And then he came up short as he stared at her.
Nell giggled from somewhere behind her. “Shall I leave you for the evenin’, milord?”
“It’s not his decision,” Cecilia said sternly.
“Please do, Nell, and thank you,” Michael answered as if she hadn’t spoken.
Frowning, Cecilia sank even lower in the water as Nell’s laughter could be heard in the corridor as she closed the door.
And then there was silence. She couldn’t look at Michael, only at the soap on the surface of the water. The room was dark, lit only with candles. She prayed he couldn’t see beneath the surface.
But he’d already seen everything—kissed her breasts, entered her body, for heaven’s sake!Nowshe was being shy?
Michael limped slowly toward her, that tender smile softening his face, the one that melted her insides, tempted her to forget all her promises about how she wanted to live her life.
And in that moment, she realized how easy it would be to agree to anything he wanted, to make him happy. And she might be happy, too—at first. And then the regrets would come.
“I like your mother,” she said a bit breathlessly.
He blinked at her, and she realized the introduction of his family as a topic was hardly conducive to romance. She decided to jump right in.
“Can you tell me why your parents’ marriage was so unhappy?”
With a sigh, he pulled up a chair next to her and sank into it. She felt like she’d temporarily won, but, of course, she’d have to leave the tub sometime, and he’d be waiting.
Michael sighed. “I’ve already told you much of the truth—or you’ve guessed. I vowed never to marry for money, and it was because of my father’s and grandfather’s decisions where their wives were concerned. They foolishly pursued wealth rather than happiness, and when the money was gone, there was no foundation on which to base a marriage. Everyone was miserable, and when I realized that my father was trying to lead me the same way, I decided that I would seek my fortune in the Far East, beginning with the army, and using the meager earnings left after supporting the estate to invest in shipping and exports.”
“And you’re so proud of that, I imagine it shocked you that your brother became a lawyer.”
“It had nothing to do with pride,” he insisted, leaning toward her fervently. “I was worried that if he felt the need to supplement the estate’s income, then I’d let them down, that I’d taken too long—ten years now—trying to improve our situation. He deserved better. I remember having to make our own bullets as boys, share the same horse. He never complained.”
Cecilia suspected that Michael never did either.
“But he seems happy with his choices,” he continued, “and who am I, an army ranker, to tell him what he can or can’t do? But it will limit his ability to marry well.”
“So did enlisting in the army, but it doesn’t seem to have hurt you,” she said dryly. She tried to decide what part of her body would best be covered by the facecloth.
When he gave a crooked smile, she hastily said, “But back to your mother. Did she know she’d been used for her dowry?”
“Surely you have friends who worried about such things, and perhaps even you. I believe a woman would know if there was no love involved, don’t you?”
She nodded, remembering more than one friend who had accepted a marriage arranged by parents. “I never thought that would happen to me, of course,” she said wryly. “I knew my father would never force me into such an arrangement—and yet just by praising you, it was as if he deliberately led me right to you.” She shook her head even as she smiled.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” he asked softly, pulling his chair a bit closer.
She sank deeper into the tub, and the water sloshed near the rim. “You’re certain you don’t think of that young lady your father chose for you?”
“I don’t even remember her name.” His expression sly, he murmured, “You have gooseflesh. It must be getting cold in there.”
“Oh, no, I am quite content and relaxed,” she said, too quickly. “So your mother accepted the marriage, even though she knew your father didn’t love her?”
Michael grinned, but his amusement faded. “She was one of the women with no choice. Once, when he was drunk, my father told me even he didn’t want to marry her, but for the money.”
She stared at him in bewilderment. “But she seems like a wonderful woman, and you obviously were raised well by her.”
“She is wonderful, but from what my father accidentally told me, I think she was considered fast.”
Cecilia caught her breath.
