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The shock on her face told Ava that her decision was wilder than she had initially thought.

“I do not. I told him on our wedding night that I simply would not share his bed or have his baby,” she replied.

“Ava, you must know that there are ways to share a bed with your husband without… uh… without getting pregnant,” Eveline whispered. “If that is your concern.”

“Pregnancy is not my concern,” Ava said.

“Then what is the matter?” Stella asked. “I simply cannot imagine getting married to Thomas and not sharing his bed.”

“That is only because youloveThomas,” Ava reminded her.

“When William and I had first gotten married, he too refused to share my bed,” Eveline confessed. “I was devastated and incredibly hurt.”

Ava chuckled. “I assure you, my arrogant husband is by no means hurt by my decision.”

“I simply thought my body was not good enough and he was refusing to touch me because I was unattractive,” Eveline continued.

“Eveline, Edwin has made it his duty to seduce me out of my decision,” Ava reassured her. “I promise you, he does not, by any means, think that I’m unattractive.”

“But do you think he is unattractive?” Eveline asked. “Perhaps you do not want to share his bed because you do not find him attractive?”

Ava chuckled.

Images of their meeting in the dimly lit passageway at the Pemberton ball flashed through her mind, and she blushed. She also remembered the day she had gone to his house to offer herself in place of her sister and how her body had reacted when he had told her to sit on his lap.

Stella’s gasp jolted her out of her reverie.

“Ava is blushing. She certainly finds him attractive,” Stella declared.

Ava knew then that she must confess.

“True. I do find Edwin attractive. And if you must know, I found myself in compromising positions with him where I had to hold myself back,” she murmured.

Stella gasped again, while Eveline smiled.

“And you must know, Edwin takes pleasure in seducing me. This is the reason why I have been avoiding him. After all, I am not quite certain I can resist him any longer.”

“Then why are you holding back from sharing his bed?” Eveline asked. “Remember that you are spending the rest of your life with him. Are you confident you can continue like this forever?”

Ava’s eyes narrowed as she considered her sister’s question.

She had never truly thought about it before. She simply knew that she did not wish to share her husband’s bed.

“I am not quite confident. He could take mistresses. After all, I cannot expect him to stay faithful without… satisfying his other needs,” Ava said.

“I truly do not understand. If you are attracted to him, why have you refused to share his bed?” Eveline furrowed her brow.

Ava sighed. “Edwin is not like other men. He can be wicked and manipulative. He is a beast, and if I am to sleep with him simply because my body wishes to, then I may as well give him the power to destroy me. How could I give my body to a man who cannot even let me see his face fully?”

Eveline shook her head earnestly. “Edwin might be a beast, but so was William. And now, he cares for me and little Henry, and I could not possibly imagine any man who could be better for me than him.”

Ava could not help but smile at her sister’s declaration. Eveline was right, indeed. Her husband had been tender with her.

“I know how much William loves you and how much you love him. However, the fact that he has been so tender with you does not mean that Edwin will be the same.”

“Have you tried to open your heart to him and not believe the worst of him?” Eveline asked.

“Edwin is simply?—”