Furious, Honey paced in the room she’d been shown to, Effie standing by, wringing her hands.
“Verify my virginal status? I’ve never heard of such a thing.” All the way to her new home, which was enormous but Spartan, that word, ‘virginal’, had hummed in her head. She hadn’t heard another word the woman had said to her.
“If you are a virgin,” Effie said kindly, “there is nothing to worry about.”
Honey stopped pacing and stared at her maid, hiding the turmoil inside her. “Yes. If I am a virgin, there’s nothing to worry about.”
But she wasn’t, was she?
She plopped onto the bed. “How will they do it, Effie? Do you know? How do they prove whether I am or not?”
Effie stepped forward. “A doctor will examine you.”
Honey shivered. “That’s positively barbaric.”
Effie shrugged. “Perhaps, but if you are a virgin, what difference does it make?”
Honey glanced at her, trying to detect sarcasm or hidden meanings. She didn’t see any. “It doesn’t seem fair that a woman must prove she has kept herself pure. A man certainly doesn’t have to. He does what he bloody well pleases and the world applauds him.”
“In Greece, it is a man’s world.”
Honey stormed to her valise, opened it and began pulling out pieces of clothing, dropping them haphazardly onto the floor. “It’s a man’s world everywhere, Effie, make no mistake about it. Men create the rules and no one questions them. We simply follow them with the subservience of lesser human beings, which,” she added, shaking a finger at her maid, “we are not. If anything, we are smarter than they are. They simply are physically stronger and have all the power, and it makes me bloody angry.”
Effie frowned at Honey’s use of vulgarity. “You knew that marrying a Greek man would not be easy.”
“Effie, my dear, I’m not simply marrying a Greek man. Apparently I’m marrying his mother, too.”
Effie began picking up clothes off the floor, and then hanging them in the wardrobe. “It is not unusual for a husband’s or a wife’s mother to live with the married couple.”
As much as Honey hated it, everything Effie said was true. “So, when is my day of reckoning?”
“In three days the doctor will arrive to examine you.”
Honey had anticipated many things when she’d decided to go through with this marriage. She had expected the worst and hoped for the best. The worst had come swiftly: she was no virgin and there was no way she could pretend otherwise.
Honey thought she would get a short reprieve when her menses arrived; it didn’t. She wasn’t worried; her life had been turned upside down, it was no wonder she was late.
The “day of reckoning” came, and Honey had one plan. In order to avoid that abysmal examination, she would simply have to tell the truth—that she’d lost her virginity nine years before.
The prospect didn’t please her. She was risking everything she’d promised her father, but what difference did it make? If she were to be examined, the truth would come out anyway.
She had one slim hope, and that was Apollo himself. Since the moment she stepped off the Athena, she’d been aware of his kindness.
Perhaps he wouldn’t care that she wasn’t a virgin. Perhaps she could talk with him beforehand and explain her foolish actions all those years ago. Nothing that had happened since need ever be discussed. Nick’s name did not need to enter into any conversation.
She collapsed into a chair by the window and felt the tears well up, stinging the backs of her eyes. Nick. How foolish she had been to allow her feelings for him to jeopardize her future. How foolish and selfish!
Apollo deserved better than her.
There was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” she said, swiping at her eyes with the tips of her fingers.
Apollo stepped into the room and Honey smiled at him.
He took a seat beside her and took her hand. His palm was soft, and for an instant she thought of Nick’s large, calloused palm, and how he had moved it over her flesh so expertly.
Apollo’s expression spoke volumes; apparently hers did too, for he said, “You are not happy.”
She couldn’t hold back her tears and reached for her handkerchief, dabbing at her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s all I seem to do these days.”
He squeezed her hand gently. “Can you tell me why you are unhappy?”
She looked into eyes that were as soft and brown as a hunting hound’s. She couldn’t hurt this man; he didn’t deserve to be hurt. “I guess it’s just that everything is so new to me here.”
“Or perhaps it’s because your father won’t be here for the ceremony. Perhaps we should postpone the wedding.”
Oh, she thought, if only they could! But it would only prolong her misery. “He can’t even be reached right now, and I have no idea how long he’s going to be gone.”
“Then you want to proceed as planned?”
She nodded quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly, but he didn’t seem to notice. “But…I do have something to tell you.”
He leaned forward, concerned. “Yes, what is it?”
“It’s about this test that I must endure.” Her heart was beating so loudly could hear it in her ears.
“Ah,” he said with a nod. “I understand your discomfort, but you do understand it’s one of the conditions of the union.”
She frowned. “I hadn’t been told of this. I heard of it for the first time when we arrived.” She sat up straight and touched his arm. “Is there any way I can avoid it?”
“Is there any reason you feel you must?” His gaze probed into hers.
Again she studied her lap, reluctant to look at him. “When I was barely twenty, I was engaged.”
“What happened?”
His voice was so sincere, she almost wept. “My mother became very ill, and he, my fiancé, was a missionary, scheduled to leave for Africa. I couldn’t leave Papa to care for Mama alone, so I broke the engagement.”
He smiled, his eyes warm. “But what has that to do with the test?”
She opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it. She looked away again. “I’m afraid we were indiscreet, just once.”
For the first time, he dropped her hand, and then stood and went to the window. “I see.”
“So you understand, the test will verify this, and I thought that if I told you about it beforehand, we could avoid the procedure.”
He turned and studied her, his gaze unreadable. “I will try. But don’t expect Mother to agree; she is set in her ways and this is something she feels must be done.”
Honey went to him and touched his shoulder. She hadn’t realized what a fine physique he had. He was tall and slim, yet she felt strength beneath his clothing. “Thank you. I’m grateful that you’ll try.”
“I would like very much to have you for my wife,” he admitted.
“You deserve someone better. You deserve someone who will love you and adore you and ache to be in your arms every night.”
His smile was lopsided and sweet. “I was rather hoping that certain someone would be you.”
She felt like the worst woman alive. “We all deserve every bit of happiness we can get in this world.”
“Your eyes are sad; I sense there is someone in your life for whom you feel this ardor.”
With a sad laugh she said, “It doesn’t matter. All that matters now is that you deserve a good and honest woman, and I’m afraid I don’t qualify.”
He bent and kissed her cheek, and then left her alone.
Later, after she had paced for what seemed like hours, her heart leaped when there was another knock at the door.
Before she could even answer, the door burst open and Apollo’s mother strode in. “What is this nonsense?” She took Honey’s arm and pulled her toward the door. “You will be examined. There are no exceptions, no matter what the circumstances.”
The familiar knot in her chest returned, along with an intense feeling of nausea—something that seemed to happen more frequently now than ever before.
Feeling like she was going to the gallows, Honey found herself being dragged to her doom.