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Tahlia felt as though he had punched her in the stomach. Her breath lodged in her throat and she stared at him. It was tantamount to being thrown out on her ear. In that moment she realised that she had no choice but to remove herself and retire to the accommodation her uncle offered her in Meckleton; wherever that was. She had never been there before, but it certainly seemed a better place than the one she was in right now.
The sudden tinkle of the front door bell shattered the silence. Tahlia sucked in a deep breath. Her stomach dropped to her toes. She began to shake so badly that she struggled to remain motionless as she listened to the rapid clip of Oscar’s booted feet cross the marble floor outside of the door. The discordant hum of voices was impossible to identify, but neither Tahlia nor Henry moved as they waited. Moments later, the discreet knock on the door was preceded by Oscar, who entered and handed Henry a note.
Henry read it and shook his head in disgust.
“Nobody called to see us?” Tahlia whispered, her disappointment blossoming deep within as rapidly as her heart was breaking.
Oscar smiled sympathetically at her, and slowly shook his head before he let himself out.
Tahlia’s cursed her own foolishness as she felt what was left of her heart shatter completely. A brief visit would be the least amount of effort she had expected from him. It was galling to realise that she didn’t matter that much to him; that what they had shared had meant nothing.
Connor Humphries had simply taken everything she had offered, and had left to preserve his reputation as soon as they had been caught in flagrante delicto. It wasn’t as though she had expected him to offer for her. To be forced into marriage was the very last thing she wanted with any man, no matter how desirable they made her feel. It just would have been nice to know that the feelings she had for Connor had been reciprocated in some way. She needed to know that she hadn’t risked everything; her body, her reputation; her life; for a brief tryst in a stranger’s conservatory with a man who callously walked away.
Now, three weeks later, the damning realisation was that Connor Humphries was a scoundrel of the worst kind. Her uncle had tried to locate him, but all enquiries had, so far, come up with nothing. It appeared that his latest report confirmed that nobody had seen Connor since he had left the scene of the scandal. He had simply vanished off the face of the earth and left her to face the wrath of the gossips on her own.
“What on earth possessed you?” Henry suddenly burst out. “Were you not brought up better than that?”
Tahlia mentally winced. She had expected this very same question every day since the night of her shame. She still had no answers, and even now could do little about the fire of shame which burned in her cheeks. There was no choice but to face her uncle’s wrath as best she could, and allow him to vent his fury.
“I believed he was genuine,” she whispered, and winced when Henry snorted.
“How long were you – friends? Had it happened before?”
“No,” Tahlia wept. “No. No. No. I have never done anything like that before. Please, believe me. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t.”
“But you did,” Henry burst out. “You did, Tahlia. At a ball of all places.”
He began to march up around the room, his fists clenched in fury. Tahlia had never seen her usually calm and controlled uncle rage so. Given his current difficulties, all of which were because of her shameful behaviour, she could understand his agitation. She only wished she could find some way of venting the hurt that pummelled her.
“I apologise.”
“Did he promise you flowers? Marriage? What? He must have offered you something to make you forget your reputation, and mine, and be so reckless.”
“He didn’t promise me anything,” she whispered, her voice full of mortification.
“He took, and you gave.” The disgust in Henry’s voice was condemning in a way that warned Tahlia that she had lost his understanding.
“He has always been charming, and kind. I didn’t once consider that he was a bounder. He always behaved impeccably. He didn’t break any of the rules, and seemed genuinely interested in me. We danced, of course, but you yourself gave us permission to do that.”
“I didn’t give you permission for an intimate liaison with him,” Henry bellowed. He spun on his heel and glared at her in such contempt that Tahlia leaned back in her seat.
“I shouldn’t have,” she whispered.
“Sorry. That is not going to do either of us much good now, is it? Not now that the old harridans have seen you two. Why, the news has spread across London faster than the Great Fire.” Henry ran an agitated hand through his hair. “God knows, the scandal of your behaviour has caused about as much destruction.”
“I didn’t realise anyone saw us,” she offered weakly.
“It doesn’t matter whether the gossips saw you or not. It is the fact that you were seen at all that counts. People talk. Gossips get to hear about things like that regardless of what you do to try to shut them up. There is nothing you can do now. If you and your lover found yourselves incapable of keeping your hands to yourself, why on earth did you not go somewhere more discreet? Did you not stop to consider his morals when he didn’t even bother to wait until you were wed before he ruined you? Did you not care about him not having enough respect for you to even treat you better than a harlot? The man took you in the middle of the damned conservatory like a common -”
Tahlia remained mute, but each word her uncle uttered in scorn was emblazoned on her soul, scarring her in a way that nothing else could. She had firmly believed that Connor had cared for her and, although theirs had only been a brief union, he had been affectionate, attentive, and charming. Every time they had been together she had felt like the most precious person in the world. Nobody had ever made her feel like he did before. Their time together had been perfect, and she had revelled in every second of it. Connor was her perfect man; tall, handsome, distinguished. To be the recipient of his attentions had been thrilling, to the point that she had happily cast aside all doubts to spend more and more time in his company. The passion that had flared between them had been heady, and impossible to resist.
It was galling to
think of just how quickly she had handed herself to him on a silver platter. A few murmured endearments; several thorough kisses, and he had stolen her willpower so swiftly that neither of them had been able to stop. Until the quiet click of the door warned them they were no longer alone. It was too late then to go back and try to preserve her reputation. To her horror, Connor had remained impassive throughout the awful hour that followed, and had taken his leave of her as soon as Henry had arrived.
She hadn’t seen or heard from him since.
“Where is he?” she whispered.
