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She gaped at him. “How can you not be enraged by it?”
“I am not enraged,” he said with infinite patience, as if dealing with a recalcitrant toddler, “because it is expected.”
“Expected!”
“Yes.”
She shook her head. “How can you be so untouched by something so heinous?”
“Oh, I’m not completely untouched.” His lips twisted. “But I have seen firsthand for four years now what my appearance does to people. I assure you, after all that time one does begin to grow numb.”
She gripped the cushion beneath her. “It’s not right,” she cried.
Again he shrugged. “Perhaps. But it’s the way of the world, I’m afraid. And anyway, what would you have me do, turn away every woman who I might take as a wife because someone in her family is troubled by my appearance?”
“Perhaps,” she replied mutinously in the face of his faint reprimand.
He let loose a sharp laugh, yanking off his hat and running a hand through his hair. “I won’t have any candidates if that’s the rubric I use to find a bride.”
“But—”
“No.” He cut her off, raising a hand. “No buts. It doesn’t matter to me in the least what the elder Pickerings say, I assure you. Put it from your mind.”
She threw her hands up in the air. How could he be so blasé about this? “And so I’m just supposed to sit quietly by while someone bashes your appearance?”
“Yes.”
She gaped at him. “Well, I can’t.”
Finally anger reared up, flooding his face with heat, making his scars stand out in violent relief. “You must,” he bit out. “We had a deal, you and I. I’m to become engaged by the end of the month, a date you yourself decided on and that is fast approaching. I’m to pay you one hundred pounds to see it happen. Do you still require the funds? Or should we part ways on this?”
She felt the blood leave her face. The funds. The blackmail.
But though she knew how dire the situation was, how imperative it was to secure the funds, it suddenly seemed equally important that Daniel not sacrifice his future happiness by marrying a woman he would never love.
Margery had seen firsthand how affectionate Daniel could be. He was caring and considerate. He felt things deeply. And the idea of him entering into a cold, colorless union with a woman who only wanted him for the title and money he could provide her, all the while being disgusted by his appearance, made her want to weep.
But that was not for her to concern herself with, she told herself brutally. Her fingers reached for her wedding band and she twisted it viciously, as if to remind herself of why she was embroiled in this to begin with. Aaron’s honor was at stake. But the words rang hollow.
He watched her the whole while. His eyes snagged on her hands, narrowing for a moment, before returning to her face. “Is our agreement still valid?” he asked her quietly.
She looked back at him, aware of a faint cracking in her chest. “Yes,” she whispered.
Chapter 18
Daniel, still reeling from the devastation of the afternoon’s fight with Margery, could not comprehend how Gregory had gotten himself invited to dinner that night at Seacliff.
But there he was, seated across the table. Next to Margery. Daniel pressed his lips tight, forcing his eyes away from the pair of them. They looked very well together, indeed.
As was typical with his cousin, he had been all that was charming the moment he’d entered the house, ingratiating himself with the older women, flirting with the younger. But Gregory was not fond of dogs, especially large ones, and the presence of Mouse kept him far from Miss Denby. And so Margery had received the majority of his attentions. Daniel had been unable to discern her thoughts on his cousin. She was pleasant enough when talking to him. But then, she was pleasant with just about everyone. Thus far she seemed immune—one of the few people of any gender—to Gregory’s excess of charm. What did she think of the man? Not that it should matter.
But damn it, it did.
As soup was served, his cousin sent Lady Tesh his most charming smile, something that had been perfected over the years to melt the heart of even the most irascible matron. Which Lady Tesh certainly was.
“My lady, I cannot thank you enough for having me to your table this evening. It is an honor.”
“You are most welcome, Mr. Hayle,” the dowager viscountess said. She shot Daniel a perturbed glance. “Though why His Grace failed to make mention of your presence on Synne is a mystery to me. Why, if you had not left a message for your aunt that you had been by, I daresay we would not have known at all.”
