

He was having none of it. ‘You deceived me.’

‘Only because you wanted to be deceived,’ she reminded him. ‘At no time did I promise you wealth, or an adequate settlement. Nor did my father. It was you who chose to assume that there was money rather than debt. I, on the other hand, had no reason to believe that you were not Viscount Kenton. I trusted your word as a gentleman.’

‘Just as your father trusted de Warde.’ He snorted. ‘The gentry is far too trusting, in my opinion. But you are right. I was a fool. Your sort have been lying to me my whole life and it was only now that I chose to see truth where there was none. I apologise for my bad temper.’

‘Apology accepted,’ she said uneasily. Had it been her imagination, or had she just won an argument with the man? Truly not, if she had to do it by claiming herself a liar. ‘But I did not lie to you. I merely omitted certain key portions of the truth. I took a gamble to gain your full attention. But I never claimed to be rich. You merely assumed it.’

‘Of course I did. You were well dressed, seen at all the finest parties and your father spent freely.’

‘Just as everyone else in society,’ she responded. ‘If you scratch the surface, you will find many in a similar predicament. It is hardly unusual.’

‘You claimed that you needed to marry. You pretended to be fond of me.’

‘But that was true,’ she insisted earnestly, glad that he was finally understanding her. ‘I did need to marry. And it would have been difficult to gain your attention any other way than kidnapping. You were the most sought-after man of the Season. Even if I’d have caught your eye, your interest would have waned when you realised that my family was inappropriate.’

‘As it did,’ he admitted. ‘Though it might have faded more slowly had I the chance to enjoy your favours, as I’d expected to.’

She gave a little gasp of shock to hear him freely admit that he’d meant to use her so, knowing full well that it would be a trick.

It did not seem to bother him in the least. He was still too focused on his own selfish complaints. ‘You did not need to claim an attraction where you felt none.’

But she had been attracted to him. There was no way to escape that, for he was a most handsome and charming fellow. And the kisses he’d given her, when she’d allowed it, had been quite wonderful. But she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing so and allowed herself a small white lie, by avoiding the accusation with a scoff. ‘You would have noticed no difference had we married.’

‘And this is what honesty is worth,’ he said with a dramatic gesture. ‘The least you could do, now that you are trapped with me, is to spare my feelings and pretend that you once liked me.’

She had not intended to hurt his feelings, not that she truly believed he had them. ‘I liked you as well as any other man,’ she allowed. ‘I have always known that the match I would make might be decided after a brief acquaintance, and based on fondness rather than grand passion. Had we married in truth, I would have given you the same wholehearted devotion that I’d have given to any other man.’

If possible, he looked even more injured. ‘It is faint praise to know that any man could have taken my place and received similar affection.’

‘You would not have minded, I assure you.’ She raised her head with pride at her one accomplishment. ‘I have been properly educated on that score and would have made you a fine wife.’

‘This I must hear,’ he said with a lascivious smile. ‘Tell me what sort of education you have that would lead us to be in the situation we are sharing. Did it involve tricking men into having you? Or are there other skills I might appreciate?’ He gave a waggle of eyebrow to imply the sorts of things her mother had all too candidly explained to her.