Her mother looked very sad. “Yes, I heard that part, too.”
Rosalie, however, was gaping at her, and when she spoke, she sounded horrified. “You didn’t! But Violet, what about?—”
“Don’t worry, I won’t follow through until Father is back behind bars.”
“That’s not what I was going to say,” Rosalie said, frowning. “I was going to say,what about your feelings for him?”
“What about my feelings?” Violet snapped. “They are irrelevant. If he cannot be a real husband to me, then I cannot pretend to be his wife. I deserve better.”
“Well, can’t you change his mind?” Rosalie asked reasonably.
“No,” Violet uttered. “I have tried, but it is hopeless.”
“I would not be so sure about that,” Lady Carfield said, her expression thoughtful.
Violet and Rosalie looked at each other.
“What do you mean?” Violet asked.
Lady Carfield bit her lip, thinking. “I think the Duke has deep feelings for you, even if you don’t believe it. And I believe that he can be convinced to act as a proper husband towards you. But first, you must discover what is really preventing him from opening up to you and showing you his true feelings.”
“I'm done trying to figure him out,” Violet declared stubbornly. “I’ve tried, but he won’t let me in.”
Lady Carfield shook her head. “Then you are condemning yourself to a loveless marriage! You have to try, darling. Marriages do not work unless you try. And they do not work if you threaten your husband with an annulment when things get hard.”
“This isn’t my fault!” Violet almost shrieked. “He is the one who refuses to tell me the real reason behind his impediment.”
Lady Carfield was silent for a long time before she spoke again. “Well, you would be well within your rights to ask for an annulment. But I must warn you, it would cause a great scandal and hurt your sister’s marriage prospects.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Rosalie said, tossing her head. “I have enough charms to recommend me. I just want Violet to be happy.”
Violet barely had time to smile gratefully at her sister before their mother spoke again.
“Your confidence does you credit, Rosalie. But you are already fighting an uphill battle, with a mother who abandoned you and a father who was imprisoned for murder.”
“So I should blame you for my bad marriage prospects?” Rosalie asked, raising an eyebrow.
“My point is,” Lady Carfield said doggedly, “is that this family has already been through enough scandal. But darling…” She looked at Violet. “That isn’t even the main reason why I insist that you do not resort to an annulment. Before you act rashly, remember that you married a good and honorable man. They are rare.”
Violet folded her arms. “How is he good and honorable if he lured me into a childless marriage?”
“I didn’t say he was perfect,” Lady Carfield said sharply. “And he has certainly made grave mistakes. But you saw what you did when that gangster was trampling over his people and then kidnapped you. You saw what a good man he is. And men like that are rare. Most women are not lucky enough to marry a man who would fight for what is right even when it threatens his life.”
She paused for a moment, and tears welled in her eyes. “I was one of those women who was not lucky enough to marry a good man. I married young because my parents put pressure on me to marry a peer. And while it didn’t take me long to realizeyour father’s nefariousness, it took me far too long to realize I couldn’t change him. He was beyond help. The Duke is not like your father, and I believe he can still be saved from his own foolishness.”
Violet didn’t speak much for the rest of the ride home. She was too lost in thought. Her mother’s words had given her much to ponder, but the worst part was that they had given her hope.
By the time she walked into her bedroom, some of her anger had dissipated and was gradually replaced by shame.
As her lady’s maid unbuttoned her dress and helped her out of her stays, she couldn’t stop thinking about all the words she had said to her husband. Each sentence came back to her like a punch to the gut.
Yes, she was angry. And some of the things he’d done to her deserved her ire. But the things she’d said weren’t related to what she was really angry about. And threatening him with an annulment had been unnecessarily cruel.
Her lady’s maid left, and Violet began to pace back and forth across the room.
At last, she sat down at her writing desk and pulled out a piece of paper, a quill, and a bottle of ink. Unscrewing the lid, she dipped the pen into the ink and then began to write.
Dearest James,
