CHAPTER 6

LIAM COULDN'T TELL why he felt compelled to tell this woman he had known for less than a day his side of the story. He had never cared what people thought. Had not said a word to defend himself when society collectively condemned him and speculated about his affairs. Friends, acquaintances, family members, they received no word from him. It proved much simpler to just disregard them. To immerse himself in his passion and leave the country in search of a more congenial society.

Why her, why now? It could have been the direct way she looked at him. He didn't detect fear or condemnation in her eyes, but a genuine interest that was not born out of idle curiosity, but an interest in him as an individual.

Or maybe it was because he didn't want her to regard him as a monster. For some inexplicable reason, her opinion of him mattered.

It was painful to rehash the past. He had spent five years doing his damnedest to put it out of his mind. And yet, for her, he would do it. He was about to rip the bandage and lance the wound. Then he'd pray to God that it would finally heal.

"Do you believe I'm a murderer?"

She shook her head. "No. But I don't know you at all, my lord. Most of it happened before my time in society. The year that your wife died, I had my third and last season. That's how I heard about the scandal surrounding her death. And then all this other information became the talk of the town, so it was impossible to ignore it. I learned that you and your wife had been estranged for years."

Well, that turned out to be a brief, yet precise recount of the facts. "That is true. My marriage was not a happy one, almost right from the start. We had not been married a year when we separated."

That was an abbreviated version as well. No need to tell Thalia he caught his wife in bed with another man. Or that he had been such a besotted fool, that if she had cried and shown repentance, he would have forgiven her. But his wife had been such a shameless jade that she couldn't even pretend to be sorry. She took his love and his pride and dragged them through the mud. Until nothing was left of either. If he had not distanced himself from her, she would have destroyed him.

"I gave her a house in Town, and a comfortable pension to live on," he continued, focusing his attention on the glass of whisky. It proved easier than looking into her eyes. "I knew she flaunted her affairs, but by then, I didn't care. The only condition I put was that she did not get with child. I could not accept another man's child as my heir, so I made it very clear to her that if she ever conceived, I would seek a divorce," he finished, at last looking at her.

Thalia nodded, her eyes not wavering.

"For many years, our arrangement worked. We led separate lives and pursued our own pleasures. But then, a few months before that fateful night, she informed me of her pregnancy. I reminded her of our agreement, and despite her entreaties and protests, sued for divorce. She wasn't happy about it, of course, but there was nothing she could do to stop me. She had a notorious reputation for her affairs, making it easy to find evidence of her adultery. With the monetary inducement, and the abundance of evidence against her, the divorce progressed rapidly. I even hoped to obtain it before her child was born, so that her lover could marry her if he so wished, and her child would not be a bastard. But then there was a fire in her London house, and both her and her lover died in the fire."

"I remember," Thalia said. "How...horrible."

"Yes, it was. I didn't love her, or even like her much as a person by that point. But I never wished her dead. And to suggest I would have harmed an unborn child..." he shook his head. "A divorce would have sufficed."

"Of course."

"As you can see, I didn't have a reason to murder her. But people like to speculate and create drama. The papers, in particular, had a field day with the events. They printed headlines such as ‘Ashford to Ashes' and called her the ‘Marchioness of Ashes'. There were satirical cartoons of me setting a building on fire, while she...copulated with her lover inside, and the flames engulfed them both."

Thalia gasped. "How positively horrendous."

"It was. But society loves a good scandal. When the Ton took up the tale and judged and condemned me, I decided I'd had enough."

"So you left the country," she said.

"I did. But not for the reason the Ton claimed. I had received an invitation to train with one of the preeminent Italian master sculptors. That's why I moved to Italy. I've spent the last five years there, sculpting and healing. Not only from the scandal, but from the fifteen years of my marriage. But of course, society assumed I was fleeing the country, so I suppose that didn't help with the rumors."

"Do you plan to leave again?"

He studied her through half-lidded eyes. "I haven't decided yet. It's about time I returned and took care of my responsibilities here. But I enjoy my life in Tuscany as well. I have this beautiful villa up on the hills around Florence. Maybe I will divide my time between London and Florence."

"With your experience of marriage, it's no wonder you are concerned about your brother."

"And what about you, Thalia?" he asked, savoring her name on his tongue. "You already know my tale of woe, but why are you so set against marriage? Was Sir Phillip not a satisfactory husband?"

He took another sip of whisky, knowing he had scored a point when her cheeks flushed and her gaze skittered away.

"My experience with marriage is not the reason I have misgivings about the wisdom of my sister's marriage to your brother. Rather, his reputation as a rogue, and the utter lack of rights married women have, are."

"But I already told you he is no rake. He is actually a solid chap. Your sister could do a lot worse."

"And I have told you my sister is a virtuous woman who would never play your brother false, but you are not willing to take my word for it. Are you?"

Ah, his little muse had teeth. He liked her even more for standing up to him. "I suppose not."

"What do you intend to do if we find them before they marry?"

"Merely talk to my brother. Try to make him see reason. If he persists in marrying, there's not much else I can do. My brother is of age and financially independent."

"But you still worry about him."

It wasn't a question, but he answered it, anyway. "I do. Force of habit, I guess. Our parents died when he was very young, and I became responsible for him."

"That is the same way I feel about my sister. Her parents are alive, but I am six years older. I have always tried to protect her from danger."

He admired her for that. Even if her worries were misguided regarding his brother, he liked that she cared enough to worry, to even undertake this journey in order to safeguard her sister from what she considered a catastrophe. A woman like her would be fiercely loyal to those she loved...

Now, where did that thought come from? And what did it matter, anyway? Her qualities of loyalty or otherwise were of no concern to him.

"Even when it means putting yourself in danger for her?"

She frowned. "Am I in danger, Liam?"

Oh, fuck. He was in trouble. The way she said his name, with that mixture of daring and shyness, seasoned with a hint of desire... Well, it did something to him. His cock jumped in his trousers, forcing him to cross his legs to avoid embarrassing himself.

"With me? No. But I shudder to imagine what could have happened to you if you had undertaken this trip all alone."

"I doubt anything makes you shudder, Liam."

He could think of several things that would make him shudder. A vivid image of her lips wrapped around his cock flashed through his mind, and he had to suppress a groan. Wrestling his thoughts into a semblance of control, he considered her question. Was she in danger? No, but she certainly was a danger to his sanity.

"Oh, you'd be surprised, Thalia."