Secrets of the Heart by Candace Camp

would haunt her for the rest of her life. And the stain of it would spread to the rest of her family, too—her parents, even Caroline and Richard, though they had done nothing wrong. She had failed to do her duty to her family. Darkwater would crumble into ruins; her parents would have to live entirely on Richard’s generosity.
    But worse than her father’s words was the look on Michael’s white, set face. For the first time she understood what a disservice she had done him. He cared for her. She did not know how much—obviously her proud lineage and the fact that she was one of the reigning and most sought after beauties of London made her an appropriate match for him, but there must have been some affection or desire on his part, as well, to have made him willing to overlook the obvious disadvantage of her family’s financial situation. Rachel saw now, in the pain that lay in his quiet gray eyes, that his feelings had been deeper than she knew. Her elopement was a slap in the face to him, a blatant announcement that he meant nothing to her, and though she had not intended it, she could see that what she had done cut Michael deeply.
    Moreover, it would involve him in a tremendous scandal. Through no fault of his own, he would be exposed to the ridicule of Society, an object of amusement and scorn for having been left at the altar. Michael had been nothing but kind to her, Rachel knew, and she realized how selfish and wicked she had been to treat him this way. The fact that she had not wanted or intended to hurt and shame him didn’t really matter; the fact was that she had, and out of sheer selfishness.
    Guilt swamped her, and, oddly enough, she felt even worse when Michael offered to make everything all right by marrying her anyway. The very kindness of his offer seemed to emphasize the enormity of her own selfish wrongdoing.
    Tearful and ashamed, she rode back to Westhampton with Michael and Ravenscar, slipping into the house quietly to escape detection. The whole way, Michael never looked at her or spoke to her.
    The next morning, she sat quiet and subdued under another one of her father’s lectures. Then he turned her over to her mother, saying he washed his hands of her.
    â€œIt is the only way Lord Westhampton can save his own name from scandal,” Lady Ravenscar told her. “That is the only reason he swallowed his pride, I’m sure. Still…there is many a man who would not have done so.” She sighed. “I cannot imagine what possessed you to act so stupidly. No doubt you will have to spend the rest of your life trying to get him to forgive you.” Again she sighed, looking at Rachel with a mingling of puzzlement and, Rachel thought, a touch of pity. “Well, it is probably exactly what you deserve for behaving so foolishly. I cannot think where you acquired such a lack of judgment.”
    â€œNor can I,” Rachel responded wryly. No one else in her family would have behaved so, she knew. Even Caroline, who was the closest to her in all the world, had been aghast when she learned what Rachel had done. Dev, of course, would never have agreed to marry to please his parents in the first place.
    Lady Ravenscar glanced at her sharply, unsure whether her daughter was being inappropriately flippant. Rachel was saved from having to make a response by a tap upon the door, followed by the entrance of one of the parlor maids.
    The girl gave them a polite curtsey and delivered her message. “Lord Westhampton requests Miss Aincourt’s presence in the conservatory, if you please.”
    Lady Ravenscar looked alarmed, and as soon as the maid exited the room, she turned her worried gaze on Rachel. “You don’t suppose he is going to take back his offer to continue with the wedding, do you?”
    A frisson of fear ran down Rachel’s back. “No,” she said stoutly, as much to reassure herself as her mother. “Lord Westhampton would not go