Page 7 of A Raven Repents

Giles snorted. “I handed over ten pounds without the slightest argument. That would have bought you an entire wardrobe, but it wasn’t enough?”

She shook her head. “My father has debts.”

“You said he didn’t force you.”

“He didn’t. But he needs the money, and I didn’t want the alternative option.”

“What was that?”

“He has a wealthy cousin who was willing to pay for my hand.”

“You didn’t want to be forced into a marriage, so you forced me into one?”

She nodded, but sadness visibly weighed her down. It made him feel like a cad. Not that it mattered. At the moment, he wasn’t capable of being kind to her.

“How will your father pay his debts now?”

“I don’t know.” A single tear ran down her cheek and she swiped it away. It was the only tear she had shed, through all of this. And it wasn’t for herself. “I’m sure that makes me a selfish daughter, but I just couldn’t marry Lord Chilton.”

Giles had heard stories about him. Mothers knew to keep their daughters away from him. Not to mention, he was old enough to be her grandfather. No wonder she was desperate to avoid that fate.

“I hope you’re not marrying me with the assumption that I will be paying your father’s debts.”

“If I thought you would give him money, it wouldn’t be a selfish decision, would it?”

They spent the remainder of the day in silence, the only words spoken those required by the wedding ceremony. By the time they finally made it to his country home, he was irascibly angry. He’d sent a telegram ahead to have rooms readied for them, so when they got there, he led her straight up to hers, ignoring the servants’ stares.

“Well you got the marriage you wanted. Are you ready to consummate it now?”

Her eyes widened and she took a step back.

“I won’t force you into my bed, even if you did force me into this marriage.”

He drew in a slow breath. None of this was really her fault. But before he could apologize, she stood up straight and stepped toward him.

“I didn’t force you into anything! You followed me into that room, and then you demanded marriage. Remember? You could have just paid him and walked away. But your pride wouldn’t let you do that.”

“You’d prefer I had just left you so that your father could continue to use you in his despicable schemes?”

“Yes! It would have been better than this. Better than spending the rest of my life with a man who despises me.”

Her ingratitude stoked his fiery anger, pushing his precarious temper over the edge. “Then perhaps you should have married Lord Chilton, instead. He’d be so pleased to have you, you’d already be naked in his bed.”

She drew in a shaky breath, her hand pressed against her stomach and fear shimmered in her eyes.

For the first time in his life, he felt like a villain, and it took the wind out of his sails. This wasn’t who he was. He paused and breathed a defeated sigh. “You won’t have to put up with me anymore. I’ll be leaving in the morning to go back to my life. But you’ll be safe here. The staff will see that you have all you require.”

He needed a drink. More than one. She was correct about most of what she had said. He could have just walked away. He didn’t have to marry her. But forcing her out of that life was the right choice. Or at least it would have been, if he wasn’t such a bastard.

By the time Christina woke, bright sunlight was filling the room. Her head ached, and her nose was stuffy. After Giles left her standing alone in her room, all she’d managed to do was lock the door and flop down on the bed before crying herself to sleep. And then mercifully, exhaustion had kept her slumbering for the entire night. She didn’t even remember dreaming.

She sat up. No sign of her husband, thank goodness, and she didn’t hear any shouting. Perhaps, if she didn’t leave her chambers, she could avoid him until he left. She felt empty. Not just on the inside, but as if she had no connection to the world surrounding her.

She looked around the room that was now hers. A pair of light grey armchairs sat before the fire with an oval table between them. The curtains and bedding were white, with pastel flowers embroidered into the fabric. It was beautiful, and nicely appointed, but she just wanted to go home.

For being the selfish choice, it sure was miserable.

She shook herself. Wallowing in her self-pity wouldn’t help anything. Where had her valise ended up? She climbed off the bed and wandered to the other end of the room where she found an attached dressing room, complete with an enormous bathtub. She turned in a slow circle, taking it all in. She hadn’t noticed much of anything last night, but if her rooms were any indication, this was not a small house.