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“What does it matter?” Reginald asked. “It’s not as if you entered this marriage with nobler intentions than I did.”
Marcella drew in a sharp breath of air. “That’s hardly fair. You know that I was forced into this marriage. You said you understood why I would hesitate.”
Reginald uncrossed his arms and approached her. His jaw clenched, and Marcella could sense the barely contained rage which radiated from his large form. She straightened her back. He had no reason to be angry. Their situations were hardly comparable.
“I do understand, but what Idon’tunderstand is why you thought it would be appropriate to turn it all into a game.”
“A game?”
“That’s right, where you pretended to be a vain, egotistical lady in the hopes of making me so infuriated that I’d call off our engagement! Or did you think that I didn’t know about that? Did you think it was funny?”
Color rushed to Marcella’s face. That hadn’t been her best behavior or her wisest decision, she’d known that for a long time. Hearing Reginald say it now, knowing what she did, made her blood boil.
“Since you only wanted to marry me for my money, I think I was more than justified in hoping to drive you away!” Marcella snapped. “Just how much didyoufake in the hopes of winning me? How much of your patience was feigned for fear I’d reject you? Were the kisses all false, too?”
“I could ask you the same questions,” Reginald shot back. “When were you going to admit your falsehoods? Or were you hoping to keep them forever?”
Marcella clenched her hands into fists. “You want to act as if you’re the wronged party here when I’m the one who—”
“Oh, yes. I’m just an awful scoundrel, aren’t I? I married you for money, as expected of a rake. As expected of a gentleman! Maybe it wasn’t kind, but wealthy gentlemen have married women for their inheritance for centuries! But whatyoudid was childish and uncalled for.”
“But less cruel!” Marcella argued. “Just because gentlemen have treated women a certain way for centuries doesn’t mean it’s right!”
Reginald shook his head. “No, it doesn’t, but what you did was worse. I loved you, and you—you manipulated me! How much of you was a performance? Are you performing right now?”
Hot tears slipped down Marcella’s cheeks. “I haven’t faked anything since we wed, but I don’t see why you should complain. You have my money, don’t you? You’ll no longer have the creditors beating down your door! Why should you care how much of my behavior was real and how much was a trick?”
Reginald’s jaw clenched. He stormed back to his desk and pounded his fist against the polished, wooden surface. “Because I loved you! How can you not realize that?”
“Maybe because you only wanted to marry me for my money? That does have a way of making one distrustful of another person’s alleged romantic intentions,” Marcella said.
Reginald didn’t answer. He only kept his back to her and braced himself against his desk. Marcella hastily wiped a hand against her eyes, although it was too late to hide her tears. She felt as though her heart had been literally torn into pieces.
And now what? She was still married to Reginald and he to her. They had all this between them, and now more than ever, Marcella began to think that their marriage was doomed from the start. All the pleasantness she’d felt since the marriage was washed away at once, as if eroded by a violent storm.
“And what would you have me do?” Reginald asked. “Maybe I married you for money, but I thought—I thought I’d come to like the woman I’d married.”
“You don’t now?” Marcella asked, more quietly than she wanted.
His shoulders tensed, and a knot twisted in Marcella’s chest. She wondered if she could ever recover from this, if she could ever love him again after learning the terrible truth. Even if she deigned to forgive him, Marcella knew she’d always doubt him.
“I don’t know,” Reginald replied. “Not knowing how cruelly and mercilessly you’d play with my emotions. How many other men have you toyed with for your own amusement?”
“I haven’t,” Marcella replied, indignation burning inside her. “How dare you ask such a thing?”
He turned around to face her again, but his scowl was fierce. Marcella forced herself to meet his gaze, and her breath quickened. She tried desperately not to notice how beautiful he was. She tried to shove away the memories of the nights they’d spent together and all the sly words they’d exchanged with one another. It was hard, though, and small bubbles of happiness kept floating to the surface.
When she closed her eyes, tears fell down the sides of her face. She swallowed down the lump that rose in her throat. “If I hadn’t married you, would you have merely chosen another lady without a second thought?”
“Yes, just as you would’ve played a game with another man who wished to marry you,” Reginald said, his lips twisted into a cold grimace. “Isn’t that true? Not wanting to wed doesn’t mean you have the right to manipulate men’s affections, to treat them as you please.”
Marcella shook her head. “I did nothing worse than you, and if you believe I did, I’m well-punished for it. After all, I’m in a loveless marriage with a man who believes my only value is in my family’s fortune.”
“So you are,” Reginald said. “I find myself likewise punished.”
Marcella nodded. “So this is where we are, then. Is that what we’ll become, two people who hate one another forever?”
“Unless you’ve some alternative arrangement in mind?” Reginald asked, his voice harsh.
“I have none,” Marcella said, drawing herself up straighter. “I wish to retire early. If the guests inquire after me, tell that that I’ve taken to bed with a sudden headache. Have a good night, My Lord.”
“Good night, My Lady,” he said mockingly.
Marcella kept her head high as she left the room. She tried not to think about the man behind her or of the marriage broken by her own making.
