Harlequin Historical June 2013 - Bundle 1 of 2: The Honor-Bound Gambler\A Reputation for Notoriety\His Lady of Castlemora by Lisa Plumley & Diane Gaston & Joanna Fulford

Author:Lisa Plumley & Diane Gaston & Joanna Fulford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Celia hugged herself during her short ride back to her rooms. Her body felt languorous, at peace with itself for the first time in her memory.

How could she have ever guessed lovemaking could be like this?

The carriage turned a corner.

She’d turned a corner, too. She felt free of her husband at last. There was no reason ever again to think of what it had been like being married to him. That part of her life was over and nothing like it would ever again happen to her.

A new door had opened. A door to new experiences and new delights. Celia planned to enjoy every minute of them.

Her heart was as light as gossamer when the carriage stopped. She gathered her mask and her reticule, opened the door and climbed out.

‘Thank you, Jonah,’ she called to her coachman. ‘Get some rest.’

He touched his hat in acknowledgement and flicked the reins. The coach pulled away.

Celia walked to the door and turned the latch. Tucker knew what time to unlock the door for her. He would have risen from his bed and be waiting to attend her in the hall.

How good her servants were to her.

She opened the door and stepped inside. Her butler indeed stood before her, but with an anxious expression and wringing hands.

She tensed. ‘What is it, Tucker?’

He inclined his head towards the staircase. ‘The dowager.’

Was Lady Gale ill? ‘What about her?’

His face turned grim. ‘She awaits you in your bedchamber.’

Celia froze. She was discovered.

She lifted her chin, though. This would change nothing. Her mother-in-law had no control over her life. The woman was dependent upon Celia, not the other way around.

She gave Tucker a rueful, but reassuring smile. ‘Well, this will be unpleasant, will it not?’

‘Quite, ma’am.’ He relaxed a bit at her calm manner.

Celia climbed the stairs, feeling weary and in a great need of sleep.

Her maid stood outside her bedchamber door. ‘She’s in there,’ Younie whispered. ‘Fit to be tied.’

‘So I would expect.’ Celia opened the door.

Lady Gale had positioned one of Celia’s chairs to face the door. She sat on the chair as if it were a throne and wore an outraged expression.

Celia did not give her mother-in-law time to speak. ‘You have not been invited into my private room, Lady Gale. Nor were you given permission to rearrange my chairs.’ When holding a weak hand, it was always best to make a bold move. Celia’s father had taught her that. ‘Leave now and never trespass here again.’

The dowager’s mouth dropped open and it took time for her to find her voice. She rose out of the chair. ‘How dare you speak to me like that, you little wretch! Especially when you have been out all night. Where have you been?’

‘I do not owe you an explanation, Lady Gale.’ Celia stood at the open door.

The dowager grabbed her cane and pounded it across the floor. She stopped inches from Celia. ‘You have been with a man. I’d wager a fortune on it. Who did you find willing to bed you? Surely someone you had to pay.

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