The China Bride

'A handfast?'

'It's a trial marriage to determine if two people will suit. At the end of a year and a day, they may go their separate ways if one or both partners chooses.'

'What if there is a baby?'

'The father is liable for the child's support. Often the couple decide to contract a permanent union, but if they don't, they can separate with no stigma attached and find new mates later.'

'The Scots have odd marriage customs,' she said dryly. 'How does that help us?'

'We can say that I wanted to help you leave China, so I made you Lady Maxwell by handfast. At the end of a year and a day, you're free to go. In the meantime, it explains why you've been introduced as Lady Maxwell-for now it's true. We haven't been… cohabiting, so it should be easy enough to say that we simply contracted a temporary marriage of convenience to help you.'

She glanced askance when he mentioned cohabitation, but said only, 'You have a devious mind, Lord Maxwell.''

'Thank you.'

Her mouth curved. 'That wasn't a compliment.'

'It's been a hard year. I'll take compliments where I find them.' Glad to see her with a suggestion of a smile, he rose and helped her from the floor. 'This version of events may not be literally true, but it's close enough to the spirit of what happened, and it provides an explanation that doesn't injure your reputation.'

'I'm not important enough to have a reputation, but handfasting does sound more respectable than a false marriage.'

'Does this mean you'll return to Dornleigh until the year and a day have passed?' That would give him more of her company. 'Think of the pleasure you'll have turning that mausoleum upside down and making it more livable.'

Her eyes narrowed with calculation. 'I suppose I can bear it that long. During that time, will you take me to Scotland? It will be easier if you are with me.'

If she wanted to seek her father's relatives, Lady Maxwell would be received more courteously than plain Miss Montgomery. 'It will be my pleasure, though we should wait a few weeks until the weather improves. While we're there, I'd like to take you to our house in the Highlands. Staying at Kinnockburn will teach you as much about Scotland as your father's stories.'

'If I return, it won't be as a decorous English lady.' she warned. 'I've spent most of my life pretending to be something I'm not, and I'm weary unto death of pretense.'

'I understand. I had to travel halfway around the world to find out who I was. You've also come halfway around the world, so perhaps Dornleigh is a good place for you to discover the nature of your true self.' His clasp tightened on the hand he was still holding. 'But please-promise me you'll never try to injure yourself again.'

She smiled crookedly. 'I would have turned the knife away at the last moment, but I had to do something to show how… how vast my rage was.'

'You succeeded. I probably have gray hairs now,' he said. 'Though I've never had Dominic's charm, neither have I ever driven a woman to attempt suicide to get away from me. Very bad for my amour propre.'

'You think your brother more charming?'

'Definitely-he has a much easier disposition. I've more of my father's stiffness. I'll try to do better.'

'A wise resolution.' She gave him a cat-eyed glance. 'The house is not the only thing in need of improvement.'

She swept from the room, leaving him to collect her carpetbags. Her manner had changed from demure and near-invisible to something grander and far more unpredictable. He wondered what she would be like now that she had stopped trying to be what others expected of her.

He suspected that she would be even more entrancing than she was now.

Chapter 34

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There was much to be said for abandoning hope, Troth decided after she returned to Dornleigh. Looking back, she recognized that she'd been cherishing secret hopes that Kyle would decide that he loved her and wanted her to be his wife for always if she tried hard enough, was respectable and obliging.

Her delusions had been ripped away when it became obvious that he'd never once considered the possibility of remaining married. He liked her, he wished her well, he had a sense of obligation to her-but he didn't see her as his wife. At least, unlike his father, he hadn't made his decision from bigotry.

How lucky Constancia had been to be loved by a man with such a faithful heart.

Instead of hope, Troth had a fierce and lonely freedom. Except for Kyle, she no longer cared what any of these people thought of her, for soon she would be gone. Wrexham she greeted with a cool nod, no longer bothering to be deferential, since she'd been judged and found wanting for reasons over which she had no control.

His glance slid away; he seemed ashamed of what he'd said to his son, but he made no attempt to apologize. She doubted he knew how. She rather admired his total lack of hypocrisy. He despised her and thought she would ruin his son's life, and that was that. Very straightforward.

How nice that he was going to London. She'd be sure to be gone by the time he returned. That would make both of them happy.

It was ironic to realize that since Kyle's return, she'd tried desperately to be English, yet found herself as submissive as the most docile and downtrodden of Chinese women. Enough of that. Now she would act like a stubborn, strong-willed Scottish female. That meant fully embracing her Chinese heritage, and be damned to what the locals thought.

She liked the idea of leaving bizarre legends about the mad Chinese woman whom a Renbourne heir had brought home from his travels. This was the sort of house where such stories would linger for generations, becoming more baroque with each retelling.

The next morning she rose at dawn, donned a loose cotton tunic and trousers she'd brought from China, and made her way from the silent house to the gardens. The formally laid out beds and borders didn't have a fraction of the imagination or charm found in the gardens of Chenqua and Meriel, but spring flowers were budding and the earth pulsed with life. It was going to be another fine day.

Slowly she stepped into a tai chi form. Gods, she was out of shape! Her joints were stiff, her muscles weak because of the months that had passed since she'd last performed the exercises. If Chenqua were here, he'd tie her in knots within seconds.

She felt intense regret at the knowledge that they would never spar again. Though she hadn't been fully at ease with him, they had shared a special relationship that neither would experience with anyone else. Thank you, honorable Chenqua, for finding a place for a mixed-blood female in your world.

She tried to visualize chi flowing from the earth into her feet and through her limbs. At first it was difficult, but gradually she began to sense the energy. Chi was real, no matter what the unimaginative English thought. The pulse of life was everywhere, and in its balance lay strength and harmony.

An hour of increasingly vigorous exercise left her panting but with a greater sense of well-being than she'd known for many months. She'd been a fool to give this up.

After bathing, Troth visited the breakfast parlor for the first time since arriving at Dornleigh. An impressive assortment of food waited under silver covers, and she'd worked up enough of an appetite to enjoy a good