“What really happened six years ago?” he interrupted, cutting off any attempt on her part to gain the upper hand. “Why did you really leave me?”
Chapter13
There it was, the question she’d been dreading, thrown down like a gauntlet. She’d have to address it, of course, but not here, in a room so dark she couldn’t see his face, with him standing so close that she could feel the heat of his body.
“I am not going to explain myself to you when we’re standing in a storage closet at Covent Garden,” she said, and turned to reach for the door handle. She’d only managed to open the door a crack, however, before he flattened one palm against it and slammed it shut.
“Oh, yes, you are,” his voice murmured beside her ear, “because we are not leaving here until you do.”
“For heaven’s sake, Denys,” she mumbled, turning around carefully in the tight space. “It’s pitch-black in here.”
“I can remedy that.”
Thankfully, he took a step back from her, and she was able to take a breath. But any relief was short-lived, for a moment later, she heard the rasp of a match, light penetrated the dark, and he once again stepped closer to her, reaching up to turn the knob of the gas jet on the wall sconce beside the door. “Now then,” he said as he lit the jet and blew out the match. “Answer my question. Why did you really leave me?”
She wanted nothing more than to duck and run, but with that option unavailable, she lifted her chin and countered his question with one of her own. “Why did you never take me to the opera?”
He frowned, clearly not comprehending the parallel. “You know why. It would have caused a scandal. We had agreed to be discreet.”
“Yes. Because I’m not the sort of woman a man like you could ever be seen with in public, not amid your family and friends.”
“Is that what you meant a moment ago when you said you weren’t good enough?” He looked at her askance, as if this was somehow a surprising notion. “Don’t tell me you’ve got it into your head that I regarded you as inferior to me.”
“Well, you did say just the other day that I bring nothing worthwhile to our partnership. That I only seem to have one particular talent.”
He grimaced at the reminder of his own harsh words. “As I told you this afternoon, I was angry when I said that, and frustrated, and though my frame of mind is no excuse for what I said, I’d ask again that you forget it. In any case, I was speaking in reference to business matters. As to our private affairs, I have never thought of you as inferior to me, and I can’t believe you would think so.”
“It’s not a matter of what I think. It’s a fact of life.”
“You are referring, I suppose, to my title? Lola, you are the last person from whom I would have expected to hear about class distinctions.”
“Why should you be surprised? Class distinctions exist. That is a fact, and I never rail against facts, no matter how unfair they might be. In the eyes of the world, I am your inferior. No one, particularly in your precious British society, would argue the point.”
“I would argue it! For God’s sake, Lola, I intended to marry you. Do you think I would ever have contemplated such a course if I thought of you as my inferior?”
“Yes.” She paused a second. “If you couldn’t keep me any other way.”
He sucked in a deep breath, confirming he knew there was at least some truth in her words. Nonetheless, he chose to debate the point. “I wasn’t intending to ‘keep you,’ as you put it. I was intending to make you my wife.”
“And I couldn’t let you do it. I couldn’t let you ruin your future, so I—”
“Wait,” he interrupted, holding up a hand to stop her flow of words. “You left me for another man, you broke my heart, and wrecked my life, and now you are trying to tell me that you did it all formysake?”
“Yes.” She watched the skeptical lift of his brow. “Mostly,” she amended.
He gave a short, harsh laugh and rubbed his hands over his face. “Forgive me if I’m not grateful for my part of the favor.”
“I don’t expect you to be. But tonight, you have a woman with you who is elegant, beautiful, obviously a lady. With her, you won’t ever have to worry anyone will turn against you for marrying her. Lady Georgiana Prescott is perfect for you.”
He blinked as if surprised. “Lady Georgiana?”
“I saw you two up there. Not that it was easy to find you, by the way,” she added, hoping to lighten the moment a little by confessing she’d been looking. “I had to practically turn all the way around in my seat before I spied you with her.”
“Actually—”
“She’s a lady. She’s part of your world. I’m not a lady of theton, and I could never have become one. And why the hell are you smiling?” she demanded, as his lips curved upward. “I’m baring my soul here, and you’re smiling?”
“Sorry.” Despite the apology, he made no effort to wipe the smirk off his face. “It’s just that I’m not with Lady Georgiana this evening.”
