Lady Withnall frowned. “Lady Clementine is still smarting over Octavian’s slighting her. She is furious that he chose you over her, and I fear she will do something about it.”
“Would this not make her look more of a fool?” Syd asked. “I thought they were not an item. Octavian assured me they were not together.”
“Well, seems he forgot to mention it to Lady Clementine,” Lady Dayne remarked.
“Perhaps he thought by no longer coming around to see her, she would understand he had lost interest in her,” Marigold said. “Or, she might have refused to listen to him when he broke it off. Is this not something she would do if she still wanted him?”
Lady Withnall took a sip of her tea. “Yes, that is a possibility. And an apt description. She is not a nice girl. Being the daughter of a duke, she is used to getting her way in all things. Whatever the pampered princess wants, she gets. Her papa sees to it.”
Marigold frowned. “But Syd and Octavian are married now. Not even a duke can break up a lawful marriage, especially when it is a love match.”
Lady Withnall cast Marigold a wry glance. “Never underestimate the power of evil.”
Syd was worried, not for herself but for Octavian. “You think she is evil?”
The dowager shrugged her slight shoulders. “Malicious, to be sure. Spoiled. Inconsiderate. I would not ever describe her askind or affectionate. Possessive and demanding, that’s what she is.”
“What does it matter?” Gory placed another slice of ginger cake on her plate. “Syd is married to Octavian now, and there is no undoing it. Is there? Especially if Syd is with child. I cannot imagine that he has been a monk with you, Syd. Surely, you have…um…” She paused to clear her throat. “My point is, your marriage is secure.”
Syd blushed and turned away.
Lady Withnall gasped.
That woman had the eyes of an eagle and the instinctive scent of a bloodhound. This feared matriarch of theton, missed nothing.
It did not help that Syd was terrible at hiding her thoughts and feelings.
And now Octavian would be shamed once they all understood what Lady Withnall had picked up on immediately…that she and Octavian had never consummated the marriage.
How was this fair to him?
He had done nothing but be kind to her and protective.
Lady Withnall was a tiny thing. No one knew quite how old she was, but she knew everyone’s family secrets dating back generations, to their parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents.
“It isn’t his fault. The blame is all on me,” Syd said, her hands now shaking. “He is the best man who ever existed.”
Lady Withnall sighed. “Syd, what is going on? You cannot be thinking of undoing this marriage. It would ruin Octavian’s career.”
Marigold now stared at her in dismay. “Why would you ever want to divorce him? Are you suggesting your marriage is make-believe? How can it be? He obviously loves you. Just as important, you obviously love him.”
Gory nodded as she also gaped at Syd. “Does he still have the ability to annul your marriage. Have you been pushing him away?”
“Why, Syd?” Marigold asked, sincerely distressed because she was such a believer in true love.
Gory was now frowning at her, too. “Syd, of all the stupid notions you’ve ever gotten into your head, this one takes the cake. She would do it for love, Marigold. She would leave him if she thought he was better off without her.”
Marigold leaped to her feet. “You mustn’t ever leave him! You would break his heart. He does not deserve such an end after all he has done for you. Nor can you make such a decision on your own. He is your husband and deserves to have a say in what happens. If he wants to build a lifetime of dreams with you, then you cannot take that away from him.”
Syd did not know whether to be angry or simply fall apart and cry. “Do you think I ever want to leave him? I never understood the meaning of happiness until I met him. He is my very own miracle. But what if something terrible happens and he can no longer stand to be with me?”
“Such as what, Syd?” Lady Dayne asked, setting aside her cup of tea as their discussion intensified. “Were you already married? And now you are hiding a first husband?”
“No! How can you suggest such a thing, Lady Dayne? There’s never been anyone else. I had never even been kissed until Octavian kissed me. There are no secret marriages. No tawdry affairs. I was a virgin when we married.”
And still am.
Marigold sank back into her chair and sighed. “You had me scared for a moment. Why are you so on edge if there are no dark secrets in your past?”
