Lady Lyte's Little Secret by Deborah Hale

Author:Deborah Hale
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-09-20T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

“There’s something I still don’t understand,” said Felicity a while after she and Thorn had taken over her coachman’s accustomed perch. “How did your brother-in-law come to own a large estate like Heartsease? I thought you said he hadn’t any money.”

“He hadn’t when we were young.” Thorn kept his gaze on the horses and the road before them. “At least not much. Enough to put himself through school and buy a modest commission. However, my old friend returned from his time in Spain with General Wellington something of a hero. As a result of his fame, he caught the eye of…”

For an instant Thorn’s hesitation puzzled Felicity. Then she understood. “A lady of fortune? Your friend married an heiress?”

Thorn nodded.

“Pity.” Her stomach clenched. “I had rather liked the sound of your Mr. Temple…until now.”

“Merritt did not wed the woman for her fortune, if that’s what you presume.” Thorn’s hands tightened on the reins. “He loved her…or thought he did. At first.”

A Royal Mail coach overtook them just then with a great clatter. It must have been behind schedule, for the maroon-liveried coachman did not spare his whip. Two young men, who occupied the cheapest places on the outside of the vehicle, shot curious looks at Felicity, perched up on the driver’s seat of her carriage. She barely resisted the childish temptation to stick her tongue out at them.

The mail coach finally gained a great enough lead that Felicity could hear herself speak. “I take it the first Mrs. Temple failed to meet your friend’s expectations.”

When love died in a marriage, no amount of money could provide a remedy. Unlike Merritt Temple’s first wife, at least she had survived her marriage to reclaim her independence. The thought of having gone to her grave unwept by her husband, then having him use her fortune to attract a second wife made Felicity’s gorge rise along with her temper.

They rode on for a time, an awkward silence falling between them until at last Thorn broke it.

“The truth is, Merritt failed to meet his wife’s expectations. He has never said an ill word about the first Mrs. Temple in my hearing, but Rosemary has let the odd remark slip. And I know my friend well enough to guess what his first marriage must have been like.”

“And how do you guess it must have been?” Her question came out in a sharper tone than she had intended.

Thorn shrugged and slanted a fleeting glance toward her. “The lady assumed she’d purchased him. For his fame, I suppose, and perhaps for his looks. From an ill-fed youth, Merritt had matured into quite a handsome fellow. His wife probably thought she had a right to order him around like a servant or some sort of lapdog.”

If Thorn had turned and thrashed her with the coachman’s whip, which he hadn’t once touched to the horses, Felicity could not have taken a deeper cut. She had never treated Percy the way Merritt Temple’s wife had treated him. Had she?

Did Thorn

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