Free An Affair of Honor (Rebel Hearts Book 2) by Heather Boyd Page B

you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”
    William wanted to roll his eyes. He’d actually be happy to spend a little money on Matilda, but George Ford was so obsessed with being in love that he could not see the good he could do. He was quite sickening around his second wife, his half sisters’ mother, and he made sure to spend as little time with them as possible. If he were ever in love, he would not behave like his father.
    “The only regret I have is not offering for her sooner,” he added, embellishing a little more on their love affair than might be needed. He was dealing with a hopeless romantic. His father would never be satisfied with a curt statement of her suitability. “She is perfect for me and very beautiful.”
    He stared his father down until his shoulders sagged in defeat. Finally.
    His father spared him a withering glance. “When you are ready to talk sense, you will find me at home.”
    George Ford stalked out, leaving his daughters and father behind. William rubbed over the scar on his face. He shared very little in common with his father, who lived too impulsively for his taste. He had always been more reserved than the rest of his family, finding their public displays of emotion uncomfortable to bear. He was not about to change. Not for anyone.
    William poured himself a drink and silently toasted his success at overcoming yet another obstacle. He had freedom from marriage-minded misses. He had his life to live. Now all he wanted was a willing woman of his own and he’d be very happy indeed.

Six

    M atilda settled into a drawing room chair, the same one she’d beaten the dust from this morning, and waited for the other shoe to drop. It was just a matter of time.
    The Chudleighs had quickly taken their leave she’d heard, the woman utterly devastated by William’s announcement of his surprise marriage. A very great lie indeed. Miss Chudleigh’s tears had seemed very real, but Captain Ford had not been moved by the woman’s outpouring of heartbreak.
    Not that Matilda had expected him to be kind after the way the woman had reacted to his scar.
    She was a little worried about the scorn in Lord George Ford’s eyes when he’d looked her over and how he might treat his son. She knew the captain had a temper, but she didn’t know if he’d inherited the trait from his father.
    She was also a little overwhelmed by the reactions to this false marriage. The captain’s sisters seemed to think William must be in love with her, which of course they said had to be the reason he would marry her.
    Matilda heard the unsaid “stoop” in that statement and gritted her teeth at the near slight.
    Although the marriage was false, their presumption annoyed her as much as William Ford’s obvious expectation that she’d fall in with the change to his scheme without voicing one single complaint about being so badly used.
    She was glad she’d made a bargain with the captain for a house and sum of money after this disastrous affair was over. She’d never keep a maid’s position in any household now. William Ford had made her unemployable unless she assumed another name.
    How could he imagine she had any ability to pretend to be his wife?
    She did not know him that well!
    Or want to.
    The duke settled in a nearby chair with a groan and his refilled glass. He studied her, his expression inscrutable. “I swear the journey from Newberry grows longer each time I make it.”
    Having no idea of Newberry Park’s exact location, Matilda clenched her hands together in her lap and nodded politely. The duke had always been kind when he’d visited, but she believed William’s actions today would not please him in the end. “You wanted to see me?”
    She glanced around quickly, wondering why the captain’s sisters had disappeared. “Yes,” he said slowly. “Both of you actually, but William appears to have become delayed, no doubt because of his father. They do bump heads over every little thing.”
    Matilda