complete ninny.
“Oh, I’m sorry, my dear,” the captain said into the strained silence as he stood. “They wouldn’t be ready to serve you in the dining hall. It’s perfectly fine for you to continue on here as before. Enjoy your meal and the company of your husband.”
Her pounding heart settled a bit until the door closed behind Captain Baker. “I am quite tired and not very hungry.” She got to her feet. “Perhaps I should…”
“Am I such an ogre that my wife is terrified to be alone with me?”
Oh, she hadn’t meant him to insult him. It was she who was the wrong woman. “Of course you’re not an ogre.”
“Then stay and talk with me while we eat. We can’t continue to avoid private moments or we’ll arrive in San Francisco still near strangers. Ask me questions. And I will answer and ask you some, as well.”
She sank her teeth into her bottom lip. She did want to know more about his marriage. “How long did it take you to realize you didn’t love Meara’s mother?” she asked and took a bit of potato off her fork.
Jamie finished chewing and set his fork down. “I might not be the most quick-witted of men about the ways of women, but you have steered me into dangerous territory. Are you looking for some mysterious woman’s way of linking my first marriage with the circumstances of ours?”
“I’m curious.”
Jamie nodded and gave her a small wry smile. “It was not a realization, Pixie. I never loved Iris. My uncle promoted the match. She was a beauty. The daughter of a businessman who wanted a title for his only child. My uncle knew her dowry would rescue the Adair estates.”
Amber frowned, confused. “I thought the aristocracy didn’t like to associate with people in trade. My friend traveled to London for the Season. Patience said she was pecked at zealously by most of the débutantes andcut constantly by the others. Except, of course, by the fortune hunters who pursued her relentlessly.”
No sooner were the words out than she realized how insulting she must have sounded. “Oh, my. I’m so sorry. I’m sure that isn’t why you married your wife.”
Jamie stiffened almost imperceptibly. “ You are my wife. And money and titles were at the root of my first marriage, but not on my part. I didn’t want the match. My cousin was in love with her, but he is a mere Mister. At my uncle’s insistence, I went to London for the Season to look for a bride. He sent my cousin Alexander off to Scotland on some pretext to get him out of the way.”
“He would do that to his own son?” she asked, then took a sip of her tea.
“Never doubt it. My uncle knew I wasn’t about to betray Alex by marrying the woman my cousin loved. But at the time, I didn’t see how determined Oswald was that I marry Iris. Then, at a ball, she lured me into the gardens, saying she had a dilemma she needed to speak with me about. I assumed it was about Alex, their feelings for each other and her father’s plans for her. But that wasn’t it at all.
“She told me she had no feelings for Alexander. That he’d made a pest of himself. She said she was actually quite taken with me. Then she went on to compliment everything from my eyes to my shoulders and even my thighs, for God’s sake! It was quite embarrassing. Before I realized what she was about, she was climbing into my lap. Her gown became disarranged showing more flesh than proper. That is when my uncle and her father discovered us.”
“Discovered or sprung their trap?”
Jamie smiled sadly. “Very astute of you, Pixie. I was too gullible to prevent the disaster in the making, however.”
“You can hardly blame yourself.”
“I betrayed Alex. I caved in to my uncle. I was young, stupid and, most appalling of all, I was weak. I was so conditioned to giving in to his demands that I agreed even though soon he’d no longer have any power over me. I fooled myself into thinking I was at least getting a passionate woman as my life’s mate. Alex
“Oh, I’m sorry, my dear,” the captain said into the strained silence as he stood. “They wouldn’t be ready to serve you in the dining hall. It’s perfectly fine for you to continue on here as before. Enjoy your meal and the company of your husband.”
Her pounding heart settled a bit until the door closed behind Captain Baker. “I am quite tired and not very hungry.” She got to her feet. “Perhaps I should…”
“Am I such an ogre that my wife is terrified to be alone with me?”
Oh, she hadn’t meant him to insult him. It was she who was the wrong woman. “Of course you’re not an ogre.”
“Then stay and talk with me while we eat. We can’t continue to avoid private moments or we’ll arrive in San Francisco still near strangers. Ask me questions. And I will answer and ask you some, as well.”
She sank her teeth into her bottom lip. She did want to know more about his marriage. “How long did it take you to realize you didn’t love Meara’s mother?” she asked and took a bit of potato off her fork.
Jamie finished chewing and set his fork down. “I might not be the most quick-witted of men about the ways of women, but you have steered me into dangerous territory. Are you looking for some mysterious woman’s way of linking my first marriage with the circumstances of ours?”
“I’m curious.”
Jamie nodded and gave her a small wry smile. “It was not a realization, Pixie. I never loved Iris. My uncle promoted the match. She was a beauty. The daughter of a businessman who wanted a title for his only child. My uncle knew her dowry would rescue the Adair estates.”
Amber frowned, confused. “I thought the aristocracy didn’t like to associate with people in trade. My friend traveled to London for the Season. Patience said she was pecked at zealously by most of the débutantes andcut constantly by the others. Except, of course, by the fortune hunters who pursued her relentlessly.”
No sooner were the words out than she realized how insulting she must have sounded. “Oh, my. I’m so sorry. I’m sure that isn’t why you married your wife.”
Jamie stiffened almost imperceptibly. “ You are my wife. And money and titles were at the root of my first marriage, but not on my part. I didn’t want the match. My cousin was in love with her, but he is a mere Mister. At my uncle’s insistence, I went to London for the Season to look for a bride. He sent my cousin Alexander off to Scotland on some pretext to get him out of the way.”
“He would do that to his own son?” she asked, then took a sip of her tea.
“Never doubt it. My uncle knew I wasn’t about to betray Alex by marrying the woman my cousin loved. But at the time, I didn’t see how determined Oswald was that I marry Iris. Then, at a ball, she lured me into the gardens, saying she had a dilemma she needed to speak with me about. I assumed it was about Alex, their feelings for each other and her father’s plans for her. But that wasn’t it at all.
“She told me she had no feelings for Alexander. That he’d made a pest of himself. She said she was actually quite taken with me. Then she went on to compliment everything from my eyes to my shoulders and even my thighs, for God’s sake! It was quite embarrassing. Before I realized what she was about, she was climbing into my lap. Her gown became disarranged showing more flesh than proper. That is when my uncle and her father discovered us.”
“Discovered or sprung their trap?”
Jamie smiled sadly. “Very astute of you, Pixie. I was too gullible to prevent the disaster in the making, however.”
“You can hardly blame yourself.”
“I betrayed Alex. I caved in to my uncle. I was young, stupid and, most appalling of all, I was weak. I was so conditioned to giving in to his demands that I agreed even though soon he’d no longer have any power over me. I fooled myself into thinking I was at least getting a passionate woman as my life’s mate. Alex
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