“My wife.”
I stared at him.
“Your wife? The lawyer’s office told me you were a widower.”
He lowered his head.
“I know what they told you.”
“Then you lied to me!”
“Yes.”
The admission was so immediate that it left me speechless.
He took a step backward.
“But I did not bring you here for the reason you fear. I swear to you, Emily, that I would never force you into anything. I locked the door because my wife has a tendency to wander when she becomes confused, and tonight I was afraid that if she saw you too suddenly, she might become overwhelmed.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Because I was afraid you wouldn’t come.”
I shook my head in disbelief.
“That doesn’t make any of this acceptable.”
“No,” he said. “It doesn’t.”
For the first time, he looked ashamed rather than mysterious.
He removed the key from his pocket and placed it on the dressing table.