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“I never believed he would. Nor did you.”
Ariana nodded, her gaze fixed on the gentle ripples of the water. “What happened between us … was so wrenching,” she whispered, half to herself.
With gentle understanding, Theresa smoothed a wet strand of hair behind Ariana’s ear. “I would imagine so. Your husband is a very intense man.”
“Intense. Yes. He is that.” Ariana hesitated. “Theresa, do you think he sees Vanessa when he looks at me? Do you think he imagined it was she he was holding last night?”
Theresa stared silently into the soapy tub. “The duke doesn’t want you because of Vanessa, pet,” she said at last. “He wants you in spite of her.”
“What do you mean?” Ariana jumped on the statement at once, sitting bolt upright in the bath. “Why would he want me in spite of Vanessa? Is her memory still so very clear and painful? Did he love her so deeply, then? Or is it only the consequences of her death that have haunted him all these years and made him so bitter?” Urgently, she gripped Theresa’s arms. “Please, Theresa. I must know.”
“You’re no longer asking if he killed Vanessa,” Theresa noted.
Ariana conceded that point without hesitation. “I don’t believe he did. Still, Vanessa is dead. And Trenton was involved with her when she died. The question is, was it love that drove her to kill herself? Or was it fear?”
Theresa’s mouth set in a grim line. “I don’t believe love was ever the issue.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“You recall your sister. How can you not be?”
Ariana fell silent, unable to refute Theresa’s candid, dispassionate observation. Yes, she recalled her sister. Vibrantly beautiful, filled with life, captivating and charming. But sensitive, prone to deep and lasting emotion? No. Vanessa had never been that. Still, when she’d met Trenton …
“Even I remember the way Vanessa spoke of Trenton.” Ariana voiced her thoughts aloud. “The things she said …”
“And what did she say?”
Ariana wet her lips, snatches of memories coming to mind. “How handsome he was, how powerful, how intriguing. What a respected family he came from. How different he was from her other suitors …”
“And those revelations led you to believe she was in love with him?” Theresa asked dryly.
“Not love, perhaps,” Ariana conceded, trying to reconcile her childhood memories of Vanessa with an adult realization of what her flamboyant sister had truly been. Suitors had swarmed to Vanessa. …and been treated with careless indifference. All but Trenton. “Whether it was love or fascination, she cared for him,” Ariana concluded.
“At best.”
Something about Theresa’s tone gave her pause. “You think she was toying with him?”
“Oh no. Vanessa took the duke quite seriously.”
“And he?”
“He took her seriously as well.” Theresa caught Ariana’s chin, lifting it in time to see the hurt in her eyes. “That disturbs you.”
Ariana’s lips trembled. “I’d be lying if I said otherwise. However, it does clarify many things.”
“Such as?”
“Such as the passion that drives Trenton to me and then away. Such as the war he is constantly battling within himself, the scars he carries and is unable to shed. Such as the real reason he went to such lengths to make me his wife.” A tear slid down Ariana’s cheek. “I can’t be Vanessa,” she whispered.
Slowly, Theresa shook her head, her eyes filling with undiscernible emotion. “No, you cannot be. Nor should you try.”
Ariana was about to respond when suddenly another possibility struck her. “Theresa,” she said, paling a bit as she searched the older woman’s face, “you said that love was never an issue. Does that mean that Vanessa feared Trenton?”
Theresa took both of Ariana’s hands firmly in her own. “Listen to me, pet … and hear me well. Fear had as little to do with the events of the past as did love.” She inhaled slowly, seeking the words that would ease Ariana’s anguish. “I was not your sister’s confidante, nor was I with her the night she died. All I know is what I remember … and what my insight reveals. I can’t give you the answers you seek, for they’re not mine to give. But they are within your grasp, if you have the courage and faith to reach for them.”
Before Ariana had digested her words, Theresa came to her feet, fetching a thick towel and holding it out to her mistress. “It’s late. Your husband has been up and about for hours. Let’s ready you for breakfast.”
Theresa’s announcement conjured up another thought, and, wistfully, Ariana stepped from the tub, wondering why Trenton had been so eager to leave her bed. She would have enjoyed sleeping beside him, awakening in his arms, beginning the new day with the same wondrous sensations he had taught her last night.…
