Page 35 of The Last Warrior

“Oh, no! No, no, no. By William, of course.”

“Oh,” said Irena. “And William knows of this?”

“Yes.”

“And…”

Suzette sucked in her breath. “I imagine I should tell you about the entire happening, shouldn’t I?”

“This would be best, yes. I did hear of your broken engagement… Your dear mother wrote to me about it. And I learned also that Lady Blair tried in every way she could to damage your reputation…because of me joining the Wild West Show, your mother tells me.”

“Yes. Lady Blair did try to blacken my character, but she was not as successful as she might have thought. Indeed, on my last evening in England, I sang to a full house, and were it not for this small problem, I would be there now, attending to my reputation without any needed help, I might add.”

“The problem you speak of is your pregnancy?”

“Yes. When I discovered my condition, I made William swear to tell no one about it, not even his mother.”

“And I suppose he agreed readily?”

“Yes. I do believe he was frightened he might be forced to marry me and stand up to his mother. I must say, she is rather formidable.”

“But she is his mother, not his jailer, and he should have done right by you.”

“I do think so as well, particularly since I was under the impression we were to be married within a matter of days when the deed happened. I know it was wrong of me to relax my guard with him, but it seemed a harmless flirtation at the time since we were to be married soon. I never suspected Lady Blair might call the whole wedding off.”

Irena pulled her mouth into a grimace. “I should go home. I don’t have to be here. As a matter of fact, I shall go home. For when I do so, you can be married in an honorable way.”

“I am already married in an honorable way.”

“Yes, but…”

“Surely you do not think Black Lion is anything but honorable?”

“Of course he is. But it is, after all, because of me that you are in this predicament. Therefore, I will settle it.”

“No,” said Suzette. “I forbid you to do so. The situation has changed. I no longer love William, and I no longer wish him to be my husband. Not only did he fail to defend me against his mother, he also proved himself to be a cad. If anything, Irena, what you did saved me from a terrible mistake.”

“It is kind of you to say these words to exonerate me. But never did I envision my actions would ruin your engagement. And now that I know the details of it, I would make it right. If you are with his child, then you should be married to him.”

“No, I should not be,” said Suzette. “And I am not going back to England at this time. I am married to Black Lion, and I intend to remain married to him.”

Silence greeted this statement. “I see,” said Irena at last. “Tell me, have you had your wedding night with him yet?”

Suzette raised her chin. “If you mean has the marriage been consummated, I have this to say about it: this is between myself and…my husband.”

“Of course. You are right.” She smiled. “But have you?”

“Irena! I refuse to answer your question. Clearly, I can see that if I say no, then you might try to urge me to annul the marriage. If I say yes, the marriage is consummated, what will you do then? Confront him?”

“I will confront him with this sooner or later regardless of your answer.”

“No, you will not,” said Suzette.

“But I⁠—”

“The man does me a favor. If you must know, I have married Black Lion because I will not marry William, and I will not have my child born out of wedlock. Black Lion understands all I require from him is his name, nothing more. And pray, do not speak to him of our marriage, either for it or against it.”

Irena remained silent.