The Second Seduction of a Lady by Miranda Neville

Author:Miranda Neville [NEVILLE, MIRANDA]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2012-09-30T14:00:00+00:00

“The road seems in excellent condition.”

“Lucky,” she said, replying to his opening for the first time in a couple of hours. “It seems the weather has been unusually dry.” It was annoying to be proven wrong, but at least she’d reach Penrith and the safety of her own carriage that much sooner. Being cooped up in close quarters with Max was addling her mind. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could take it. The farther they went, the less she remembered exactly why she was so angry at him.

“I don’t believe, “she continued, “they can be ahead of us, but there’s a chance we will reach Carlisle tonight. They have to pass through the town and it shouldn’t be hard to get word of them if they’ve already been there.”

“Don’t worry, my dear,” he said. “Even if we are too late for the wedding, we can still save Caro’s reputation.”

He thought Caro should be married and there was no point arguing. It was safer to remain silent. She had her plans laid for escaping him and reaching Scotland first. The alternative was too dreadful. She squeezed back a tear.

“Are you crying?” His large hand covered hers, clenched together in her lap. “It’ll be all right. We’ll make it so, I promise.”

Her unwilling heart responded to the kindness of his tone. He was a good man, despite his errors. She didn’t agree with him, but his faults were of carelessness, not malice.

“You should have children, Eleanor,” he said. “I’ve seen you with Caro, and with young people of different ages. You will be a wonderful mother.”

The devil. He’d found her weakness. Though she tried not to admit it to herself, there had been a seed of regret that she hadn’t been with child after their union. Regret quickly smothered with relief because she wouldn’t have to marry him.

“I am content with the company of other people’s offspring for I shall never marry.” She was uneasily aware that she sought to convince herself, as well as him.

“Because of me? Because of what happened between us?” Anguish lay beneath his gentle tone. It had never occurred to her that he’d also been hurt. Yet if what he’d told her about the wager and Ashdown was true—and she believed it was—he deserved some kind of explanation.

She shook her head, then met his gaze with as much calm as she could muster. “What happened five years ago was an aberration on my part. For a few days you made me forget a lifetime’s resolution. Long observation has taught me that marriages rarely turn out well.”

“That’s ridiculous. I know many happily married men and women.”

“And I know many who are unhappily married.”

“I grant you there are no certainties, but the odds seem good. Better than even, I would venture to say. And think of the rewards, the great happiness a loving partnership can bring.”

“And think of the misery of a poor one. Think of Sylvia and Ashdown.”

“Not all husbands are oafs.”

“No. Wives can inflict unhappiness too.

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