In the Garden of Temptation (22 page)

“
Bah!” Lady Ashworth
countered in disgust. “Since when does a man ever choose a woman
with his brain? It is another part of the anatomy which does the
choosing, that I can guarantee.”

“
Mother!” Judith gasped as a
sound suspiciously akin to choking seized the mild-mannered Mr.
Barrow.

Adam’s felt his face flush a dull red at the
coarse observation, and he drew in a deep breath in an effort to
control his anger.

“
I don’t like the direction
this conversation has taken. It implies disrespect for
Catherine.”

“
A married woman who
commences an affair with a man not her husband does not deserve
respect.”

“
Catherine is a fine person,
Mother.” Adam struggled now to maintain his composure. “Meet her
and judge for yourself.”

Lady Ashworth puffed up wrathfully. “How dare
you? I have no intention of meeting your paramour.”

A truly awful silence filled the dining room
as the reluctant witnesses sat frozen with shock. The earl placed
his hands on either side of his dinner plate and leaned forward,
his jaws clenched and his narrowed eyes black with fury.

“
Do you wish, madam, for us
to remain on cordial terms?” His voice, deceptively quiet, made his
barely controlled rage all the more clear.

Though Lady Ashworth appeared indifferent,
she did not completely mask her sudden unease. “You know I do not
want an estrangement, my dear.” Her tone was cautious.

“
Then you will not speak ill
of Catherine.”

“
But, Adam, please have
reason. What of your political career? A scandal at this time could
put your hopes on hold for years to come.”

“
We both know they are your
hopes and not my own, Mother. I’ve made no decision regarding my
future.”

“
You would disgrace the
family for your own personal desires?”

“
I’ve been allotted one
life,” he said. “I’m not certain I wish to waste it living
according to someone else’s wishes.”

The countess blanched. “What are you trying
to say?”

Whether it was in retaliation, or whether
Adam actually had been considering the outrageous, he did not know,
but his next words stunned even himself.

“
I want to make a life with
Catherine.”

“
How can you have a future
with this woman?” his mother screeched. “She’s married.”

“
There are ways to get
around that,” he said.

“
Divorce?”
The muscles in Lady Ashworth’s face began to
quiver in her distress. “Lord Bourgeault will never
cooperate.”

“
Divorce is one answer, but
I believe you are correct. The baron does not strike me as the sort
of man who would willingly give up his wife.” Adam stared at the
countess without recognition, for his thoughts were elsewhere. His
eyes refocused. “There is one other alternative.”

Everyone at the table exchanged wary glances,
the tension perceptibly mounting as they waited for the earl to
share his latest inspiration.

A devilish grin slowly eased Adam’s mouth as
he turned to his sister. “Will you and Walter visit us on the
continent?”

“
Us?” Judith posed
tentatively.

“
Why, Catherine and me, of
course.”

“
Adam, you cannot be
serious. I will not allow it,” Lady Ashworth interrupted
imperiously.

The earl pushed himself away from the table
and stood up. “Mother, it would seem to me there’s not a damned
thing you can do to stop me.”

On that parting shot he left the room.

*****

The Earl of Ashworth was bored, but it was a
nervous kind of boredom brought on by circumstances beyond his
control. There were times when he enjoyed the opera, but tonight
was not one of them. He wished he hadn’t come.

The performances were more than adequate, yet
for all his effort to concentrate on the stage, his attention
wandered. Across the opera house, occupying the box of Simon
Fitzgerald, Marquess of Sutherfield, sat the lady who had stolen
his heart. Catherine Bourgeault, laughing and flirting with her
host, was making a complete spectacle of herself. Adam’s boredom
turned to anxiety and then to irritation.

It had been ten days, ten long days since
Catherine and he had been together, and the tension was beginning
to tear him apart. In recent weeks Adam realized his affair with
the baroness had reached unmanageable proportions. He felt emotions
he had never felt before, did things he would never have
contemplated in the past.

He had taken to attending any and all
functions where Catherine might make an appearance. Where he did
not see her, he did not tarry. Should Adam discover her presence,
he took up a solitary position along one wall, watching her in
brooding silence until she departed for other locales. He would be
a fool to believe his activities had gone unnoticed, but he seemed
unable to prevent himself.

Adam knew that Catherine’s apparent lack of
interest in him was the only element keeping the gossip-hungry at
bay. The baroness had maintained their bargain to avoid one another
in public, pretending to be indifferent. The earl, on the other
hand, had found it increasingly difficult to feign aloofness when
his emotions churned painfully just below the surface.

Lady Bourgeault’s popularity did not help the
situation, for the gentlemen hounded her constantly, all clamoring
for her attention. Adam was consumed with jealously. He was
restricted from approaching Catherine and yet must watch her
socialize and dance with any number of other fellows.

And then he had to consider the unsupportable
possibility that Catherine performed her wifely duties in the
marriage bed. They did not speak of it, but he knew she did not
desire her husband, and that made her supposed compliance more
bearable. Truth was, Adam had grown possessive. He demanded what
was not his, and he no longer cared how it came to him.

The falling curtain signaled the
intermission, and the earl stood as he stared across the opera
house at Catherine, willing her to look in his direction.

*****

Catherine glanced over at Adam’s box, and her
eyes widened in recognition as she met the Earl of Ashworth’s
insistent gaze. Ordinarily, Catherine would never have allowed the
eye contact to continue more than a moment in so public a place,
but he was sending her a silent message she found impossible to
disregard.

She saw him turn purposefully and stalk
through the drapery of his box into the corridor beyond. From his
posture she assumed he was headed in her direction. A mistake, she
knew, but a thrill of excitement seized her, nonetheless.

