Chapter Twenty-Three

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

L ucian wanted to stab the bloody ledger with his quill. He’d been trying to concentrate on his letter writing this morning, but all he could think about was Gemma’s curt speech in her bedchamber last night.

She wanted a divorce ?

That was ludicrous. Outlandish. Was she truly so na?ve she thought she could threaten him with something so utterly insane?

She had managed to surprise him. He’d give her that. Of all the things he’d thought she would say to him when he returned, asking for a divorce had not been one of them.

Seemed that in addition to her beauty, the last year had also given his wife fangs. She was clearly not intimidated by him. Of course, she hadn’t been particularly meek when they’d married, but now she was the opposite of meek. She was combative.

He sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. Perhaps he’d handled her incorrectly. Perhaps ordering her about and insisting on his way was not the best maneuver. She’d called him an arrogant, holier-than-thou ass. Perhaps he needed to be a bit more circumspect.

She’d seemed truly angry last night when she’d accused him of not giving her the benefit of the doubt. He’d actually spent a moment wondering whether she was telling the truth. Was it possible she hadn’t schemed to get him to marry her? Could it actually be true she hadn’t wanted to marry him any more than he’d wanted to marry her? Had she truly vomited when she found out they would be forced to marry?

That last part had been almost too much to believe. After all, he had been an eligible duke, and even a man as arrogant as he apparently was had heard others call him handsome. It was not an opinion he’d formed entirely on his own. He’d been a desirable choice for a husband. The papers had named him most eligible. Then again…if everything Gemma had told him last night was true, he’d made a terrible miscalculation.

The words she’d said that night in Southbury’s study, the words that had haunted him ever since, floated back to his mind. “ You heard him, Mary. Remember your promise. ”

Soon after, Lady Costner had come running and shrieking and accusing him of ruining her daughter. That was why he hadn’t listened to Gemma’s attempt at an explanation. That was why he’d assumed she’d schemed to get him to marry her. It had been obvious that she and Mary had both been trying to corner him in the room alone… Hadn’t it?

But even if he’d made a mistake, he had no intention of granting her a divorce. Such a thing would bring shame upon the Grovemont name, the title, and his entire family, past and future. It was unthinkable. No, he would never agree to a divorce, but he did need to find out if she was telling the truth about the rest of it. Because if Gemma hadn’t wanted to marry him, that would change everything.