The June Bride Conspiracy (The Spy Matchmaker Book 2) by Regina Scott

Author:Regina Scott [Scott, Regina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Edwards and Williams
Published: 2017-06-27T18:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Joanna paced her room again that night, calling herself six times a fool. How could she have been so blind? She’d feared she wasn’t interesting enough for him. She’d feared he didn’t love her. She thought him a bit obsessed in trying to discover who was intent on parting them. Now she knew the situation was far worse. It wasn’t so much he lacked in love but that he loved elsewhere. She had a rival, and she had no idea how to counter it.

She had heard of other women who had to work to capture their husbands’ attention. Racehorses, gambling, pugilistic displays, the lure of the forbidden, any and all of those things had been known to turn a man’s head. And Jenny had thought he had a mistress! He had a lover all right, one with which she could hardly compare.

She had innocently thought that she would never take second place in her husband’s heart. She wouldn’t do so now without a fight.

But how to fight? He claimed to want to settle down, but she was certain his desire for peace and tranquility would not outlast the day. She’d seen the spark in his eye when he was on the chase. She was just as certain that she was not interesting enough or beautiful enough to keep a man like Allister away from his other passion for long. What other weapons did she have?

The note, the candy, their watcher had given her a few days’ grace before Allister discovered how truly uninteresting she was. The matter was claiming his attention, and he was not unhappy about that. Yet she had complete confidence that he would eventually solve the mystery. Ten years of dangerous work would surely have given him the instincts and knowledge for self-preservation, at the least. It would also have honed his skills for solving problems like this one. He was on the hunt, and he would catch the culprit. Then she would be left with nothing but her staid little life to recommend her.

If only she could keep this level of excitement in their relationship. She had seen enough marriages to know that the ardor of courtship cooled quickly into a sedentary fondness in many cases. She had hoped that she and Allister might someday share a deeper bond. That hope was doomed unless she could find something that would entice him to stay with her.

She was still mulling over the matter the next day when Allister called. Elegant in his navy coat and fawn trousers, he brought her a nosegay of hothouse violets, brushing a kiss against her neck as he bent to give them to her.

“Thank you,” she murmured, both for the flowers and the touch.

“Oh, how lovely,” her mother enthused. “My Joanna is fortunate in her choice of husbands.”

Joanna was certain her smile was as strained as Allister’s as he bowed over her mother’s hand. She set the flowers into the lap of her lavender silk walking dress and tried to focus her attention on them.

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