In the Garden of Temptation (23 page)

Her eyes flickered open and she turned her
head to look at him where he lay next to her on the down-filled
mattress. “I know. It’s been more difficult than I thought it would
be. When I’m not with you, I languish. And when I am with you, it
is never long enough. I can honestly say these past weeks have
taught me the meaning of frustration.”

“
You seem to have found a
way to console yourself.”

Uh oh, here it
comes
. She knew they would get around to
discussing her conduct at the opera earlier this evening. Perhaps
she should feign ignorance.

“
I don’t
understand.”

“
I think you do, Catherine,”
he contradicted her. “How long have you known Lord
Sutherfield?”

“
I met him last week at
a
soiree
given by
Charlotte Richards. Lord Wimberly introduced us at Simon’s
request.”

“
So it’s Simon, is it?” he
blurted angrily. “On familiar terms, aren’t we?”

“
Now, Adam, it’s not like
that—”

”
He put his hand on your
knee!” he continued, plainly incensed. “I consider that familiar.
And Daniel, I thought he was my friend.”

“
What would you have had him
do? Is Lord Sutherfield a pariah who must be avoided? It would have
been rude for Lord Wimberly to do anything other than what he
did.”

“
But Daniel knows how I feel
about you. It is a great disservice to me for him to present you to
the most notorious rake on the town.”

“
The marquess? Oh my.”
Catherine’s eyes widened in fascination. She stretched out on her
side and, propping her head on her hand, stared at Adam avidly.
“What has he done to deserve such a delicious reputation? Does he
deflower innocent virgins?”

“
Good God, woman, what silly
novel have you been reading?” He snorted in disgust. “I didn’t say
he was a devil, but he has been known to ruthlessly pursue any
woman who interests him. And take my word, he is interested in
you.”

“
Surely not.” She dropped
her gaze, suddenly uneasy.

“
Are you going to lie there
and tell me he made no push to engage your affections?”

“
All right, I admit he did.
But, Adam, you need not have run to my rescue in such an obvious
manner. I had control of the situation. Once I made it clear to him
that I was not available, he very graciously backed away.” She
smiled. “He did indicate your feelings in the matter held little
importance for him.”

“
Indeed.” He glared at her.
“That would be completely in character.”

“
You took a risk exposing
our relationship the way you did. It’s a good thing he is gentleman
who knows how to keep a secret.”

“
Simon? Of course, he does.
The man’s as honorable as they come. That’s why I chose the direct
approach.” He sounded surprised by her lack of
understanding.

“
Lord Ashworth, I do believe
you admire the gentleman. In fact, I suspect he is your
friend.”

“
I don’t deny it, and we
shall continue to be friends as long as he has the sense to stay
away from you. I will expect you not to encourage him.”

“
I had no idea you didn’t
trust me,” she said indignantly. “For your information, it didn’t
take much encouragement on my part to get his attention.” She
pulled away from him with every intention of vacating the
bed.

“
Oh no, you don’t.” Adam
grabbed Catherine around the waist and, pulling her to him, rolled
on top of her body gone stiff with wrath. He brought his face close
to hers and stared into her eyes. “I’ve waited many days to be with
you.” His voice had turned husky. “I’m not letting you go no matter
how angry you are with me.”

“
You know I love you, Adam,
regardless of what you think you see in public,” she said, misty
tears clouding her vision. “That ought to be enough.”

“
I know, sweeting—please
forgive me. It seems a nasty demon overtook me when I saw you
flirting with that dangerous fellow.”

“
I was not flirting.” When
he raised his brows at her skeptically, she said, “All right, a bit
perhaps but it was harmless enough. The next time I see you plying
some female with that masculine charm of yours, I’ll remember how
you feel about all this.”

Laughter rumbled in his chest and burst forth
in an explosion of merriment. “Oh, love, I should know better than
to take you on. Come, I can think of something more satisfying than
arguing.”

He covered her mouth with his, increasing the
pressure until she let her lips part in acceptance.

Running her hands up his shoulders and into
the crisp dark curls at the nape of his neck, Catherine sighed
blissfully. Ah well, she thought, when he was right, he was most
definitely right.

*****

“
This is the part I hate the
most. Lord, it’s depressing to know we may not see each other for
days and days.” Adam was struggling into a defiant Hessian, his
mood turning blacker as the boot continued to evade him. “Damn!” he
swore in irritation.

It would be morning soon, for the first
vestiges of the approaching dawn had begun to filter into the fuzzy
grayness of the room. One lone candle sputtered uselessly, casting
little illumination as its flickering life ebbed inexorably
away.

Catherine sat at the dressing table brush in
hand, attempting to bring some order to her chaotic tresses. “This
is an imperfect arrangement, Adam, but I can’t think of a better
one.”

“
How long do you suppose we
can go on as we are?”

She turned to face him, squinting across the
dimness. “Do you propose to end it?” she asked. He could hear the
fright in her voice.

“
Good God, no!” He gave the
stubborn boot a vicious yank, and it slipped into place. “How could
you ask me such a question? Is that where your thoughts have
been?”

“
No,” she said after a
moment. “I admit when I try to visualize the future, I’m unable to
do so with any real optimism.”

He stood and walked across the room to stand
over her. “What would you say if we did not allow our future to be
governed by fate?”

“
Aren’t we doing what we
can?”

“
Not at all,” he declared.
“As I see it, we have two options. Firstly, we can continue on as
we have these past weeks with no hope of ever being together except
for an occasional rendezvous. But then we live by the whim of the
baron. If he should decide he has had enough of our affair, he may
take you from the city, and legally he has the right to do just
that.”

She gulped. “Do you really think he
knows?”

