In the Garden of Temptation (14 page)

“
Such are the vagaries of
life, my dear,” the earl said in resignation. “Please, Mother,
let’s not continue to haggle over this issue any longer, at least
for this evening.”

Lady Ashworth pursed her lips tightly
together in her customary expression of displeasure but let the
matter drop. This should in no way be construed as an admission of
defeat, far from it. The countess would have her say, and no one
knew that better than her son.

They departed after that, although the
carriage ride to Lady Mortimer’s musicale was completed in silence.
Adam tried to lighten the mood by bantering with his stony parent,
but he gave up when he realized she would not give over.

She sat, back rigid, hands clasped firmly in
her lap as she emitted an occasional heavy sigh plainly intended to
emphasize the unhappiness she felt with her wayward child. However,
she did not deign to enter in conversation. Adam may have ended the
discussion, but he knew he would not be allowed to forget it had
taken place.

*****

Catherine stepped over the threshold into
Lady Mortimer’s brightly lit drawing room, and the gentle buzz of
conversation came to an abrupt halt. During the preceding two
weeks, this same tableau had been played out every time she made an
appearance. By now she should be used to the attention, but as
always she could not stop the sudden rush of embarrassment. She
turned uncertain eyes to her companion.

Charlotte Richards patted the arm of her new
friend and murmured encouragingly, “The fervor will die down in a
few minutes and you’ll be as anonymous as the rest of us.”

Catherine frowned, puzzled. “I don’t
understand what all the fuss is about. It makes me
uncomfortable.”

Charlotte shook her head. “Do you realize
there are women who would commit murder if they could turn heads
the way you do?”

“
It’s because I’m newly on
the town. No one much knows me yet. That’s bound to arouse the
interest of the curious.”

“
All that beauty and modest,
too,” Charlotte teased gently. “Dear me, we’re about to be
inundated by swarms of male admirers. I think I’d best
retreat.”

“
Don’t you dare desert me,”
Catherine whispered.

“
All right, love,” Charlotte
said. “Don’t panic. I won’t leave your side for a
moment.”

Catherine heaved a sigh of relief and smiled
in gratitude. Charlotte Richards was a godsend. The lady had
smoothed the way for Catherine’s introduction to society by
sponsoring the baroness at all the prominent functions.

Lady Richards was a young
woman of twenty-eight and, though married to a mere
‘mister’
—
a second
son—she was herself the daughter of a viscount and assured of
an
entree
in all
the finer homes. Though smallish and slightly plump with frizzy
brown curls, she had a lovely face full of keen understanding, and
the thoughtful matron had appealed to Catherine
immediately.

She knew Lady Richards liked her, also even
though it was Edgar who had arranged the connection. Charlotte had
confided to Catherine later that she had agreed to Edgar’s
suggestion on the condition he remained firmly in the background.
His wife would always be grateful he had struck that bargain, for
the little lady and she were now fast friends. Happily, it seemed
Charlotte had approved of her even more than she had disapproved of
Edgar.

“
Explain to me, Charlotte,
why all these men hang about,” Catherine said as the two women
adroitly dodged several of those young men. “Aren’t the unattached
ladies more interesting?”

“
You really are a babe in
arms, aren’t you?” Charlotte asked. “Most of these gentlemen aren’t
interested in an attachment—not a legitimate one at
least.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
I mean, my dear, you are
lovely and many of these men are testing your moral fiber. They are
vying among themselves to see which man is fortunate enough to get
you in his bed.”

“
But I’m
married!”

“
Well,” Charlotte licked her
lips, “the baron is viewed as something of an albatross, and there
are those who feel you might be ripe for an affair.”

The baroness merely stared at her friend,
aghast.

“
I hope I’ve not offended
you, but I thought you might want to know.”

“
No, no, that’s quite all
right.” Catherine swallowed. She hated to admit it but the gossip
came uncomfortably near the truth. In fact, she believed her
sterile marriage was the reason she had broken her wedding vows
with Lord Ashworth.

Still, Charlotte’s confession was
enlightening. It explained the social maneuvering that confused her
and put things into perspective. She was, after all, only as
vulnerable as she allowed herself to be, and time would give her
the finesse needed to control the advances of the more aggressive
gentlemen.

“
We should take our seats.
It would appear Edwina Huffington is to entertain us this evening,”
Charlotte said. She guided the baroness to a chair near the front
of the assemblage.

An odd inflection in Lady Richard’s voice
caused Catherine to look at her curiously. “Do they present the
best performance first?” she asked.

Her companion sighed. “I don’t wish to be
cruel, but I’m afraid it is a case of getting the worst done at the
outset—a bit like having one’s spinach before having dessert.”

“
I see.”

Chairs shuffled and skirts rustled as the
company became aware of the commencement of the performance. The
air hung heavy with expectation—perhaps dread was a more apt
description—as a tall, slim girl with thick brown hair stepped onto
the dais. She was attractive in an ethereal way, and she smiled
sweetly at the gathering as she waited to begin.

Charlotte leaned over and whispered in
Catherine’s ear. To those who had been “privileged” to hear Miss
Huffington sing, she said, there was a general consensus that
Edwina’s most prominent difficulty when in the throes of song was a
tendency to veer off kilter at the most inopportune moment and
discompose the listener. It happened most especially when she tried
to hit a high note.

“
Unfortunately,” Charlotte
continued, “tonight will probably be no different.”

An older woman sitting at the pianoforte
raised her hands in a dramatic flourish and set her fingers to the
keys to begin the musical piece. From the moment Edwina warbled her
first syllables, it became clear this would not be a virtuoso
performance. Bringing her wrist to her forehead, she stood in a
sylph-like pose and bleated out the lyrics to an unrecognizable
ballad.

