Hannah Howell by Kentucky Bride Page A

made no move to halt them as Thomas tugged her out into the hallway. Despite his extraordinarily insulting outburst, Clover wanted to hear what Thomas had to say. She was curious to know why he was in such an agitated state over her marriage to Ballard. Thomas was so enraged that he was shaking. She could feel his hand tremble. Since the man had jilted her and had begun to court Sarah, his fury made no sense at all.
    Once they were in the hall and the parlor door was shut, Thomas turned to face her. She briefly felt she was confronting a stranger. This coldly infuriated man was a Thomas she had never seen before. He looked dangerous, and she inwardly shivered.
    Clover wondered if he was about to renew his promise to marry her, but she knew that no matter what Thomas said, she would stay with Ballard.
    “What are you doing here, Thomas?” she demanded.
    “I am trying to save you from plunging headlong into the greatest of follies.”
    “I got married, Thomas. A great many people do so. It can hardly be termed a great folly.”
    “You just got married to some man you do not even know.”
    “He wants a wife and I need a husband. There seemed to be a sudden dearth of prospective husbands in the area.” She was not surprised that Thomas was not embarrassed by her reference to his shabby treatment of her.
    “You know why I had to end our engagement, Clover, but that was hardly reason to leap into the arms of the first man who ambled by. And one who has just been cast off by Sarah Marsten!” He grasped her gently by the shoulders. “I had no intention of putting you aside completely. You must have known that.”
    “You jilted me, Thomas. I cannot see what else that could have meant.” His abrupt shift from fury to cajolery unsettled her, especially when she noticed how the hard, cold look in his eyes differed so dramatically from the soothing tone of his voice.
    “I had to do that, Clover.” Thomas winced and briefly rubbed at his temples. “I have my future to consider. It did not, however, mean that I had stopped caring about you. I am truly sorry if my actions led you to believe that.”
    Clover began to get the sinking feeling that Thomas was leading up to something that not only would be very insulting, but would make her furious as well. “I misunderstood, did I?” she said.
    “Yes, love, you did. I felt you needed some time to understand fully why I had to end our engagement, but I was not idle during that time. I have been arranging for us to be together. As soon as you are evicted from this house, you can move into a cottage I have secured just outside of town. Of course,it would be best if you did not take your family with you, but I can understand your sense of loyalty.”
    “How kind.” She could see that her sarcasm eluded him.
    Thomas nodded and briefly smiled at her. “It will not be very fancy in the beginning, and I regret that. When I am wed to Sarah and much plumper in the pocket, however, I will be able to do very well by you. So you see, Clover, you must put an end to this farce immediately. You were not meant to be shackled to some rough backwoodsman. Given some time, I can provide you with a very comfortable life. Do you understand?”
    “Very well, Thomas.” She wondered how she could sound so calm when she was shaking with fury.
    He gave her a brief kiss. “Then it is all settled. Now go and talk to that ruffian. The marriage can be annulled. Would you like me to talk to him with you?”
    “Oh no, Thomas. I can say what must be said quite easily without your kind assistance. In truth, we do not need to trouble Ballard at all.” She took a deep breath to hold on to her facade of calm. “I do not believe I have ever been so thoroughly insulted. This makes your dishonorable jilting of me pale in comparison.”
    “What are you saying?”
    “Was some part of what I just said unclear?” Clover knew her anger was sharpening her voice but did not care. “You call me a whore for marrying