now hates me. Mother and Lady Bradford have both taken to their beds and, according to the servants, haven't stopped sobbing since they found out word spread around the
'You have been rather busy, haven't you?' Mary asked with a kind smile.
She nodded numbly before she burst into fresh tears once again. 'I'm so sorry. I don't know why I can't seem to stop crying,' she said, mortified that she hadn't been able to stop crying since the forced ceremony.
'Shhh, it's perfectly natural. It's been a very stressful day given your condition.'
Elizabeth simply nodded as Mary continued to run warm, lavender scented water over her hair. Today she was supposed to make last minute preparations for her trip. Instead she found herself married to her childhood enemy and there was nothing that she could do about it. The moment he’d found out about the baby, she belonged to him.
Despite everything she promised herself over the years, she was now another man's property. If that wasn't bad enough, the man she now belonged to hated her and she loved him more than anything. This situation was hopeless.
'Did you know?' Mary asked softly as she poured more water over Elizabeth's back.
'Know what?' she mumbled against her knees as she sniffled back another sob.
'That you were with child?'
Elizabeth closed her eyes tightly as she hugged her knees to her chest just as tightly. 'Yes.'
'Oh, Elizabeth,' Mary said on a broken whisper. 'Why didn't you come to me for help?'
'It was my problem,' she muttered pathetically.
'Elizabeth, surely you knew that you couldn't hide this from everyone forever. What were you planning on doing once you began to show?'
'That's what I would like to know,' Robert drawled, earning a startled gasp from Mary.
'You don't belong in here!' Mary said and Elizabeth didn't need to look up to know that her sister was already halfway across the room and shoving Robert out of the room. She'd never been happier with her sister's bossy ways than she was at that moment.
She didn't want to see Robert, not yet. Not when she was still so angry about what he’d pulled. He knew that she didn't want to marry and yet he forced her hand. She wasn't foolish enough to believe that she actually had a choice in the matter. As much as she detested the rules, she also knew that she couldn't fight them. She'd freely given herself to Robert and no matter the circumstances of that choice; she'd ruined herself and became damaged in the eyes of society.
Society's rules also decided that the baby in her womb was Robert's property and, as a result, so was she. The moment she realized that she was carrying his child she also knew that he now controlled her life, today only made it official. For the rest of her life she would have to answer to Robert and be dependent on him for everything. Everything she owned was now his and there was nothing that she could do to stop him from spending it however he wished.
He could spend every last pound on women and cards. She wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop him and she hated it. She hated having no say in her life, no choices, and she especially hated him for making her fall in love with him, because he certainly would never return those feelings. No, he'd go out of his way to make her life a living hell and there was absolutely nothing that she could do about it.
Of course she could make her situation tolerable by becoming a doting wife. She could become the perfect wife and keep her mouth shut and stay out of her husband's way and simply be thankful for his generosity, but that really wasn't her way. She hadn't been lying when she promised that he'd regret this, not only because she had absolutely no plans for becoming a simpering wife, but because she would make sure that he knew early on that it was best not to try and control her.
Her father had learned that he couldn't control her and now so would Robert.
'Leave us,' Robert said in a hard tone.
Elizabeth softly snorted at that even as she sniffled. If he really thought that he could order Mary around he had another thing coming. Her sister loved her and would never abandon her. She would-
'Goodnight, Elizabeth,' Mary said on a weary sigh seconds before she heard her bedroom door close with a deafening
Wonderful, she thought as she wiped away another tear, hoping that the dimly lit room was too dark for him to see her crying.
'How are you feeling?' Robert asked, his words were cordial enough, but his tone was cold as ice.
'You didn't need to check up on me, Robert. I'm fine. Goodnight,' she said firmly, hoping he'd just leave and let her come to terms with everything.
Not only was she married to a man that didn’t love her, but he didn’t even like her. He’d certainly made his feelings clear on the matter when he’d humiliated her and forced her into a marriage that neither one of them wanted.
“You and I need to have a talk,” he said quietly, too afraid that if he spoke any louder that he would lose what little control he had and start yelling.
He still couldn’t believe what a bitch she’d turned into. She’d certainly fooled him into believing that she’d grown into a kind woman. Over the past month he’d seen her be kind to servants, children, and even beggars on the street. She treated everyone with a sweet smile and a kind disposition, but now he had to wonder how he ever fell for such a farce.
Only a heartless bitch would allow her child to be labeled a bastard when the father was more than willing to give it the protection of his name. He knew only too well how society looked down upon bastards, how they were treated like lepers. He’d attended school with several boys, who’d had the misfortune of having been born in that unfortunate set of circumstances.
It hadn’t mattered who the boys’ fathers had been, how intelligent they were, how funny they’d been or how good they’d been at sports, they were all treated like garbage. They were teased, taunted and constantly reminded that they didn’t belong. Their prospects in life were severely limited because of their status, guaranteeing them that they would never find a way into a life that should have been theirs.
They were outcasts, not good enough for the class that they should have been born into and too good for the class that they’d been trapped in. They’d have trouble getting work, being respected or simply marrying. They didn’t fit in anywhere and that knowledge would follow them to their graves. The fact that Elizabeth had been willing to place their child in that life infuriated him to the point that even looking at her sickened him.
Once the small ceremony had finished he’d simply walked away from her, too afraid of what he might do if he stayed. He’d never hit her. He’d never hit a woman before and had no plans on doing it now, but he had been very much afraid of saying something that he’d eventually regret. As much as he hated her right now, and by God did he hate her, she was still the mother of his child. For their child he planned on showing her respect, but that was simply it.
She was nothing more than the woman that he was now trapped with. She was his wife and he would see that she had a roof over her head, food in her stomach and clothing on her back, but that was all. They were leaving as soon as he was certain that the scandal that their hasty marriage had created died down enough that it wouldn’t affect their child if he or she ever decided to return to England.
He planned on taking her when he left the country. He’d keep her in the room furthest away from his so that he didn’t have to see her every morning. As long as she stayed out of his way and brought his child into this world, she could do whatever the hell she wanted after that. She could return to England after she had the child and he wouldn’t give a damn. Hell, at this point he didn’t even care if she raised their child. He’d happily hire a nanny if that’s what needed to be done.
At least now he knew the motivation behind her cruelty. He hadn’t when he’d walked out after the ceremony, but upon his return a somber Lord Norwood had been waiting for him in the library to explain Elizabeth’s inheritance and dowry. When Lord Norwood finished explaining everything and left him with a stack of papers to go through, his anger had intensified to a very dangerous degree.
