In the Garden of Temptation (35 page)

“
It would seem
not.”

She spoke carefully as she became aware of
the shift in his mood. Her nervousness escalated in response. His
bleary vision had sharpened keenly, and she realized he was not as
drunk as he had appeared. Perhaps the meal had sobered him
somewhat.

“
Are you
pregnant?”

The question came like a shot out of nowhere,
and Catherine jumped as if the imaginary bullet had found its mark.
She took her courage in hand and answered him.

“
Since Lord Wimberly left
here only days ago, it’s too soon to tell. But then, you knew that
didn’t you, Edgar?”

“
You don’t take easily, do
you?” he asked in a snide voice.

“
It’s not as simple as it
would seem. It either happens or it does not. It’s not my fault
regardless of the effort.”

“
No, suppose it’s not.” He
sighed heavily, and for a moment he seemed almost reasonable. He
brought his moody gaze to her face. “Get me the brandy.”

“
Edgar, don’t
you—?”

“
Get me the bloody brandy!”
he bellowed.

What difference did it make anyway if he
poured more of that poison down his throat? Maybe he would finally
go to sleep, and she could go see Annabelle. She retrieved the
decanter and placed it before him. Without benefit of glass, he
raised the heavy crystal container to his mouth and took a deep
swallow.

Catherine stood uncertainly to one side of
the table, wondering whether it was prudent to leave. He had not
dismissed her, but he seemed to have forgotten her presence.

The baron glanced at his wife. “Sit
down.”

She thought to argue but squelched the whim
as unproductive. She took her seat once more.

“
I admit I don’t know how to
accomplish my aim.” His words had already begun to slur again. “How
am I to do it?”

“
Lord Wimberly has promised
to come back, Edgar.”

“
I don’t want you to see him
anymore,” he barked drunkenly, spittle forming on his loose
lips.

“
Why, oh why, Edgar? I like
him. It makes it easier.”

“
That’s the very reason—you
like him.”

He drank the liquor as though it were water,
one slug after the other, until he was reeling in his chair. He
tried to speak again, but the words were unintelligible.

Catherine sat quietly, hands folded in her
lap and watched her husband not figuratively but literally drink
himself under the table. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he
slipped from his chair, bringing the brandy decanter crashing down
beside him. Luckily, it did not break. The whole process could not
have taken more than twenty minutes. She picked up the bell next to
her plate.

Robby appeared in the doorway. “Yes, my
lady?”

“
Your master requires some
assistance in attaining his room. I would like you to get Willy and
see what can be done.”

Moments later the baron’s servant entered the
dining hall.

“
We’d best leave him where
he lies, my lady.” Clearly worried, his gaze darted to his master.
“If he should find out we touched him there will be the devil to
pay.”

“
It’s simple, Willy,”
Catherine said smoothly. “Tell him he attained his chamber under
his own power. He’ll never be able to prove differently.” Try as
she might, she could not keep the contempt out of her
voice.

She rose from the table and left the two
servants with an unenviable task. Upstairs, she rang for her
maid.

“
Edna, I’ve come to a
decision.”

“
My lady?”

“
We have to leave. I can’t
wait in the hope that Lord Wimberly will return. I’m afraid for
Annabelle.”

Edna stared at her mistress, wide-eyed. “How
do we do it?”

“
We can’t take much with us,
that’s for certain. Do you think your young Robby will help
us?”

The servant blushed. “He’s not my Robby—” she
began.

“
Do you think he will help?”
Catherine asked impatiently.

“
Yes, my lady, I
do.”

“
Pack a few things and be
ready at a moment’s notice. It may take a day or two before we can
leave without being accosted, but my husband is drinking heavily
again and it’s only a matter time. While he is in one of his
stupors is the time to leave, though I want to be certain he will
be unconscious for more than a few hours. Willy on his own can do
little to stop us, and I don’t think Edgar has any other servants
he can fully trust.”

“
Where are we to go, my
lady?” Edna asked in a small voice.

“
Home, Edna—back to
Eddington. If my father won’t help me, I know my brother will. And
now I think I’ll visit Annabelle. After that I’m going to take that
ride I promised myself.”

*****

Catherine breathed deeply of the scented air.
Stepping into the bright light from the dankness of the castle, the
warmth of the sun flowed over her body like a soothing cloak.

She had no idea why she felt so euphoric. She
had seen Annabelle and that was cause for celebration, but it was
more than seeing her child. Edgar lay in a drunken slumber in his
upstairs bedroom, however, that knowledge only produced relief.
Perhaps just making a decision was what she needed, for she had
come to believe her world would finally be righted. Whatever the
reason, she basked in the glow of optimism.

She crossed the yard in a near-skip and
entered the stables. “Mr. Brown,” she called to the old groom.

Brown materialized from the gloom of the
building, a furtive expression on his deeply lined features. “My
lady?”

“
I’d like you to saddle my
mare. This is too beautiful a day to waste on the
indoors.”

“
Yes, my lady.”

The groom set about doing as he was bid, and
quickly her horse was ready. He led the animal into the yard and
assisted his mistress in mounting.

Catherine smiled down at him cheerily. “I
won’t be overlong, Mr. Brown,” she said, as she turned her
mount.

“
Ah…my lady?” the groom
ventured in a tentative voice. “Would you be willing to share your
direction with me?”

“
Don’t worry.” She smiled
reassuringly. “I’m just going for a short ride.” Catherine urged
her mount forward, kicking up a hailstorm of tiny pebbles as she
galloped from the stable yard.

As she disappeared from sight Brown returned
to the stable, muttering to himself.

*****

“
Is she gone?”

