Deceived by Nicola Cornick

Author:Nicola Cornick [Cornick, Nicola]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Historical, Romance, General
ISBN: 9781743698037
Google: fnQRBwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises, Australia Pty Limited
Published: 2014-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Where should I start?" Isabella asked politely.

"The beginning is always a good place," Marcus said. "Why did you jilt me?"

Isabella huddled deeper within the leather embrace of the armchair. She wanted its capacious interior to swallow her up. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to feel safe. Instead she had to talk and try to make Marcus understand. Her heart quaked at the prospect.

"You left me standing at the altar," Marcus said. His tone was very controlled. "You refused to see me when I tried to find you. You did not even write. You never told me what happened." His voice kindled into feeling. "The first I knew of what was happening was reading the report of your marriage in the papers and then you sent back my ring—" He broke off. Isabella saw the shutters come down in his face. Once again the fire was banked down.

"Explain," he said now, expressionless. It was not an invitation.

"There is not much to tell," Isabella said. She kept her gaze fixed on the embers of the fire so that she did not have to look at him. That hurt too much.

"It was for my family, Stockhaven. Or perhaps it was for money. You will decide for yourself, I am sure."

She looked up briefly. Marcus's face was very still, but there was about him a controlled intensity, an anger that she suspected burned very deep. Now that the moment of truth had come, she merely wanted it all to be over and Marcus to leave her alone. She would make this as quick as possible.

"I was not aware when I was young that Papa was in serious financial difficulty," she said. She shrugged a little. "Children are often unaware of these things. They think that matters will always be the same, always safe." She sighed. "When I grew older, I discovered that Papa was forever in and out of debt, making a small fortune, losing it again, gambling, investing in dreams, unable to be prudent. . . . When he died, he had lost all his money, which is why Freddie is obliged to work and Pen has such a pittance on which to live."

Marcus had not moved an inch since she'd started speaking. He was sitting across from her in the leather armchair and he was very still, but with a watchful stillness that was reflected in his eyes as he studied her. His expression was cold and remote. Isabella felt chilled to see it and curled herself deeper in her own chair for comfort.

"At the time that Ernest offered for me, Papa was within an ace of ruin. Ernest was a rich man then, of course. He offered to save Papa from the debtor's prison." She laughed a little bitterly. "I was part of the arrangement. In order to save my family from ruin, I was obliged to accept Ernest's suit. It mattered nothing that I was about to marry you. Their security was dependent on my acceptance." She broke off, staring into the heart of the fire, where the embers glowed bright.

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