Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

" S he left me," James said aloud to the room, after his wife—his ex-wife? He didn't know exactly how annulments worked—had left the study. "She left me."

He needed to say the word out loud because he still didn't believe it. Everything had gone wrong so quickly. One moment he was smiling at her, about to tell her that he wanted to try and make their marriage work, the next he was listening to her calmly explain that not only did she want an annulment, but she'd already had the paperwork drawn up.

"She was planning this!" he hissed. Speaking out loud seemed to be the only way to wrap his mind around it all. "She was planning this maybe from the very beginning, from the moment I said we would not have a real marriage."

But why hadn't she talked to him about it? Told him that she was so unhappy that she had to consider an annulment?

She didn't trust me .

That was the only explanation.

She didn't trust me with her feelings. Or she thought I might try to stop her. And damn right, I would have!

James dropped his head in his hands. No, he wouldn't have stopped her, not if leaving was what she really wanted. Just as he hadn't tried to stop her now, as she'd exited his life.

But maybe I would have tried harder to fix things.

He needed a drink. And then he needed to punch something. But most of all, he needed to speak to Nathan.

It didn't take him long to get a horse saddled and ride back across town to his gentlemen's club, where he knew his cousin would still be, drinking scotch.

Nathan did indeed indulge in the finer things in life. He was a man who liked to enjoy himself. And for the first time, James envied him for that.

He would never have allowed a vindictive father to ruin his chances at happiness.

The moment he entered the club and spotted Nathan across the room, James felt as if he was an iceberg that had just started melting. All the feelings he'd pushed away since Violet had said she wanted an annulment—all the feelings he'd tried to numb—suddenly welled up inside of him.

Nathan saw him at once, and he had barely raised a hand in greeting when his expression darkened, clearly reading the agony on James's face.

"Good God, man, what happened?" Nathan asked, jumping to his feet and hurrying towards him.

"Private room. Scotch. Now," James said through gritted teeth.

Nathan didn't need to be told twice. He motioned to a waiter and then pulled James out of the room and down a corridor lined with private rooms that gentlemen used to discuss business and play cards.

Nathan opened the first door on the right, ushered James inside, and shut the door quickly. James sank onto the nearest sofa and put his head in his hands. Hurt and disappointment were radiating off him in waves. He'd never experienced such intense and overwhelming… grief?

It reminded him of how he'd felt when his mother had died. But no one had died. Violet was still alive.

But she's dead to you now. You've lost her.

"What happened?" Nathan asked, sitting down across from him and putting a soothing hand on his shoulder. "Did you speak to Violet?"

James looked up, and he was embarrassed to realize that there were tears on his cheeks. He had never cried in front of a man in his life. The only woman he'd cried in front of was his mother, and only when he was a small boy.

"She asked for an annulment," he whispered.

"What?!" Nathan gaped at him. "But you were going to have a romantic dinner tonight! You said things felt different!"

"They did," James said. "And then she came into my study this afternoon, and everything was off. She was cold and distant, and she said she couldn't agree with my terms anymore. She hadn't realized how much she wanted to be a mother, but now that she knew, she couldn't stay married to me."

Nathan frowned. "But that's perfect because you have changed your mind about all that! You said today that you were passionate about her, that you wanted to live as man and wife. You said you were going to try!"

"I know," James muttered, feeling angry and guilty at the same time. "But she said all this before I had a chance to explain myself. She's made up her mind. She said that even if I said I'd changed my mind, she wouldn't believe me. I could change my mind again and leave her alone, and by then it would be too late for her to seek an annulment."

Nathan looked horrified. "James… do you mean to tell me that you heard all of this and didn't fight for her?"

"Aren't you listening? She didn't want me to fight for her! She'd made up her mind."

"She was clearly asking you to fight for her! This was an invitation!"

"She wasn't. You weren't there. She was done with our marriage. Nathan… she brought the annulment papers with her. She had them drawn up by a solicitor, and she'd already signed them."

This stopped Nathan short, and for a few moments, he looked too stunned to speak.

Then he slammed his fist down on the table. "Then you should have ripped them up, grabbed her, and kissed her! Please, James, tell me that's what you did! Tell me you did not allow this insanity to continue! Not when you both wanted the same thing!"

"There was nothing I could do!"

Nathan shook his head, his expression both sad and angry. "There was something you could have done. You could have fought for her. But instead, you were too afraid. By rejecting you first, she was confirming all your worst fears about yourself—that you aren't lovable. And to try and fight for her would have made you too vulnerable. So instead of being brave and making yourself vulnerable, you gave up."

James bristled, confusion, anger, and humiliation coursing through him.