“
Aye, but she wouldn’t tell
me where she was going,” Brown said. “I’m sorry, my
lord.”

“
Nonsense, I know exactly
where she’s headed.” The Earl of Ashworth stepped out of the
shadows of the stable into the light and, in the greatest good
humor, clapped the servant on the shoulder. “What luck she has
decided to leave the house today.”

The groom did not smile. “I’m glad you’ve
come, my lord,” he said simply.

Adam sobered. “I’ve been a fool, Brown, but
no longer. Thank you for watching over her until I came to my
senses.”

The old man did grin then. “My pleasure, my
lord.”

Adam nodded, but his confidence was tempered
with a healthy dose of caution. Before he became too cocky, he had
better talk to Catherine. And presently that exceptional lady rode
forth, increasing the distance between the earl and herself with
every passing second. And he still had to retrieve his horse hidden
behind a small outcropping a couple hundred yards from the
castle.

The earl eased out of the building and dashed
across the yard. He prayed his movements went undetected by anyone
who might not wish him well. Although, if Brown were an accurate
example of the prevailing attitude among most of the inhabitants of
the castle, Adam was in no danger of being exposed.

He reached his horse without incident and
mounted quickly. His first inclination was to dash after Catherine
as fast as his steed could carry him, but on reflection he decided
to trail after her at a more judicious pace. He followed the path
he knew she had taken, using the short ride to collect his
thoughts.

His heart was racing with such expectation,
he wondered if the muscle intended to fail him altogether. Hope is
a bewitching emotion, he realized, leading one on with outrageous
promises of better things to come, and he could not quite grasp the
notion that his fondest desire was finally within reach. If only
Catherine would forgive him for his obtuseness, he would spend the
rest of his life making it up to her. Strangely, he had stopped
considering the baron an obstacle to his happiness.

Adam broke into the now familiar glen, his
eyes scanning the area for signs of Catherine. Had he been
mistaken? No, there she sat, perched on a smooth rock at the edge
of the tiny brook that flowed through the clearing. She had pulled
her skirt to her knees and was dangling her long, slim legs over
the bank as she teased the water with the tips of her bare
toes.

She was humming as she was prone to do when
she thought herself alone, and his heart turned over in his breast.
He stared at her, overcome with desire and something more,
something so soul-stirring he did not comprehend until that moment
how much he had missed her. He should have known, for these last
months had been hellish. It was disquieting to admit such
vulnerability, and Adam felt as uncomfortable as any man forced to
acknowledge so strong a dependence on another human being.

Whether Catherine heard him or merely sensed
his nearness, he could not tell, but suddenly she turned her head
and looked directly at him. She seemed neither surprised nor
disconcerted to see him standing there watching her. She eased
around on the rock, pulling her skirt over her damp limbs.

“
You spoke to Daniel,” she
said after several tense seconds.

“
Yes,” he
admitted.

“
You did not have to rush to
my aid, Adam. I’ve made some decisions. Edgar is deteriorating and
I’m going to leave him.”

How could she sound so detached when all he
wanted was to take her in his arms and hold on with all his
might?

“
You need my help,
Catherine, whether you admit it or not.”

“
I need more than that, my
lord.”

Her words wavered softly across the still air
of the copse, and for a moment he did not know if he had heard her
correctly.

Adam closed the distance that separated them
in an instant, coming to rest on his knees next to her where she
sat on the rock. He gathered her roughly into his embrace, and he
heard the air squeeze from her chest.

“
Why did you send me from
you?” he asked in a tortured voice, his mouth pressed against her
throat. “Why?”

“
It was the hardest thing
I’ve ever done, I swear.” She gasped, sounding as though she fought
for her breath. “I thought it best for you.”

He pulled back to look at her. “Didn’t you
think I had the right to choose for myself?”

“
I was so frightened and
confused—can you forgive me?”

Adam was ashamed. He had come to plead with
her, hoping she would give him another chance, and instead she was
apologizing.

“
My love, it is I who should
be begging pardon, not you. I should have realized something was
wrong, but I allowed the lies to turn my head. I should have
trusted you.”

“
I’m grateful to Lord
Wimberly, though I asked him not to involve you. If it weren’t for
him you would not be here.”

“
What did you do to him?” he
asked severely. “He came after me like a knight on a white charger.
Said either I must see to the situation or he would do it
himself.”

“
Then he did mean to keep
his promise.”

She smiled so prettily he felt his irritation
rise.

“
Indeed he did. I think the
man’s half in love with you. It was disheartening to hear that the
woman I adore had tossed herself into the arms of my closest
friend.”

Catherine blushed. “He told you that, did he?
Luckily, love does not happen after only one kiss—that is unless
one is meant to fall in love as I did with you.”

He was only somewhat mollified. “I’m relieved
to hear it.”

“
I admit, though, it wasn’t
an altogether unpleasant experience,” she said on a throaty
laugh.

“
What?” he thundered, his
brows lowering ominously.

“
I pretended he was
you.”

“
Did you, by God!” he ground
out and suddenly aroused pulled her from the rock to the soft
ground, rolling her on her back and covering her with his body. He
lowered his face until his nose touched hers.

“
Then there won’t be any
more need for pretense, will there?” he said.

He covered her mouth with such intensity his
senses went reeling. Lifting his head, his respiration came in
ragged gasps. Now was not soon enough. He wanted to assuage the
desire, but he detected a sudden hesitation in her.

“
What is it, sweetheart?” he
asked huskily.

“
Edgar’s man witnessed our
last encounter here. I find the possibility of it happening again
too appalling to ignore.”

“
Bourgeault told you
that?”

“
Yes. He ruined a beautiful
memory for me. I think that was his aim.”