Though obviously not a pleasant experience,
the production did not reach intolerable proportions until Miss
Huffington’s voice took a particularly vicious upswing and stunned
her audience with one fatal, misbegotten note.

Catherine’s eyelashes fluttered in reaction.
“Oh, my!” she murmured in distress.

“
Exactly,” was Lady
Richard’s only response.

Gladly, most beginnings have an end. Although
the wait seemed interminable, the young lady meandering through at
least four shrill verses, she eventually saw fit to end the
torture.

The relief in the room was palpable. A round
of polite applause followed as Edwina curtsied and exited the
stage.

“
I daresay that was the most
wretched performance it has ever been my misfortune to
witness.”

Catherine turned in the direction of the
dissatisfaction, and her gaze lit on a diminutive dandy seated on
her left, who was eying her with interest.

“
That is unkind, sir,” she
rebuked gently.

“
Unkind or not, someone
needs to muzzle that gel before she destroys the hearing of the ton
single-handedly.” The little man looked as though he had been
sucking lemons. “What a spectacle she has made of
herself.”

The baroness could hardly contain a smile as
she studied the irate gentleman, for he was a spectacle in his own
right. He was attired in a lavender waistcoat shot with gold
thread, chartreuse satin breeches, and a forest green evening
jacket. His legs were delicately crossed, and his bejeweled hands
rested sedately in his lap.

“
You’re newly on the town,
aren’t you?” he asked.

“
Yes, I am.”

“
You’ve caused quite a stir,
you know.”

She did smile then. “Perhaps, but I don’t
like to be continually watched.”

The dandy looked startled. “The whole point
of going about is to see and be seen. Why would you not want to be
noticed?”

“
I suppose I’m not used to
town ways, but I’ll learn.”

“
How have you come to hide
your charms under a country basket, anyway? Surely, you’ve wished
to widen your experiences.”

“
My husband is not enamored
of the city, and he is only now introducing me to society.
Actually, Lady Richards has been kind enough to sponsor
me.”

Charlotte leaned forward in her chair at that
point and looked at Catherine’s conversation partner.

“
Hello, Sidney,” she
said.

“
Evening, Charlotte,” he
acknowledged. His gaze shifted back to the baroness. “Who is your
husband?”

“
You’ve probably not heard
of him—Lord Bourgeault. I’m Lady Bourgeault. And you
are…?”

The dandy gaped at her. “Sir Sidney Alcott,”
he said in strangled accents. He paused as he continued to stare at
her, his features transfixed with horror. “You are the baron’s
wife?”

“
Y-yes, I am,” Catherine
stammered.

“
How awful for you!” He
spoke so loudly, several people turned to look at them.

“
Oh, dear me. Do you know my
husband?”

“
Only by
reputation—”

“
Sidney,” Charlotte
admonished from the sidelines. “Do watch your manners.”

“
Pardon, Lady Bourgeault,
I…well, I just had no idea you were married to
that man
.”

Catherine, having regained her composure,
reassured Sir Sidney. “Quite all right. Edgar has that effect on
people.”

“
Understatement that,” he
muttered.

“
Sidney…” Lady Richards
warned again.

“
It is generally well known
that I am the baron’s wife,” Catherine chided him, amused. “It
seemed when you spoke to me, you knew my identity.”

Sidney had the grace to look embarrassed.
“Not everyone knows who you are. I’ve had a time of it trying to
discover something about you. I decided the only way to obtain the
information was to approach the source.”

Catherine clapped a hand over her mouth to
stifle a laugh at such plain speech. “There isn’t that much to
know.”

“
I hope I haven’t offended
you, my lady,” he said in abashed tones.

“
Of course, not. In fact, I
hope we can be friends, but on one condition.”

“
What might that
be?”

“
Don’t speak unkindly of
Miss Huffington. I think she could use a friend as well. It’s
difficult to be an object of ridicule.”

He gave her such a strange look, she decided
she had hit him directly on a raw nerve.

“
That seems fair,” Sidney
managed at last.

Catherine glanced at Lady Richards, and her
friend winked at her in approval.

“
It appears the next artist
is ready to begin,” Charlotte said.

They settled back for another extraordinary
performance.

*****

They were late which suited Adam. Edwina
Huffington had left the stage, and nearly all the chairs were
occupied, so he was forced to spend an agreeable hour in the card
room with all the other fugitives from the entertainment. He found
his parent a lone seat and made a hasty retreat before some
misguided soul offered him a place to sit down.

The earl was hailed from the far corner of
the card room as soon as he entered. “Adam, come, we need a
fourth.”

“
Daniel, old boy, how are
you this rare evening?” Adam sat to the table and nodded at the
viscount’s companions.

“
Seems I’m doing as you are
doing—hiding from Lady Mortimer’s little presentation. I think the
card room should be on the top floor, though, because Miss
Huffington could be heard far beyond the confines of the
parlor.”

Adam nodded knowingly.

“
I fully expected to see the
door fly open and the imprisoned horde come stampeding into the
night.” Daniel shuddered. “Edwina completely eclipsed any effort
she has made heretofore.”

The earl chuckled as he picked up the hand of
cards dealt him. “My mother is of the opinion Miss Huffington would
make a worthy bride.”

The stunned silence that followed this
pronouncement was deafening. All three gentlemen at the table
stared at Adam, clearly shocked.

“
Just so,” concurred Lord
Ashworth.

The ensuing sixty minutes were pleasurable as
the players traded coins and conversation. With regret the party
broke as the performances finally came to an end.

“
I suppose we’ll have to be
good soldiers and mingle with the masses,” Adam said. “The ladies
do not like it when we are having too fine a time.

Everyone agreed this was so.