“
Would you care for some
refreshment, my dear?” Lord Sutherfield leaned toward her, his
solicitous attitude a bit too encroaching for comfort. He placed
his hand on her knee and looked longingly into her startled
eyes.

The draperies rustled and the two occupants
of the box swiveled in their seats. Adam stood in the entrance, his
face expressionless as he gazed at Catherine’s leg where the
marquess’ fingers still lingered.

Lord Sutherfield’s regard slid back to his
companion, and his handsome features broke into a languid smile.
With seeming deliberation, he removed his hand from Catherine’s
knee and crossed his forearms in his lap.

“
Ah…Ashworth, what brings
you to our intimate little corner of the theater?” the marquess
asked. Though the greeting was meant for Adam, Lord Sutherfield’s
eyes never left her face.

Catherine did not miss the sly insinuation in
the marquess’ speech. A challenge had been advanced. How much Lord
Sutherfield actually knew, she could only hazard, but she could
tell by Adam’s stance that he felt the need to protect his claim.
Though she found the earl’s jealousy endearing, she wished he had
not chosen tonight to object.

“
Sutherfield, you’ve been
monopolizing the company of the most beautiful woman in London. I
thought it time you share.” The words were spoken easily enough,
but a steely edge underlined the pronouncement.

“
I suspect you mean
relinquish,” the marquess said shrewdly as he stood and joined his
guest.

“
If you insist,” Adam
agreed.

“
You surprise me, Ashworth.
I thought you secure enough to allow a lady the liberty to
choose.”

The earl shrugged. “I hate to be the bearer
of sad tidings, but you are mistaken. Let us say, there’s never
been a time before this when the issue was important enough to
pursue. Believe me, that has changed.”

A deadly quiet filled the alcove, and
Catherine held her breath. Even though the words were civilized,
she knew the men were arguing over her and the situation came close
to being dangerous. The polite veneer masking the potential
violence was part of the ritual, she surmised, but she found the
slightly demented quality of the confrontation appalling.

“
I make you no promises,
Ashworth,” the marquess stated at last.

“
Nor did I suppose you
would,” Adam said. “But don’t misjudge the situation, Simon. You
will not like my response.”

The earl swung in
Catherine’s direction then and bowed. Angry with him for having
initiated this uncomfortable scene, she merely nodded coolly. But
when he lifted his gaze to her face, her heart turned over in her
breast.
He was hurt!
She perceived the pain in his hypnotic blue eyes and was
filled with remorse.

“
My lady, as always,” Adam
said by way of farewell, and he placed a kiss on her knuckles. He
looked at her again, and this time she sensed a covert
communication as he released his grip on her hand. In her palm he
had deposited a small scrap of paper. She gingerly wrapped her fist
around the missive and indicated her understanding with a slight
motion of her head.

Lord Ashworth straightened. “I wish you both
good evening.” He did not wait for a response, but left hastily,
the draperies closing with a swish behind his retreating form.

Lord Sutherfield returned to his seat,
sighing heavily as he slumped down in his chair. “This is a
disappointment, I must say. I had hoped the rumors were
overstated.” He set his finger aside his nose, watching her through
piercing black eyes.

Catherine returned his look nervously. “I
don’t know what you mean, my lord.”

“
Come now, Lady Bourgeault,
you don’t take me for a fool, do you?” He sounded incredulous. “A
man does not barge into a private party, making veiled threats,
unless he feels he has the right to do so. Is it serious—for you, I
mean? Frankly, I couldn’t care less what Ashworth’s stake in all
this is.”

She hesitated. If she told him the truth, she
risked being exposed through the gossip that would surely follow.
Her weeks of carefully nurtured indifference to Adam would be lost,
and she had no reason to believe this man would protect her
reputation should she be honest. On the other hand, to lie would
only encourage Lord Sutherfield, which could complicate matters
further.

Uncertain how to respond, she decided to
change the drift of the conversation. “You are impertinent, my
lord.”

He straightened and leaned toward her, his
face so close she became uncomfortable. “Right then, I won’t force
the issue.” His voice dropped seductively. “But hear me, sweet
lady, should you ever find yourself in need of a special friend, I
would appreciate if you would keep me in mind.”

Oh, he knew, she
thought,
he knew
.
“I never said…” she began.

He patted her arm. “Not to worry—your secret
is safe with me. Now, would you like to finish the opera, or would
you prefer to read that note in your hand before making a
decision?”

The message was short and to the point:

I shall be at our place this evening. Please
do not disappoint me.

Adam

Catherine folded the scrap of paper and
slipped it into the bodice of her gown. “I hope you will forgive
me, my lord, but it does seem I must leave.”

She would be forever
grateful Lord Sutherfield obliged her, withholding judgment as he
placed her in a hackney a few minutes later. She leaned out the
window to bid him
adieu
.

“
You’ve been most kind,” she
said.

He gazed up at her. “I find myself consumed
with an emotion reserved for the callow and the insecure,” he
stated, a wry twist to his mouth.

“
My lord…?”

“
Jealousy, dear heart,” he
said. “I will be watching to make certain my friend does not forget
his good fortune.”

“
You are so gallant, my
lord, you almost make me reconsider.” Catherine beamed at him.
“Thank you.”

Lord Sutherfield doffed his hat as the
carriage pulled away from the curb.

*****

Catherine sat up in the rumpled bed, pulling
the covers with her as she wrapped her arms around her legs and
rested her chin on her knees. Her naked back was exposed, and Adam
stroked the supple flesh along her spine in a soothing motion. Her
eyes drifted shut, and a soft smile curled her lips in feline
satisfaction.

“
You do know, of course,”
she purred, “I will never ask you to stop.”

The earl chuckled. “Feels nice, does it?”

“
Heavenly.”

“
If I had my way I’d rub
your back every day.”