Free A Chance Encounter by Gayle Buck Page B

wife need not go through the crucifying that she must otherwise endure.
    The image of Miss Ratcliffe’s lovely face floated through his mind. Though he dreaded the scenes with his parents and godparents, he nevertheless was certain that he would vastly prefer to face their condemnations and protestations than those of his former intended. Miss Ratcliffe had a peculiar talent for flaying him alive, and in the past his only recourse had been to walk away. His position as her future spouse had left his hands tied in his dealings with her.
    He quite suddenly realized that it no longer mattered what Miss Ratcliffe thought or desired. The fact of his marriage— his engagement, he amended to himself—changed matters dramatically. He was a free man at last. He grinned faintly to himself with an edge of anticipation.
    “What is it that you find so amusing, Edward?”
    Lord Humphrey looked up to find that his grandmother was regarding him with sharpened eyes. His smile broadened. “I fear that I am somewhat a villain at heart, Grandmamma.”
    Lady Cassandra was on the point of pursuing the interesting point when Joan made a startling announcement.
    “I am most sorry, my lady. But I do not think that I can be a party to this scheme, after all.”

Chapter Eight
     
    Joan’s quiet , strained voice fell into a well of silence as both Lord Humphrey and her ladyship stared uncomprehendingly at her.
    “Heh? What are you saying, child,” exclaimed Lady Cassandra in open astonishment. Whatever was the chit thinking of? She had concocted the perfect plan to scotch any scandal and enable the ungrateful girl to slip into the family circle with little opposition.
    The fact that the scheme would also shake up Lady Cassandra’s fine stuffy relations and throw a few mild fireworks into the midst of them was beside the point.
    Her own amusements were secondary, Lady Cassandra thought piously. It was her grandson’s future that she must preserve and protect. She would not have it, she thought with icy determination. The girl would do as she was bid and that would be the end of it.
    Lord Humphrey caught his wife’s dark eyes with his own steady gaze and held them. “What troubles you, my lady?” he asked quietly.
    Lady Cassandra caught back the scathing question she would have uttered. She waited to hear how her grandson might fare in handling his bride, for it would be far better that the girl’s recalcitrance be curbed by her lawful husband.
    Joan had watched the cold imperiousness come over Lady Cassandra’s face. It was with relief that she heard the viscount’s reasonable tone. When she turned to him, she found the willingness to understand in his eyes. The thought fleeted through her mind that he had never really been impatient or cold toward her—an extraordinary thing, considering how they had been thrust together by circumstance.
    “I can’t but wonder what my dear papa would have said at such deception,” she said. Without realizing that she neglected to do so, she did not make clear that the ambivalence of her feelings toward the viscount and her position as his wife were the crux of the matter, not the false engagement that had been proposed. She knew that as a minister her father would have deemed falsehood in a relationship of the gravest import. The marriage that she and his lordship had embarked upon in such a bizarre a fashion was surely a deception of the highest order on each of their parts.
    Joan anxiously watched his lordship’s face. “I wonder if perhaps it has all been a dreadful mistake. I should not have been so cowardly, nor succumbed so easily to temptation. I see that now. My lord, you should have a wife worthy of your position, and one whom you love.’’ She faltered, then rallied. “But it is not too late. An annulment can be had, can it not?”
    Joan glanced at Lady Cassandra, who sat regal and stiff in her chair. Silent temper snapped in her ladyship’s eyes. Joan made an inadequate gesture.