But the knowledge gave him no pleasure, and behind that civil facade, the primitive that Kate had awakened surged to life, roaring his displeasure at their separation.By enormous strength of will he reined in that savage side of himself and vowed that soon there would be a reckoning with his wife.
Chapter Twenty
Grayson nodded to the unsmiling butler as he entered Lady Lynford’s elegant home.He had been here many times before, but tonight he resented the social commitment.He was weary from racing around the countryside and emotionally spent.
By the time they had reached London, the sun was setting.Grayson agreed to meet Jasper and his solicitor for dinner, but Jasper’s solicitor, already out for the evening, had been impossible to reach.
So Grayson was forced to take his meal with Jasper, a man he was beginning to believe was a complete imbecile.Although he was accustomed to dealing with persons of inferior intellect, Grayson’s patience had been worn thin by the long day, and he found himself more than eager for an excuse to quit Jasper’s company for the night.
And now he was at the Lynford house, though he could hardly call the society much of an improvement.Straightening, Grayson wrestled his inner turmoil to a dull roar as he walked through the crowd.His old restlessness seemed to have returned, stronger than ever, only now his vague longing had a focus: Kate.
Frowning, Grayson made his way to the card room, where he stood surveying the play with little interest.Although he could find better games at a club or one of many gambling dens he had frequented in the past, his old passion no longer tempted him.
He had a new passion.
The reminder weighed heavily upon him.He stalked out of the French doors into the garden at the rear of the house, but there was no escape from the woman who had invaded his life.She was in his thoughts constantly, in his blood, in his heart…
Rebelling at the notion, Grayson told himself that Kate was on his mind because of what lay unresolved between them.He needed to find out why she had left him, why she had denied him today, how she felt about him…
Folding his arms across the stone balustrade, Grayson gazed out into the night, acutely aware of his solitary existence.His separation from Kate did nothing to ease his obsession with her.It only added a new sensation: a dull ache that told him he missed her with every breath he drew and every beat of his heart.
“Wroth?”
Grayson pushed aside the maudlin thoughts at the sound of his name, but he made no move to greet the woman who spoke.Most females knew better than to approach him, and his lack of answer ought to send this one scurrying away.
“Where’s Kate?”
Surprised, Grayson lifted a brow and turned.It was Charlotte, looking a bit overblown in a fancy silver gown.Briefly, Grayson wondered what he had ever seen in her, for her wild hair bore no resemblance to Kate’s smooth curls and her contours were a far cry from Kate’s slender shape.
He missed her so badly his fingers balled into a fist.“Gone home.”
“Why?It’s obvious that she loves you.”
The words sent a thrill shooting through Grayson, and he stiffened, denying their power over him.If Kate felt anything at all for him, then why had she left?He had been a good husband, kind, attentive, generous with his purse and in his lovemaking.
And yet… All the while he had struggled against his attraction to her, calling it base and primitive, ashamed of his weakness.He sucked in a harsh breath at the admission, but kept it to himself.“You know whattonmarriages are like,” he said tightly.
“Stop it,” Charlotte said, with surprising vehemence.
Too tired to glare at her, Grayson simply stared out into the darkness.“Not everyone subscribes to the ridiculous fancies of that idiot you married.My wife and I have a civil arrangement.”
“The great Wroth would not settle for that,” Charlotte said.“Love, genuine passion, or whatever you want to call it, is worth more than a hundred flirtations, a million polite contracts.”
When Grayson said nothing, she drew out her fan and leaned back to study him.“You are known for your honesty.Let me ask you this, and answer quickly: would you rather be married to me?”
Grayson blinked at her, stunned by the question.Once, he would have thought her a suitable wife, but now… His heart started racing at the thought of trading Kate for anyone else.
“I thought not,” Charlotte said, smiling and tapping his arm with her fan.
“But it’s not easy to have more than a civil arrangement.For a real relationship, you must give something of yourself.You cannot have it both ways, Wroth,” she said softly.
“Either you have an empty marriage, like most of these wretched creatures, or you risk yourself on something better, finer, richer.You obviously are a man of fierce passions.Why would you accept anything less?”
Because it’s a sign of weakness,Grayson thought bitterly.But was it?Perhaps weakness lay in following the easy course, the one set by other men who felt nothing for their wives or the mistresses paraded before them.Suddenly, Grayson wondered if Wycliffe was not to be admired for his bravery.The man had the courage to care.
As if anticipating his capitulation, Charlotte leaned close.“Go to your wife,” she whispered over her fan.“Go to her and tell her what’s in your heart.”
Kate tossed and turned in her lonely bed, just as she had ever since her arrival at Hargate.But this evening was worse.Tonight she was acutely aware that she could be lying beside her husband.
