to feel guilty about it.”
“What changed that?”
“Everyone around me lying to me. That’s actually why Mavis was the only real friend I ever had. She was the only one, out of all of them, that I could trust to be honest with me—at least she was up until I hurt her.”
“Would you like to discuss that?” he asked carefully.
“No.”
She wasn’t going to say any more. And now that she’d admitted that she had no qualms whatsoever about lying, he had to wonder if she’d been at all truthful with him about anything so far. It was a daunting thought. If she’d decided to lie to get back to London…
“I didn’t deliberately hurt Mavis,” she started to tell him, then burst out, “Oh, God, you see!”
He frowned. “What?”
“ That’s my third flaw.”
She had him utterly confused now. “What is?”
“That I can’t keep my mouth shut! It’s ridiculous, how I react to silence!”
He started to laugh. “You see that as a flaw?”
“Of course it is,” she said, annoyed. “How would you feel if you had a nice story to relate and you wanted to draw it out, but when met with a little silence, you got right to the point? It totally ruins what could otherwise have been quite an entertaining anecdote.”
He was definitely laughing now. “As flaws go, that’s a bloody minor one, m’dear.”
“I don’t happen to think so,” she replied indignantly.
“You had a story to relate?”
“No, I just used that as an example. It happens when I don’t want to discuss something too.”
“Ah, I see. Good to know.” He grinned. “But let’s get back to Mavis.”
“Let’s don’t.”
“Need I be silent again?”
She glared at him. He managed to resist laughing this time. Like his sister, Amanda, Ophelia was proving to be too easy to tease. But the new subject he was going to introduce was sobering.
“Mavis said you’ve ruined lives. Was that statement broader than it should have been?”
“Not at all. I’m sure many of the men I’ve turned down think their lives are ruined because of it. Duncan was the only one who thought the opposite, that marrying me would have been a fate worse than hell. I thought the same thing, after his grandfather pointed out what drudgery living at Summers Glade was going to be.”
Duncan had been willing to marry her to prevent Ophelia from being ruined if Mavis spread the rumor of what she’d seen when she walked in on them in Ophelia’s bedroom. It was quite innocent, but who would believe that once the rumor got started? Raphael doubted he would have been so noble, at least not for her.
“You really didn’t contrive that compromising situation that Mavis walked in on, did you?” he said.
“No, but don’t get the wrong impression. At that point I was willing to marry Duncan just to get it over with. I’d decided he would do well enough—at least for my father. And I thought, erroneously as it turned out, that Duncan would be willing as well, once he recovered from my calling him a barbarian. If I had known at the time that he was reluctant to marry me, I probably would have arranged a compromising situation like that.”
He was bemused now. Why the deuce did she own up to that? He’d actually thought she’d been innocent in that situation.
“And you don’t see anything wrong with that?” he asked curtly.
“When I thought he’d be pleased enough with the match in the end? No, I don’t.”
He shook his head, but allowed, “I suppose you can’t be blamed for that reasoning, when women have been trapping men into marriage since the dawn of history. I personally see it as the worst sort of machinations, but then that’s from a man’s point of view, you understand.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t expect you to feel any other way. But as long as we’re on the subject, you might as well know, also, that I wouldn’t have done any such thing if I had known that there was no chance of Duncan ever being happy with me.”
Could he believe
“What changed that?”
“Everyone around me lying to me. That’s actually why Mavis was the only real friend I ever had. She was the only one, out of all of them, that I could trust to be honest with me—at least she was up until I hurt her.”
“Would you like to discuss that?” he asked carefully.
“No.”
She wasn’t going to say any more. And now that she’d admitted that she had no qualms whatsoever about lying, he had to wonder if she’d been at all truthful with him about anything so far. It was a daunting thought. If she’d decided to lie to get back to London…
“I didn’t deliberately hurt Mavis,” she started to tell him, then burst out, “Oh, God, you see!”
He frowned. “What?”
“ That’s my third flaw.”
She had him utterly confused now. “What is?”
“That I can’t keep my mouth shut! It’s ridiculous, how I react to silence!”
He started to laugh. “You see that as a flaw?”
“Of course it is,” she said, annoyed. “How would you feel if you had a nice story to relate and you wanted to draw it out, but when met with a little silence, you got right to the point? It totally ruins what could otherwise have been quite an entertaining anecdote.”
He was definitely laughing now. “As flaws go, that’s a bloody minor one, m’dear.”
“I don’t happen to think so,” she replied indignantly.
“You had a story to relate?”
“No, I just used that as an example. It happens when I don’t want to discuss something too.”
“Ah, I see. Good to know.” He grinned. “But let’s get back to Mavis.”
“Let’s don’t.”
“Need I be silent again?”
She glared at him. He managed to resist laughing this time. Like his sister, Amanda, Ophelia was proving to be too easy to tease. But the new subject he was going to introduce was sobering.
“Mavis said you’ve ruined lives. Was that statement broader than it should have been?”
“Not at all. I’m sure many of the men I’ve turned down think their lives are ruined because of it. Duncan was the only one who thought the opposite, that marrying me would have been a fate worse than hell. I thought the same thing, after his grandfather pointed out what drudgery living at Summers Glade was going to be.”
Duncan had been willing to marry her to prevent Ophelia from being ruined if Mavis spread the rumor of what she’d seen when she walked in on them in Ophelia’s bedroom. It was quite innocent, but who would believe that once the rumor got started? Raphael doubted he would have been so noble, at least not for her.
“You really didn’t contrive that compromising situation that Mavis walked in on, did you?” he said.
“No, but don’t get the wrong impression. At that point I was willing to marry Duncan just to get it over with. I’d decided he would do well enough—at least for my father. And I thought, erroneously as it turned out, that Duncan would be willing as well, once he recovered from my calling him a barbarian. If I had known at the time that he was reluctant to marry me, I probably would have arranged a compromising situation like that.”
He was bemused now. Why the deuce did she own up to that? He’d actually thought she’d been innocent in that situation.
“And you don’t see anything wrong with that?” he asked curtly.
“When I thought he’d be pleased enough with the match in the end? No, I don’t.”
He shook his head, but allowed, “I suppose you can’t be blamed for that reasoning, when women have been trapping men into marriage since the dawn of history. I personally see it as the worst sort of machinations, but then that’s from a man’s point of view, you understand.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t expect you to feel any other way. But as long as we’re on the subject, you might as well know, also, that I wouldn’t have done any such thing if I had known that there was no chance of Duncan ever being happy with me.”
Could he believe
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