“It is not very gentlemanly of you,” she chided lightly.
Leaning closer, he said in a low voice, “I am hoping for many more kisses in the future from my beautiful wife.”
A blush crept onto Elinor’s cheeks, and she dropped her gaze to the table, clearly flustered. “Can we talk about something else, please?”
“All right,” he said, taking pity on his wife. “What would you care to discuss?”
Elinor’s eyes darted to the footmen standing by the door. “There is something important I need to tell you.”
Alden could sense Elinor’s discomfort, making him wonder what was so important. He turned to the footmen and ordered, “Leave us.”
Once they were alone, Alden gave her an expectant look. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong,” Elinor said, her smile weak and unconvincing. “I just believe we should be honest with one another.”
“I agree,” he said, leaning back in his chair.
Elinor clasped her hands in her lap, her knuckles white from the pressure. She took a deep breath and said, “Before you arrived, Lady Edith wrote to me and told me of the stipulations of you inheriting the horse farm. But what I didn’t tell you was that I would inherit the horse farm if you failed to marry by the Twelfth Night.”
Alden wondered how he could love this woman even more than he already did. “And yet you still agreed to help me?” he asked. “You truly are remarkable.”
Elinor bit her lower lip. “Actually, I did the opposite.”
He furrowed his brow in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“While I am acquainted with the three women I introduced you to, we are not dear friends and I knew that you wouldn’t be interested in them,” Elinor admitted.
Realization hit him, and he felt a mix of hurt and anger. “You tried to sabotage me.”
“I did,” she replied, her voice breaking.
He stared at her in disbelief. “And sending me to the cottage in the woods?”
Elinor winced. “I wanted you to pack your bags and go home. I thought you wouldn’t last the night, considering the state of the cottage.”
Alden rose and walked over to the window. Elinor had lied to him. How was he supposed to reconcile with that fact? Finally, after a long moment, he turned to face her. “How could you just lie to me so easily?” he asked, his voice rising. “You led me to believe that you were helping me, but you were just trying to help yourself. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I wanted the horse farm,” Elinor replied honestly.
“And now?” Alden demanded
Rising, Elinor approached him, her eyes pleading. “Everything has changed. We are married?—”
He cut her off sharply. “Would you have married me if it wasn’t for your uncle forcing your hand?”
“That doesn’t matter?—”
“Answer the question,” he ordered, his tone brooking no argument.
Elinor hesitated. “I don’t know.”
Alden ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “How can I ever trust you?” he asked. “You tried to take everything from me.”
“I’m sorry…” she whispered, her voice breaking.
He scoffed. “You are sorry,” Alden said. “No, I am sorry. I can’t believe I trusted you so easily. And to think my great-aunt was such a poor judge of character.”
Elinor reared back. “I love your Great-aunt Edith.”
