considerations, just as most English marriages are.”
“That is not true,” Imogen shot back. “Mutual affection was the most important element in Zamarian marriages. What about the poetry you discovered in the ruins of the Zamarian library?”
“Very well, so a few Zamarian poets wrote a few silly romantic verses.” Matthias ran a hand through his hair in a gesture of exasperated disgust. “That proves nothing. Marriage was a business matter in ancient Zamar, just as it is here in England.”
“Are you claiming that the Zamarians did not believe in the power of love, my lord?”
“
Love
is a fine word for lust, which I’ll wager was well known to the Zamarians. They were a very intelligent people, after all.”
“Love is not the same thing as lust.”
“But it is, Miss Waterstone.” Matthias’s jaw tightened. “I assure you, I have drawn that particular conclusion from firsthand observation, just as I draw all my conclusions. Unlike some people.”
Imogen was outraged. “I am not entirely without some firsthand experience of the subject, sir, and I have drawn different conclusions.”
Matthias’s smile was cold. “You’ve had firsthand experience of lust? Would you care to go into detail, Miss Waterstone?”
“No, I would not. Such things are of a private nature.”
“Indeed. Well, allow me to give you a few of my own firsthand observations on the subject of love and lust. I am the product of a union that began in the fires of a grand, lusty passion. But when that lust cooled, it left only bitterness, anger, and regret in its wake.”
Shocked sympathy doused the smoldering embers of Imogen’s temper. She took a quick step closer to Matthias and then halted uncertainly. “Forgive me, my lord, I did not understand that this was such a personal matter for you.”
“Unfortunately it was too late for either of the two parties involved to escape.” All inflection had vanished from Matthias’s voice. “My mother was pregnant with me. Her family demanded marriage. My father’s family wanted my mother’s inheritance. It was a match made in hell. My father never forgave my mother. He claimed she had tricked him into marriage. For her part, my mother never forgave my father for seducing her and then turning against her.”
“What a dreadful experience your childhood must have been.”
An icy amusement appeared in his eyes. “On the contrary, I consider that experience to have been a salutary one, Miss Waterstone. I learned a great deal from it.”
“No doubt you feel you learned a terrible lesson.” Imogen suppressed a pang of sadness. Then a thought struck her. “You mentioned that you will be expected to wed now that you have come into the title. Surely you will seek happiness in your own alliance?”
“You may be certain of that,” Matthias said grimly. “I intend to contract a marriage based on a far more substantial foundation than one built on foolish romantic passions and lust.”
“Yes, of course,” Imogen murmured.
Matthias took the glowing blue-green bowl from her hands and gazed at it with deep contemplation. “I seek a bride endowed with common sense rather than one who has muddled her brains with romantic poetry. An intelligent female who is ruled by an educated mind. One whose sense of honor will ensure that she does not develop a passion for every dark-eyed poet who comes along.”
“I see.” It was difficult to comprehend how she could have been so wrong about this man, she thought wistfully. The Colchester of Zamar she had conjured in her mind was imbued with the very essence of romance. The real Colchester was obviously a bit of a stick-in-the-mud. “It is very odd, sir, but when I sent for you, I had convinced myself that we had much in common.”
“Had you?”
“Yes. But now I see that I was quite mistaken. We are as opposite as two people can be, are we not, my lord?”
He looked abruptly cautious. “In some respects, perhaps.”
“In every
“That is not true,” Imogen shot back. “Mutual affection was the most important element in Zamarian marriages. What about the poetry you discovered in the ruins of the Zamarian library?”
“Very well, so a few Zamarian poets wrote a few silly romantic verses.” Matthias ran a hand through his hair in a gesture of exasperated disgust. “That proves nothing. Marriage was a business matter in ancient Zamar, just as it is here in England.”
“Are you claiming that the Zamarians did not believe in the power of love, my lord?”
“
Love
is a fine word for lust, which I’ll wager was well known to the Zamarians. They were a very intelligent people, after all.”
“Love is not the same thing as lust.”
“But it is, Miss Waterstone.” Matthias’s jaw tightened. “I assure you, I have drawn that particular conclusion from firsthand observation, just as I draw all my conclusions. Unlike some people.”
Imogen was outraged. “I am not entirely without some firsthand experience of the subject, sir, and I have drawn different conclusions.”
Matthias’s smile was cold. “You’ve had firsthand experience of lust? Would you care to go into detail, Miss Waterstone?”
“No, I would not. Such things are of a private nature.”
“Indeed. Well, allow me to give you a few of my own firsthand observations on the subject of love and lust. I am the product of a union that began in the fires of a grand, lusty passion. But when that lust cooled, it left only bitterness, anger, and regret in its wake.”
Shocked sympathy doused the smoldering embers of Imogen’s temper. She took a quick step closer to Matthias and then halted uncertainly. “Forgive me, my lord, I did not understand that this was such a personal matter for you.”
“Unfortunately it was too late for either of the two parties involved to escape.” All inflection had vanished from Matthias’s voice. “My mother was pregnant with me. Her family demanded marriage. My father’s family wanted my mother’s inheritance. It was a match made in hell. My father never forgave my mother. He claimed she had tricked him into marriage. For her part, my mother never forgave my father for seducing her and then turning against her.”
“What a dreadful experience your childhood must have been.”
An icy amusement appeared in his eyes. “On the contrary, I consider that experience to have been a salutary one, Miss Waterstone. I learned a great deal from it.”
“No doubt you feel you learned a terrible lesson.” Imogen suppressed a pang of sadness. Then a thought struck her. “You mentioned that you will be expected to wed now that you have come into the title. Surely you will seek happiness in your own alliance?”
“You may be certain of that,” Matthias said grimly. “I intend to contract a marriage based on a far more substantial foundation than one built on foolish romantic passions and lust.”
“Yes, of course,” Imogen murmured.
Matthias took the glowing blue-green bowl from her hands and gazed at it with deep contemplation. “I seek a bride endowed with common sense rather than one who has muddled her brains with romantic poetry. An intelligent female who is ruled by an educated mind. One whose sense of honor will ensure that she does not develop a passion for every dark-eyed poet who comes along.”
“I see.” It was difficult to comprehend how she could have been so wrong about this man, she thought wistfully. The Colchester of Zamar she had conjured in her mind was imbued with the very essence of romance. The real Colchester was obviously a bit of a stick-in-the-mud. “It is very odd, sir, but when I sent for you, I had convinced myself that we had much in common.”
“Had you?”
“Yes. But now I see that I was quite mistaken. We are as opposite as two people can be, are we not, my lord?”
He looked abruptly cautious. “In some respects, perhaps.”
“In every
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