She sighed. “Except that the whole thing got terribly out of hand. Mr. Juncker somehow got wind of my interest in a poet and started behaving differently toward me. Until then, I had barely had any association with him, and suddenly he was flirting with me and pretending he knew me. So I gave him womanly advice, knowing it would put him off. But I think he then assumed he could use me to annoy you and Thornstock.”
“He was right,” Sheridan muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Sheridan said. “That’s all it was. A scheme gone terribly awry.”
“I suppose you could call it that.” She turned away from him. “And we both know how much you hate schemes. And schemers.”
“I do, that’s true,” he said softly. “But I could never hate you.”
Her heart hurt, and his words only soothed the hurt a little. “I know you will never believe this, but Mr. Juncker lied about my interest in him. Inevertold him such a thing.”
“I know.” He came up close to put his arms about her waist.
“You believe me?”
“Yes. And I believe him. He did lie to me . . . at first. As you said, Juncker enjoys annoying Thorn and all his friends and relations. He’s a prankster, that one. But when I looked at him as if I might throttle him, he quickly admitted the lie.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Mr. Juncker has a strong tendency toward self-preservation.”
Breaking free of his hold, Vanessa turned on him. “Are you telling me, that when you came in here just now, youknewI’d never had an interest in him?”
“I did,” he said, though he suddenly looked wary. “But I had to hear it from you. I don’t trust Juncker.”
“Yet you believed him at first.” She bore down on him. “When he said I was in love with him.”
Sheridan held his hands up. “Not entirely, sweetheart, I swear. Before he even admitted the lie, I began to consider a few things—like the fact that you only started talking about Juncker when I was paying more attention to your mother than to you. And the fact that you flirted with me long before Grey mentioned Juncker in connection with you.”
“That wasn’t enough to convince you?”
“Well, you did change the subject last night when I asked about Juncker. You seduced me to take my mind off of him. And honestly, you didn’t give me many other signs that Juncker might be wrong.”
“Many other signs. Truly?” That really annoyed her. “I agreed to marry you.”
“Only because we ended up caught in each other’s arms.” He cocked his head. “And that happened because you were letting Juncker kiss you with great enthusiasm. Or have you forgotten that?”
“I haven’t.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Haveyouforgotten that you didn’t show up for the visit you promised? That you left me to Mr. Juncker after saying you would accompany him? I assumed I had lost you. If I’d ever had you. I kept trying and trying to get your attention, and after our kiss at the theater, you didn’t so much as give me a buss on the cheek. So yes, when Mr. Juncker asked to kiss me, I agreed. I figured why not? If I couldn’t have you, what difference did it make?”
“I’m sorry.” He seemed to look at her through new eyes. “I had no idea you were chasing me all that time.”
“And if youhadknown it, would you have spent time with me?”
He dragged his fingers through his hair. “Perhaps. I’m not sure.”
“Meanwhile, after we married, I eagerly shared your bed. Twice. And the second time was after I’d found out you’d only been showing me attention because you needed to interrogate my mother. That was well before you went to visit Juncker and believed his nonsense. How much more proof did you need that I cared about you?”
He caught her by the waist. “You’re right. I should have trusted you. I was just—”
“Jealous?”
“Yes.” He bent his head to kiss her temple. “It made me insane thinking he might have your heart.”
“It’s fine that your late fiancée has yours,” she whispered, “but it’s not all right that I might have chosen a different man before you?”
“Vanessa . . .” he said in that placating voice she hated.
“I have always wanted you, Sheridan Wolfe. Not because you’re a duke, and not because you’re Grey’s brother, although that’s certainly a consideration. But because you are you. And if that’s not enough for you—”
“It is, my sweet duchess. I swear it. I’m happy we’re married. I know that’s hard for you to believe, but it’s the truth.”
