Married to a Stranger (Danger and Desire 3)

‘Have you told her?’

‘No. She does not love me—as is obvious from this fiasco. I feel no inclination to lay my heart out for her to trample on.’

‘So what will you do?’

‘Go back out there, circulate until our guests leave and then take my wife home and attempt to find a way to live with her, I suppose.’

‘You defended her, you owned your love for her. That is something to build on, surely?’

‘Perhaps.’ But the trust was gone and he did not know how to get it back. ‘I had better go out, Will.’

‘Come on, then.’ His brother opened the door and he walked out to do battle.

*

Callum told her that he had silenced the two women, then they rode home in the carriage in complete silence. When they arrived Callum opened the door into the drawing room with perfect courtesy and followed her in, then he shut the door and leaned against it and just looked at her as though he had never seen her before. Perhaps he was thinking that he never had—not the real her. Oh, my love.

Sophia walked over to the fireplace and waited. She deserved everything he would throw at her, she knew it. He was furious. It burned in his eyes, it showed in the taut line of his jaw, in the very care he took to keep his hands open and relaxed.

‘Well? You sell your work to publishers and do not see fit to tell me?’

‘Just one. Just Ackermann. He is very respectable. He will use them to illustrate a memorandum book, anonymously of course.’

‘So why did you? Do I keep you so short of money, Sophia? You only had to ask and I would give you what you want.’

‘No, you are more than generous and I want for nothing.’ Nothing except the love that I certainly do not deserve. ‘I … I know I married you for security, for position, for a famil

y of my own. But my art has always been important to me, I told you that.

‘When Daniel was so long coming home I thought I would have to try to sell it so we could make ends meet. The idea stayed with me—I wanted to see if I was good enough.’

Callum looked down at his clasped hands. ‘And you did not feel you could tell me about it? Did you not realise how scandalous such a thing is?’

‘I know. I know it was wrong as well as deceitful. But my art is so personal to me, so essential, that it did not occur to me to discuss it, to share. I should have done. I should have known you would be interested and support me. When I realised I should have spoken to you first, it was too late.’

‘Were you ever going to tell me?’

‘Yes. I was going to tell you tomorrow, I promise I was. At first I just wanted to see whether I was good enough. And then he gave me the money and it was done. I thought I would sell some more, save up to buy you something, something with my own money. Then I realised that could take ages and I ought to tell you now.’

‘And you drew me when I was asleep, unawares. Were you going to tell me about that also?’

‘Yes,’ Sophia whispered. She searched for the honest thing to say, an apology and a truth that would not reveal that she loved him. Love had never been in the bargain, not a one-sided love that imposed emotional burdens on him. To declare it now would sound like moral blackmail. ‘I think you are generous and I am sorry if my actions made it seem that I do not. I trust you to be kind and honourable and to try to do the right thing for me. But I am not sure I trusted anyone to understand me and what is in my heart.’

‘Let alone the stranger who has married you.’ It was a statement.

‘Why should you understand me?’ she asked, despairing. He never would now.

‘Perhaps understanding comes with love? Or would it cloud it, do you think?’ he asked, startling her.

‘Lo-love?’ Did he suspect her true feelings? ‘I am married to you.’

‘So you are,’ Callum said as he stood up. ‘And you do not love me, do you?’

‘Do you want me to?’ she stammered, thrown off balance by the abrupt question.

‘Why should I?’ he countered. ‘Love is a painful thing to feel, easily broken, easily betrayed.’

‘No,’ she said. ‘I do not think it can ever be broken. Betrayed, yes. What I felt for Daniel was not real love. I know that now. What do we do now, Callum?’