Page 40

“She didn’t look like no one to me!” Catherine exclaimed, the level of her anger surprising her.

“Keep your voice down!” Hugh hissed. “There’s no need to make a scene.”

“A scene? You don’t want me to make a scene when you—”

Hugh’s strong arms were suddenly around her, almost lifting her off her feet and drawing her far into the shadowy depths of the conservatory.

“Yes, I don’t want you to make a scene,” he said seriously, once they were away from prying eyes and strained ears. “The womanI was speaking to is Lady Brightling. Before you ask, yes, we were lovers for a number of years.”

“I knew it!” Catherine blurted out, glad that it was too dark for Hugh to see the tears welling up in her eyes. “I couldn’t believe it when you said there would be no other women but me.”

Hugh exhaled crossly. “Will you just listen to me, Catherine? I said that Lady Brightling and Iwerelovers, notarelovers. I used the past tense, not the present tense.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” She gulped.

“Well, yes,” he huffed. “I can’t apologize for having a past, can I? No man of thirty years is a blank page.”

“You could avoid parading your lovers in front of me, or give me a warning! You could avoid shaming me in public and making me look like a complete fool!”

“I’ve done none of those things!” Hugh protested indignantly. “I know you’re angry, Catherine, but this is about you, not me. I’ve been honest with you from the first moment we met.”

“Honest?! Then why didn’t you tell me that Lady Brightling would be here? Why did you let me find out who she was from women gossiping in the retiring room? I almost trusted you, Hugh Vaughan.”

“I had no idea she would be here. I hadn’t even considered the possibility. There were others I wished to speak to tonight, and it has been very much worthwhile, if not distressing, to learn some hard truths. I was certainly also happy to see Sarah. She is a good woman, and I am glad she is well. But her presence here is mere coincidence.”

“Sarah?!” Catherine spluttered, the syllables almost sticking in her throat. “You didn’t knowSarahwould be here? A likely story.”

“There is no reason for such jealousy, Catherine. I wantyou. Only you.”

Jealousy? Wasn’t that what men always claimed when their infidelities were first discovered by their wives? It was only another way of calling her hysterical, and Catherine would not have it.

“I am angry—rightfullyangry. You may call it jealousy, but you have wronged me as your wife and should admit it rather than insulting me!”

“You’re jealous of Sarah, and there’s absolutely no grounds for it,” Hugh maintained. “Please, listen and think about what you’re saying.”

“You must think I’m a complete fool—”

“Catherine!” Hugh snapped. Then, to her great astonishment, he simply kissed her.

His lips were gentle, but his arms were strong, and after her initial shock, Catherine found that both were strangely comforting. He kissed away the two tears that had rolled down her cheeks, his vision in the dark better than she had guessed.

“Hugh,” she breathed, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Catherine realized that her hands were gripping his lapels tightly and holding him close. Shocked by her actions, she released him with a sharp exhalation.

“Do you want me to let you go?” Hugh asked. “I won’t hold you against your will. I only wanted to explain the situation to you in private, and then, when you were too angry to hear me out, it seemed that the only thing I could do was kiss you…”

He bent his head and brushed his lips against hers once more, his gentle touch eliciting a helpless sigh of pleasure.

“I should be angry,” Catherine murmured, making no move to escape from his slow, persistent kisses, which were now trailing down her throat. “Why are you even doing this? I don’t understand…”

“I want you in my bed,” Hugh said, his voice slightly rough with desire. “What else is there to understand?”

“I’m your wife. You could have me in your bed any time you please. We both know that.”

“But you must want to be there, Catherine. I want your lips to seek mine, I want your body to open to me, I want your hands to pull me deeper and deeper inside you…”

Catherine felt her breathing grow ragged as he pressed increasingly passionate kisses to the swell of her breasts. His hand began to push the already low neckline of her dress down.