Celia brushed aside Lady Darby’s attempts at discussing her daughter’s odd behavior. Eventually, her mother stopped her worried prodding, attributing Celia’s condition to the impending introduction to society. That rationalization apparently suited everyone. Even Celia, herself.

After screwing up the courage to enter the stables a month following the incident, Celia learned Bryan left weeks before. He’d collected his wages and abruptly left for other employment. Celia did not know where or for whom. She only cared that the man was far from the Darby estate.

Celia overcame the fears plaguing her with great determination. She made herself dance with the various men seeking her out. She even allowed their kisses. It was strange, but somehow, the fear morphed into something entirely different over the years.

Soon, she was different. Drawn to men who snatched inappropriate liberties. That reckless feeling of adrenaline, the fear of getting caught, was enthralling. Addictive. She did dangerous, scandalous things in the shadows. And she realized it was imperative she must find a husband who did not give a pauper’s halfpenny for anything that transpired in her past. It left her searching for the perfect mate, with little hope of ever finding him.

That is, until she met Gabriel.

Gabriel Lawrence Rosenthorne. Now, the new Marquess of Rosenthorne and Lord of several lesser estates.

He was the perfect blend of dangerously imperfect and socially acceptable. A man battling his own secrets and demons and yet possessing admirable strengths and qualities. She was marrying a man who might have been crafted specifically for her.

But was it possible he truly did not care about her past? Nor learning the identity of the man who took her virginity?

Gabriel’s cold indifference on that particular subject seemed too good to be true, but it was part of the reason she agreed to wed him.

He said he didn’t care.

She hoped he meant it.

CHAPTER 22

Many of the guests who traveled to Beaumont for the Ravenswood house party had already departed for festivities at other country estates. It was routine for the ton to attend endless rounds of soirees, hunting parties, and balls during the summer. One did not sit at home simply because the Season was on hiatus.

Were it not for her impending wedding at the Earl of Ravenswood’s estate, Celia and her mother would have left as well. They would have either traveled back home or followed through with Lady Darby’s plan of visiting Grace and Nicholas in Cornwall.

As it was, Celia found herself waiting for her mother and father to arrive at Beaumont. She did so with anxious nervousness, eager to have the wedding done and over with. She did not deal well with the anticipation. A knot had formed in the pit of her stomach on the night Gabriel announced he was marrying her. It had resided there since that evening.

Sara and Alan were among those invited to stay and witness the wedding. Of course, Heath, Celia’s future brother-in-law, remained at Beaumont. He served as her constant companion during Gabriel’s absence. Celia found the man quite entertaining. He possessed a dry sense of humor that often left her wondering if he was jesting or not. Although they moved in the same circles, she’d never spent time in his company prior to all of this. Now, she was coming to regard him as an unlikely ally and friend.