By letter, she had seemed to him to be a woman who did what was necessary, even when it meant marrying a stranger. But she didn’t want her brother to know the details? Michael began to wonder who was in command here.
“You’re that easily wed, Blackthorne?” Appertan demanded, smirking.
“I had no immediate plans to wed. But I considered your father a friend and mentor. With his death, I wanted to assist your family in any way I could. Frankly, I assumed Lady Cecilia was a plain spinster, who felt she could only attract a suitor with her fortune.”
Lady Blackthorne gasped, Miss Webster covered her lips to hide what was obviously a grin, and Appertan’s mouth dropped open before he barked out a harsh laugh.
Michael glanced at his wife apologetically. “You must concede that is a fair assumption.”
“I told you I didn’t want to be under the control of my guardian, Lord Hanbury,” she said.
“I admit, I was surprised when I first beheld you,” he said, looking upon her lovely, flushed face.
She seemed more exasperated than angry. Other women might react differently, and he was relieved she was not the kind to take offense easily. It was almost off-putting to meet the woman behind the letters and see if reality could improve upon the sweet, caring disposition she’d shown through words. He wasn’t disappointed—he was intrigued, for he sensed depths she’d kept hidden from him.
Miss Webster turned to her. “What did you think your husband would be like?” she asked eagerly. “After all, you felt you knew him well from his letters.”
Michael was very curious to know what Lady Blackthorne had told other people about them.
“I will admit, I did not picture his face,” she began slowly.
She avoided meeting his gaze, to Michael’s amusement.
“I just knew he was a kind man, who honored Papa in every way, who was a hero in battle.”
“I am not a hero,” he cut in, ignoring the darkness of memories that so easily welled up inside him. “I did my duty, as did many men.”
Lady Blackthorne stared at him with obvious interest but didn’t ask for an explanation. Perhaps she had too many of her own secrets.
“But shethoughtyou a hero,” Miss Webster said dreamily. “I found it all so romantic.”
Romantic? Perhaps through a young girl’s innocent eyes. It had practically been a business agreement, where Lady Blackthorne received the reward of financial freedom, and he received her gratitude—and the knowledge that he’d assisted the daughter of his late commander. It had been enough for him, but not anymore, now that he’d met her.
“I don’t care how romantic it is,” Appertan said in a bored voice. “I don’t know you, Blackthorne, and your presence in Appertan Hall offends me.”
“Then Lady Blackthorne and I will remove ourselves to the Blackthorne estate,” Michael said.
As his wife gaped at him, Michael calmly took another spoonful of his oxtail soup. It was really quite delicious after army fare and shipboard provisions.
“Cecilia doesn’t even know you!” Appertan answered with outrage. “How could you insist she leave?”
Michael met his gaze. “I am not insisting, Lord Appertan. You are.”
Appertan’s gray eyes narrowed, and his lips twitched, but he obviously couldn’t refute that. “I would never allow my sister to leave with a stranger.”
“And I don’t intend to make her leave her home since I’ll be returning to India soon. But I understand that Lady Blackthorne needs time to become acquainted with me, and I intend to give her that time.”
Her flushed face took on a darker hue, and he wondered if she was embarrassed to be discussed so freely—so familiarly. He already knew she wasn’t a woman given to standing by while others made decisions about her life, and he admired that.
“Very well,” Appertan said between clenched teeth. “I’ll accept that, as long as I never hear Cecilia complain in any way. How long do you plan to remain?”
“My schedule is flexible. Other than visiting my family, there is little I need to do in England.”
“You are so anxious to return to India?” Lady Blackthorne asked. “We experienced much of it as children, including traveling up the country with our father’s regiment. It was hot and wet and unpleasant.”
It could be all of that. But was she so unadventurous? he wondered with disappointment. “The climate has its disadvantages, but the views can be pleasant. All of that is of little consequence to me. I am a soldier for the queen.”
“You’re not an officer?” Appertan asked, looking curious for the first time that evening.