"Why are you being so hard on me?" he demanded. "Can't you see that it was hopeless?"

Before Nathan could answer, a knock sounded at the door, and the waiter entered with a bottle of scotch and two glasses. He set them down on the table between the cousins and then retreated quickly.

James seized the bottle, poured himself two fingers, and downed them.

"I'm not trying to be hard on you," Nathan said, watching him carefully. "I'm trying to explain to you what I think happened. You could feel her rejecting you, so you defaulted to self-preservation instead of putting your heart further on the line and fighting for her."

"Maybe," James said grudgingly. "But she also didn't fight for me, Nathan. We were supposed to talk today and work it out. Turns out she went to solicitors behind my back and created an exit strategy for herself. Why would I fight for her when she wouldn't fight for me?"

"Because you love her, you fool!" Nathan shouted, but he didn't sound angry so much as exasperated. "And that is worth fighting for, even if you make a fool of yourself in the process!"

"That's all well and good for you to say," James shot back. "You've never been in love! And you've never had to sit across from the woman you love as she tells you she wants to annul your marriage. Once you feel what I've felt, then you can tell me it's worth continuing to fight for someone who no longer wants you."

Nathan sat back, a slightly humbled expression on his face. "You're right, I haven't. We need to find you someone who can tell you that it's worth it. The person we need is Phineas."

James looked up. It hadn't even crossed his mind to ask the Duke of Eavestone for help regarding his romantic tribulations. But while Phineas certainly knew about the ups and downs of love, as his marriage-of-convenience-turned-love-match with Iris had shown, it was difficult to ask him for advice when he was in Italy.

"He'll be back tonight," he mumbled, suddenly remembering his wife's words to him earlier. "Violet has gone to stay with him and the Duchess tonight."

Nathan tilted his head to the side, the lines around his eyes deepening. "What are you talking about? I got a letter from Phineas today saying that they have delayed their trip another week so that they can visit Greece."

"What? But Violet said…" A horrible realization dawned on James, and he felt a knot of dread forming in his stomach. "She lied to me. But why would she lie? Where might she find refuge from her father if not at Phineas'? You don't think she has a paramour, do you?"

"No," Nathan said at once. "When would she even have had the time?"

"Then…" The knot of dread seemed to grow bigger. "Nathan, I have a terrible feeling that something bad is happening. There is no way Violet would ever put her family in danger. The only reason she would annul our marriage was if she was sure her sister would be safe wherever she was going next. And if Phineas isn't back, then there's nowhere safer than my home."

"Unless…" Nathan looked ill all of a sudden, and James knew his own expression matched his cousin's.

"Unless the only way to keep her sister safe was to annul our marriage. But why?" Their eyes met, and goosebumps broke across James's arms and legs as horror seized him. "We need to get back to my house now! Before Violet does whatever it is she thinks she has to do to keep her family safe!"

As he and Nathan stood up and raced towards the exit, a million questions were racing in his mind. But none of them mattered except for one.

How can I keep my wife safe?

"What is going on?" Rosalie asked for what felt like the hundredth time as Violet threw all the clothes she would need for her journey into the small trunk she'd ordered her lady's maid to bring her from storage.

It felt like only a short time ago that she had been unpacking this trunk as she'd prepared to marry and move out of her father's house.

"Violet, just tell me! You can't just leave me here alone!"

"I told you, the Duke and I are separating. We are not compatible, and while I feel deep respect and care for him, I can no longer go on living in a loveless marriage. One where I cannot even hope to have children someday."

"But you cannot leave!" Rosalie protested. She was standing at the foot of Violet's bed, watching her pack with a dumbfounded look on her face. "Where will you go? Father is still out there! If you leave the house, you won't have the protection of the Duke's guards. Father will find you, and who knows what horrible things he will do!"

Violet tried to steady her breathing. It was a good thing, at least, that Rosalie had no idea their father was behind all of this. That meant Mr. Cain had not harmed her earlier when he had hidden in her closet, unbeknownst to her.

"I am not worried about Father—at least not yet," she said. "I will stay with our cousin tonight. He might not inspire fear in Father, but I believe I will be safe there for at least tonight. Tomorrow, I will figure out whatever needs to be done to keep myself safe."

She was just making things up now. Whatever she had to say to get out of the house before James guessed what was really going on and stopped her. She'd thought she'd heard him leaving earlier—at least, the front door had slammed shut with all the force of a deeply distraught man. But he would be back soon, and she needed to be gone by then.

"That makes no sense!" Rosalie scoffed. "The whole point of you marrying the Duke in the first place is because our cousin wasn't able to protect us!"

