The Wedding Gamble by Julia Justiss

Author:Julia Justiss [Justiss, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical
ISBN: 9780263210422
Google: 0cXJeqzy6VQC
Publisher: Mills & Boon
Published: 1999-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

Nicholas stared at his paper-strewn desk and counted to one hundred, then two. Fury, outrage and a brace of other strong emotions he’d not put a name to elbowed for room in his mind like noisy spectators at a cockfight.Send him Sarah, indeed! he fumed. Rifle fire must have rattled the man’s brain. How dare he suggest such a thing, or question Nicholas’s fitness to be Sarah’s husband. He really should meet the captain at Jackson’s and pummel some of the effrontery out of him. The very idea of her in the arms of that hussar sent a shaft of torment through him.

He had never learned for sure if Lydia actually betrayed him. After the accident, her hysterical maid disclaimed all knowledge of the nameless soldier, and not wishing to arouse more speculation among the servants, he hadn’t investigated further. Knowing that Lydia had always preferred wooing and gifts and pretty speeches to the physical act of love, he suspected she might have gone to her grave still technically faithful.

In truth, Lydia had always been somewhat chilly, especially before that ill-fated sojourn in Bath. Unlike his eager, sensual Sarah—Sarah, who even after an obviously wrenching scene with her former love, sought out rather than rebuffed his embrace.

He reviewed the encounter in fond detail, finding reassurance in each kiss, each sigh. If loving would keep her close and content, he was more than happy to provide it.

What else was it Sandiford said—that Sarah would shoot him for maligning her honor by suggesting an adulterous relationship? If Sandiford, who—God rot him—had known Sarah longer than he, discounted the possibility of her abandoning her marriage, why should he worry?

He wouldn’t. He would forget the whole distasteful interview. Sarah would never consider such a sordid arrangement. In turn, he vowed, he would ensure she never regretted her loyalty. After all, contrary to the opinion of that fur-pelissed popinjay, Sarah’s happiness was of great concern to him.

So why was he still troubled? The answer trembling at the edge of his mind unsettled him. Surely he wasn’t such a coxcomb that he demanded both his wife’s fidelity—and her love—without being willing to pledge his own.

Love. He’d thought he loved Lydia, that she loved him in return. But she claimed in her farewell note he couldn’t have loved her and neglected her so—then abandoned him.

All he knew about for sure, he concluded bitterly, was the devastation of betrayal. And the simplicity of more businesslike arrangements.

From beyond the stack of musty ledgers where he’d relegated it, the cloying scent of a perfumed letter reached him. Twitching his nose in distaste, he picked it up.

Chloe’s missive thanked him prettily for paying her gambling losses and hinted she lay ready at any time to offer thanks of a more intimate nature.

He stared at the letter, frowning. Despite Lydia’s quixotic bedroom behavior, he’d never taken a mistress during their marriage. The captain’s harangue on the subject pricked at him.

A “coarse display of womanly charm,” the captain had uncharitably described Chloe. Truth be told, of late he was beginning to share the captain’s opinion.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.