Bonds of Matrimony by Carrigan Fox Page A

thrilled about the betrothal.   Everything was so perfect,” her eyes filled with tears at the
memory.   “I even let him…” she
swallowed thickly, not sure how to explain.   “And then, two weeks before our marriage was supposed to
take place, I came home and found him…” she paused, seeking strength to
continue the story, “with my mother in the bed she shared with my father.   I was heartbroken and disgusted.   I had never felt so betrayed in all of
my life.   And I was so
humiliated.   When my father found
out, he called off the wedding, and his health began deteriorating.   He could hardly get out of bed.   He passed away on the day I was
supposed to be married.   My older
brother became the next Earl of Bracknell and my guardian.   My mother was in a rush to clear her
own name.   I think she probably
felt somewhat responsible for my father’s death.   She convinced him to arrange my betrothal again to Lord
Bradford.   Can you imagine?   She betrayed me first by carrying on
with the man I love and then forces me to marry him anyway!   I had no way of knowing if she and
William still have a relationship.   But I was so hurt that he would take my mother to bed after he had made
love to me.”
                “That
must have been a nightmare,” Chastity replied, barely above a whisper.   “And you truly loved him?”
                The
tears had been welling up in her eyes, and they now tumbled down her beautiful
face.   “With all my heart.   I hated my mother for what she did.   I know that William is to blame,
too.   But she’s my own mother!   So I turned to the only person I knew I
could trust.   Colton’s mother was
my father’s sister.   When she
passed away, his father brought him here, but our fathers wrote to each other
often.   We began writing each other
when we were young.   He even came
and stayed with us for a summer when he was twelve.   I was eight at the time, and I adored him more than anyone
in the world.   When I wrote to him
about my father’s death and my mother’s betrayal, he bought a ticket and came
to England.   He arrived the day
after I learned that my brother had re-arranged my betrothal to William.”
                “And
he persuaded you to leave with him and come back to America,” Chase finished
for her.
                “No,”
she corrected.   “It was my idea.”
                Chase
studied the surprising young woman sitting before her.   Her boldness and bravery was a shock to her.   She had felt sympathy when she first explained
her betrayal and humiliation.   Now she
felt respect and admiration for her.   She had so much courage.
                “Nobody
knew that Colton was in London.   I
packed all of my new dresses for the season and pretended to be excited to
go.   I agreed to the betrothal and
pretended to forgive him and my mother.   And one night, after everyone had gone to bed, I sneaked out of the
house and met Colton in the street.   We traveled to Liverpool on separate train tickets, and he bought my
passage to America under another name.   Naturally, I had to spend most of the passage in my cabin.   We didn’t want to run into anyone who
could tell my mother where I’d gone.”
                “You
didn’t leave a note or anything?” Chase asked in amazement.  
                Her
eyes hardened, and for the first time, Chase saw her cousin in Elisabeth’s
eyes.   They got the same cold
expression in their eyes when they were angry.   “I didn’t owe them any explanation.   I hope they think I’m dead.   As dead as they are to me.”
                She
grew quiet, and Chase sat silently reflecting on what she’d just explained.   The day she had spied on her
conversation with Webb, he hadn’t been rejecting her.   He’d been encouraging her to return to her cabin for the
sake of her safety.   He’d