“There never were,” she parried quietly.
“But I didn’t know that – ”
“You knew that we were well suited, that we had similar tastes and I was free to marry. You knew that we loved each other. What more did you need to know?”
“My dear, please, we have talked about this before. I had to consider my duty to my house – ”
“Of course and I would not expect you to marry a woman who was not a lady. But I am a lady and you knew that, even if you didn’t know that I was the social equal of Lady Alexandra.
“I longed for you to set aside pride and position and love me for myself alone. Why, oh, why could you not have done so?”
“Does it matter?” he asked passionately.
“Yes,” she replied. “It does matter. But we cannot talk about it now. We must return to the party.”
There was a step behind them
