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"You’re a beast," she hissed, blinking back the sting of tears After a deep inhalation she warned,

"Don’t ever retting it?" Despite his cavalier tone, his expression turned guarded

"No," she whispered, and for a ret it"

However, she feared she would learn to if he continued to debase the memory And that she could not endure She had arrived at several conclusions since that night One of which was that she would do her duty, find a husband and be a good wife--even stoe bed with a man other than Nick What else could she do? He showed no indication of stopping her husband hunt

And secondly, when life becae of convenience, she would pull out the ht from the far recesses of her heart like an old trinket to be stroked and cherished Her one night with Nick would be enough It had to be

The memory must remain untarnished No small feat on her part Especially when he did such an excellent job of being unpleasant Her best chance lay in avoiding hi, but we don’t have to keep coree to keep our distance, shall we?"

He shifted in his saddle, the leather creaking beneath his weight as he ood to present the picture of estranged relations"

She stared back in le even as she acknowledged the truth of his words Blast hi her about the place sent a nervous treh her How could she pretend to care for another with the one she truly wanted watching?

Her face must have revealed some of the shock her revelation yielded, because his brow creased in concern "Meredith, what is it?"

She stared at hi as her mind reeled She wanted Nick And not just in the carnal sense She loved hiht she had lied for him, had wanted, irrationally, to erase all his hurts When he had followed her into the fields after Sally Finney’s death and taken her into his ar her hands Forgotten everything save hirabbed hold of her wrist as if he expected her to swoon and fall from her mount "Are you unwell?"

Yes, her ain Not as long as she was in love with a ht she was the greatest wretch to walk the earth

She lifted her shoulders in a shrug of calculated indifference to belie the tur inside her "I’m fine," she lied, voice faint

With a twist of her wrist, she freed herself and wrapped her fingers tightly about her reins, adding in a firmer voice, "Shall we ride back to the house and announce your arrival? The ladies will be pleased Most of the gentle Your presence will be appreciated"

"Very well," he agreed, his eyes studying her doubtfully Clearly, he didn’t think her well Only Meredith didn’t care He could think whatever he liked as long as he never thought her in love with hi room after dinner and took up their embroidery or correspondence discarded froentlears and do whatever it was that men did in the absence of women Meredith busied herself with a letter to Maree at one of the s not to feel Lady Havernautt’s eyes drilling into her fro were you married Lady Brook-shire?" Lady Havernautt’s blunt question quieted the huun Meredith had been expecting it for some days The other ladies watched with avid interest as she lifted her head to smile politely at Teddy’s ed in a wheelchair specially irth She was unsure whether Lady Havernautt used the wheelchair for any physical handicap other than being too obese to walk Upon seeing her physical condition, it was clear why the viscountess no longer traveled to Town Meredith felt a stab of sympathy Perhaps she would be equally ill-tempered if she was confined to a chair

"Seven years"

"And no children?" Lady Havernautt’s frown disappeared into the folds of fat lining her chin

"Can you not conceive? A woive hirew hot under so much attention She choked back several retorts, all totally inappropriate She could not offend her hostess and potential mother-in-law This she knew But neither could she sub questions It would set an intolerable precedent if in fact she becahter-in-law

"And what of a husband’s value?" she asked directly "I find it interesting how one immediately assumes the wife is responsible when a couple does not bear children"

Her co the ladies present Lady Derring nodded approvingly at Meredith fro her that she had not overstepped herself Portia winked encouragingly

"And have you any reason to believe your late husband responsible for your lack of offspring?"

Lady Havernautt challenged "How do you know that the failing does not lie in you?"

Meredith longed to astonish them all and confess that she kneithout a doubt, that the fault rested with Edht have so to do with it Instead, she answered sweetly, "I have no evidence it is my fault, so I will not leap to that conclusion"