“
There is no doubt in my
mind,” he stated emphatically. “It’s been too easy for him not to
have cooperated. Or should I say, for him not to have
interfered.”

“
What is the second
option?”

“
We leave the
country.”

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Adam, surely we
need do nothing so drastic.”

“
Think, love. What other
choices do we have?” He shook his head regretfully. “I don’t want
to spend the rest of my life meeting you illicitly. I want you for
my wife.”

“
But I can’t marry you if
Edgar and I are still wed. Leaving the country will not alter that
fact.”

“
We will exchange our names
for new ones. No one will ever know our true
identities.”

“
Where will we go?” she
asked in a small voice.

The earl shrugged. “We have the entire
European continent from which to make a choice. Wherever pleases
you—perhaps America.”

“
America?” Catherine stopped
then as though struck by a sudden notion. “What of our families,
Adam? We’ll never see them again.”

“
I’ve thought of that,” he
conceded. “It’s a painful choice, but I can’t imagine my life
without you.” He paused, eyeing her closely. “Perhaps you don’t
feel as strongly as I do about all this.”

“
But I do. I’m just not
ready to make a decision that is so unalterable. Please
understand.” She reached out a hand to him.

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her off the
stool and into his embrace. “I know,” he said against her hair. He
leaned back and took her face in his hands, searching her lovely
features for some clue to her inner turmoil. “Just promise you’ll
think about it, that’s all I ask.”

“
You’ve made certain I won’t
be able to think of anything else.” She wrapped her arms around his
waist, pressing her face into the lapel of his coat.

A situation that had seemed so simple, so
straightforward by virtue of its inability to lead anywhere was,
all at once, headed at lightening speed toward catastrophe. It will
be a miracle, he thought, if the fates don’t hand them their heads
on a platter.

*****

Catherine bolted off the bed as though
propelled by a spring and dashed for the chamber pot. She was just
in time as the contents of her stomach erupted forth, stripping
away her dignity. She moaned wretchedly, rocking on her haunches as
her belly continued to convulse painfully despite the fact it was
now empty.

“
Not feeling well, my
dear?”

“
Oh!” she
shrieked.

The baron stood in the doorway. So startled
was she by his unexpected presence, her legs shot out from under
her, and she landed unceremoniously on her rump. Catherine
scrambled to her feet, but her sick stomach left her reeling as she
tried to right herself.

“
Why are you always sneaking
up on me?” she snapped in irritation. She brushed the back of her
hand ineffectually over a damp curl that had fallen into her
eyes.

Edgar stared at her for several moments, but
he did not seem angered by her attitude. Instead, he continued to
watch her in a manner so penetrating, she found herself at once
wary.

At last he spoke. “When you are able to
compose yourself, I would like you to meet with me in the library.
There are some things I think you and I need to discuss.” He turned
then and left the room.

Damn the man, she thought. Would he always be
leaving her dangling on tenterhooks? What did he want from her now?
Apprehension added to Catherine’s dismay for, try as she might, she
could no longer ignore what she feared most.

She was increasing. At least she assumed that
must be the case, unless there was a mysterious stomach ailment
that attacked only in the morning and lasted for countless,
miserable weeks. Since she had never heard of a disease that chose
to strike at a particular time of day, she was forced to
acknowledge another reason for her puny health.

When Edna entered the suite a few minutes
later, it was to find her queasy mistress reclining in white-faced
misery on the chaise lounge.

“
My poor lady, are you ill
again?”

That’s a foolish question, Catherine thought,
for the odor emanating from the general direction of the chamber
pot left little doubt as to her condition.

“
Edna, you remembered the
tea.” Catherine managed a weak smile of gratitude as the servant
set down a tray laden with edibles, all of which were supposedly
bland enough to calm a digestive upset.

Edna reached for the bell pull. “Let’s remove
that chamber pot,” she said briskly. “Are you ready to try a few
bites of something?”

“
Just the tea for now,” the
baroness croaked, her voice unsteady.

The maid busied herself pouring the warm
beverage, but she bit her lip, plainly nervous as though she had
something to say. She cleared her throat as she handed the cup and
saucer to her mistress.

“
My lady, have you thought
what might be causing your illness?”

“
Yes, I have,” Catherine
said dryly as she sipped her tea. “But just to see if we are both
dreading the same thing, I want you to be frank with me.” She
carefully placed her cup in the saucer and eased into a sitting
position. “What do you think is my problem?”

Edna looked at her lady, speculation in her
eyes. “I think you are going to have a baby,” she stated
baldly.

Catherine blanched as though the thought had
never occurred to her before this very moment. “I see.” Her voice
quavered emotionally.

“
Forgive me, my lady, but
you did ask.”

“
It’s not your fault, Edna.
I did want your opinion,” Catherine said. “I don’t suppose it is a
condition that, if ignored, it will simply go away.”

The maid giggled. “No, no, my lady, I don’t
suppose it is.”

“
Now the question is, what
am I going to do?” Catherine sighed nervously. “It’s not as though
I can fob the child off on Edgar. With his affliction being what it
is, I have no alternative but to tell the truth. It’s just as well,
I suppose. I’d hate living a lie.”

“
Do you think he’ll leave
you?” Edna inquired in hushed accents.

“
If only it were that easy,”
Catherine muttered. “I wish he would file a petition for divorce
and give me my freedom, but he’ll never do it.”

Her servant looked horrified. “My lady, you
can’t mean it. If you are divorced, you’ll never be accepted in
society again.”

The baroness shook her head, contemptuous at
the very thought. “As if I cared. I’ve had enough of the
shallowness of the ‘polite world’ to last me a lifetime.” She took
another sip of her tea before continuing. “Lord Ashworth wants me
to go away with him.”