“Perhaps,” Aaron conceded. “But it wouldn’t have worked, Amelia. We were never meant for each other. You never cared about the things I liked, and I could not have cared less about many of the things you did,” he accused, his voice rising with anger. “It is better for both of us that we never married.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Amelia retorted bitterly. “You’re a duke. Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?” she asked, lowering her voice to a harsh whisper.
Aaron looked around nervously, checking if anyone could overhear their heated conversation.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice strained.
“You have no idea,” she said, her voice trembling with barely contained fury. “I’m married to a man thirty years older than me.Thirtyyears, Aaron. He’s rich, yes, but all he has are Waterloo teeth and hardly a hair on his head. He reeks of whiskey and sweat and tastes of tobacco. He pines for his first wife, and her portraits are everywhere in each of his homes. His adult children hate me. They make my life a living hell every single day.”
Aaron’s eyes widened in shock. “Amelia, I?—”
“Do you know what it’s like to live like that?” she continued, her voice rising. “I’m lucky if I can even have a child of my own—though the thought alone makes me sick. I wake up each day hoping my husband will die so I can be free, but I’m stuck. Trapped in this life because ofyou!”
“Amelia, please,” Aaron said, his voice dropping to a whisper as he glanced around again, afraid of drawing attention.
“And you,” she spat, “you stand there with your freedom, your life of ease, congratulating me on my ‘comfort.’ Congratulations, Aaron. Congratulations on your good fortune and your freedom. But remember this every day—I am in a prison ofyourmaking.”
Aaron felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead. “I never meant for this to happen,” he said.
In the back of his head, he knew this wasn’t his fault, although of course, if he hadn’t become betrothed to her, maybe she’d have had another option?
“Meaning doesn’t change the outcome,” she hissed. “While you roam free, I am tied to a man I despise, in a life I loathe.”
“Amelia, I’m so?—”
“Save your apologies,” she cut him off, her eyes flashing with anger. “They mean nothing to me. Enjoy your life, Your Grace.”
She turned on her heel and walked away, but then stopped and turned back.
“I do hope for the sake of the young woman that you meant what you said, and you are merely interested in her for your friend’s sake, because as you said, you’d make a poor husband for anyone. I, for one, rue the day I met you.”
Then, she walked away, leaving Aaron standing there, utterly shaken. He stood motionless, the weight of her words crashing over him, the distant strains of the music now a haunting reminder of the lives they could have had but never did.
CHAPTER 10
Judith floated across the dance floor with Lord Pembroke, the strains of the orchestra’s music filling the grand ballroom. The chandeliers above cast a soft glow over the elegantly dressed couples twirling around them. She found herself enjoying the conversation about music, Lord Pembroke proving to be both charming and knowledgeable.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted Aaron conversing with a beautiful woman. Her curiosity was piqued, and she couldn’t help but steal glances in their direction.
Lord Pembroke noticed her distraction and raised an eyebrow as he followed her gaze, only to let out a surprised ‘Huh.’
“I hadn’t thought I’d see those two talking to one another again,” he remarked.
Judith returned her attention to him. “What do you mean?” she asked, trying to keep her tone casual.
“How well do you know the Duke?” Lord Pembroke inquired, leading her into a graceful spin.
Judith hesitated, considering her answer. “He is my brother’s best friend, but I do not know him well at all. He is only doing my brother a favor by looking out for me while Oliver is away.”
“Ah, I see,” Lord Pembroke said, nodding in understanding. “The woman he’s talking to is Lady Amelia Cornell—Lady Lundgren now. She and His Grace were once betrothed.”
Judith’s eyes widened in shock. “Betrothed?” she echoed, unable to mask her surprise.
Lord Pembroke nodded solemnly. “Yes, it was quite the scandal when the engagement was broken off.”
Judith’s mind raced as she processed this revelation. Aaron and Lady Lundgren were engaged? She glanced back at them, their intense expressions and body language hinting at a complicated history. She felt a pang of curiosity and something else she couldn’t quite name—something unsettling.
The dance continued, but Judith’s thoughts were far from the music and the elegant steps. The revelation about Aaron and Lady Lundgren’s past lingered in her mind, casting a shadow over the pleasant evening.