"Which is why you will stay here," Violet said at once.

She hadn't discussed that with James, but there was no way she was letting her sister out of this house until she was married, her father had left the country, and she could be sure Mr. Cain wouldn't come near her again.

I probably shouldn't have told James that Iris returned . He will discover the lie quickly.

But she knew that if she said she was going to her cousin, James wouldn't have believed her. He knew her well enough for that.

"Please, don't do this," Rosalie whispered, interrupting her thoughts.

"I need to be away from him, Rosalie," Violet insisted.

She moved to the window and drew the curtains, scanning the street below. Sure enough, the carriage her father had told her about was waiting outside. The carriage that would take her to her fate.

She swallowed as her throat went dry.

"You'll understand once you're married," she said, turning back to her sister.

In her head, she was making a list: dresses for a few days; stockings; traveling cloaks; stays and shifts; boots; and of course, a gown for the wedding.

The wedding to Lord Redfield, a man old enough to be her grandfather.

She looked at the trunk. It was already almost full. Whatever gown she brought would be wrinkled, and she couldn't bring her lady's maid with her to iron it. She wouldn't even look beautiful on her wedding day, as she'd have no one to do her hair.

Her wedding day… Her second wedding day.

It all hit her then so hard that she almost burst into tears.

I am going to marry a man I despise! I will be trapped into a life with him, forced to bear children for him…

She looked up at her sister and was surprised to see that her eyes were also filled with tears.

"Oh, darling, don't cry," she said, moving forward and wrapping Rosalie in a tight hug. "All will be well, I promise."

"I just thought you and the Duke would work things out," her sister whispered into her shoulder. "You seemed so in love, especially when he brought you the puppy."

"I know, darling, but life is not always fair or kind, and just because there is love doesn't mean that a relationship can work."

"But… will you seek an annulment?"

Violet hesitated, but it was best that her sister knew this at least. "Yes," she said at last. "We have already signed the papers."

Rosalie gasped. "Violet! But that is unheard of! You will be ostracized."

"I don't care," Violet lied. "The important thing is that I will be free to lead my own life."

She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep lying, so she went to the wardrobe, pulled it open, and grabbed the first gown that she saw then a pair of slippers. She didn't even check to see if they matched.

What does it matter what I look like on my wedding day anyway?

Then she threw the gown and slippers into the trunk, slammed it shut, and locked it. When she was done, she stood up and looked her sister dead in the eye.

"I need you to promise me something, Rosalie," she began, her tone very serious.

"A-anything," Rosalie stammered, her eyes wide.

"I need you to promise me that you'll marry a kind man. A good man. Someone you know deeply and trust with your whole heart. Someone who will not lie to you or trick you. And this is the most important part, Rosalie. Marry a strong man, someone who can stand up to Father and keep you safe."

"Why are you speaking like this?" Rosalie whispered. "You're speaking as if you are going away for a very long time."

"I might have to," Violet murmured. "The annulment will cause a scandal, and it is less likely to affect your marriage prospects if you are not seen with me."

"I do not think Mr. Cain will care about that," Rosalie said, tossing her head. "His feelings for me are strong and genuine."

Violet knew that she should say nothing, that to react could give away the whole game. But she couldn't help herself. She seized her sister's wrist, harder than she meant to, and pulled her close.

"You must promise me you will never see that man again," she snarled. "He is a snake, Rosalie, and he will only cause you pain. You must promise me!"

"But—"

"Promise me!"

Rosalie's mouth fell open in surprise and horror, and even Violet shuddered. She'd heard it too—at that moment, she sounded exactly like their father.

"I promise," her sister whispered.

Violet dropped her hand, and Rosalie rubbed it at once. Violet regretted squeezing it so tightly, but she would rather die than see Rosalie marry that foul, manipulative traitor.

"I must go," she said.

She turned away, grabbed the trunk, and went to the door.

"I love you," she whispered, not turning around to face her sister. She wasn't sure she could bear it. Her tears were threatening to spill over. "I love you more than life itself."

She didn't turn back. Instead, she walked out of the room, down the staircase, across the hall, and out the door into the cold, blustery day, and then across the street to the waiting carriage.

"Your Grace?" the driver said as he opened the door for her.

She nodded, and he helped her inside. She looked at the man waiting to escort her to where her father was, and where she would marry Lord Redfield, and for the life of her, she couldn't feel an ounce of surprise.

It was Mr. Cain. He sat across from her, his face a mask of cold indifference.

She turned away from him as the carriage began to move, watching as the Duke of Attorton's home—the only home she'd ever loved—disappeared from view.