The Wedding Night Affair--An Historical Mystery L.C. Sharp (i read books .TXT) 📖

a determined, brave woman, Juliana, but not this. You can’t even bear someone touching you. No, my dear, that is a step too far. The ball was an ordeal. This would be beyond anything you experienced there.”

He spoke sense, but her heart plummeted. “What Godfrey did to me came out of the blue. I had no idea any man would want to do that, or get pleasure from it.” She swallowed. “Now I want to know why. I’ve seen the cruelty some children are capable of, but Godfrey was no child. Why would he want to do this, to torture me, to terrify me? I want to face my fear, not hide from it.”

Ash didn’t speak for a moment. Then he leaned back, his fingertips touching. “I understand your request, but I tell you frankly, you are not ready for that kind of exposure.” His gaze hardened. “I’m not sure I am. I’ve avoided that place, because even in a place of black reputations, that is the blackest. But I need more information.

“About your husband’s visits, about what drove him to such vicious pleasures. Your husband was a second son. He has an older brother, heir to the title, father of two boys, so the title is lost to him. Moreover, his brother is handsome, accomplished. He outshines your Godfrey at every move.”

“Yes, he is,” she agreed. Currently abroad with his family on a diplomatic mission, Lord Corham was the epitome of a successful, powerful man, devoted to his wife by all accounts.

“He was jealous of his older brother.”

“Yes, he was. I know he was. He spoke of him to me, and it was never complimentary.” It had been spiteful and untrue. She did not find it difficult to believe that Godfrey felt he lived in the shadow of his older brother. Acquiring a title for himself must have thrilled him. He had a wife of his own to control, to use as he saw fit. An heiress, no less. And he could tame her. She remembered his words on that night. The way he taunted her, said she was his, and nobody would take her away.

Simple cruelty wasn’t enough. Godfrey had been unreasonably excited by what he did to her. She’d seen the evidence, heard his gasps, his rough voice ordering her. Felt the results.

But Ash was right. She wouldn’t bear any exposure to the kind of treatment he’d meted out. Not so soon. And she could trust him to discover what they needed to know, if they could discover anything at all.

The doorbell clanged and after a minute, Baynon came in with a card. Ash glanced at it and nodded. “Show him in here, if you please, but not for five minutes.” He turned to Juliana as the butler left the room. “It’s the Duke of Abercorn. You know him, of course. If you don’t trust him to know you are here, leave by the jib door.”

“Do you trust him to keep our secret?”

He nodded. “I’ve known him for a while. He survives in the worst gaming hells, sometimes even comes out with money in his pocket. He’s a brilliant man, with a reputation for untrustworthiness that is not wholly undeserved. But I have never known him to break a confidence.”

“Why would he come here?”

“I asked him to keep his eyes open, to let me know if he learned anything about your case. Perhaps he has.”

That clinched her decision. “I will stay.”

He nodded, and as the door opened, got to his feet. “Good afternoon, duke. Will you be staying for dinner?”

The duke, a handsome man with a confident swagger she recognized from the ballrooms of Mayfair entered the room. He halted, rather dramatically, and swept a low bow. “My lady, I’m honored.” He didn’t say what, exactly he was honored by.

“I’m Helena Ashendon,” she told him. “Here on a visit from the country.”

He bowed again, not as low, and reached for her hand, raising it to his lips.

He would have said something, but Juliana snatched her hand back with a gasp. She clutched her hand to her chest, drawing back, panicked, sense gone.

The reaction lasted a second, perhaps two, but it was enough.

Abercorn straightened, his eyes wide with shock. He covered it quickly, but her reaction had clearly disturbed him. “I’m sorry,” he said. “So sorry.”

“So am I.”

“No, I didn’t mean that.” He swallowed, all his suave assurance gone. “I’m sorry I did not warn you about Uppingham. I’m sorry I stood by and did nothing, watching you ally yourself to that monster.”

“But you hardly knew me. Why would you feel responsible?”

“Because I knew him. I knew what he was capable of,” Abercorn said. “I should have warned any woman. But I did not, because...” He trailed off.

“Because you thought he would treat his wife with respect?” Ash suggested.

“I thought he would treat his wife more circumspectly. His father at least knows of his vicious nature. He should have taken his son in hand, warned him.”

“Were you the only member of society who knew?” Ash asked. He waved to a chair. Abercorn carried it over and sat. The pause gave him a moment to recover himself.

“No,” Abercorn said, “but it was a secret held by a very few men. The ones who visited the House of Correction for the most part.” Fishing in the pocket of his green brocade coat, he found a gold and enamel snuffbox. He flicked it open and took an infinitesimal pinch.

Thus fortified, he straightened his shoulders and regained some of his elan. Tucking the box away, he crossed an ankle over his knee.

Men took up so much space.

“If you need help in this matter, you may come to me,” he told her.

“She’s safe here,” Ash said, his voice low. “But thank you for the offer.” As if they were fighting over her! If anyone had done that, instead of applying to her parents first, she would not be in this mess. She’d never have taken Godfrey for a husband, but her mother had