‘That’s the reason why my husband threatened divorce proceedings. He was jealous of Jacob and wanted to have his revenge. I tried throwing myself on my husband’s mercy, begging him, promising to never again be unfaithful, but none of it worked.’ She smiled as if this was all an amusing story. ‘Do you know what made him drop the silly idea in the end?’
Margaret shook her head, unable to answer, even though she knew what had put a stop to the divorce. She had. Their fake engagement had. Jacob’s plan to appear respectable had.
‘I told my husband that if he put aside these foolish threats I would show him some of the tricks Jacob taught me in bed.’
The Baroness’s laughter covered Margaret’s shocked gasp.
‘And I did,’ she said. ‘I now have a very, very happy husband and it’s all thanks to Jacob. And while he has never reached Jacob’s level of expertise, things have certainly improved for me as well, and my husband also now has a very happy mistress, thanks again to Jacob.’
She placed her hand on Margaret’s arm, as if they were now the best of friends, united by their shared pleasure in Jacob’s bed. ‘Has he shown you how to—’
‘It’s lovely to see you again, Baroness,’ Margaret said, finally finding her voice and cutting her off before she could say anything even more outrageous. ‘But I really must be…’ She was unsure what she must be doing, but she had to get away from this woman.
‘Go back to your husband. Of course you must. You lucky, lucky woman. And it’s not just that he’s such an expert in the bedroom, he’s such a wonderful man all round, isn’t he?’
Despite herself, Margaret stopped. ‘He is?’ she asked, dreading what else the Baroness had to say, but also wanting to hear everything.
‘Yes, Henry told me all about how Jacob proposed to you to save me from the divorce courts. It was so magnanimous. If we hadn’t already parted, I’m sure I would have seen it as a grand romantic gesture rather than an act of kindness from a wonderful man.’
Margaret swallowed a gasp.
‘I’m sorry, my dear, that’s not to say your marriage is meaningless. It’s just that…well, he did marry you to save me, so our time together must have meant a great deal to him, and that is something I will always treasure.’
Margaret continued to stare at her, once again lost for words.
‘Oh, I didn’t mean to upset you,’ the Baroness continued. ‘You’re the one in his bed now. You’re the one who is smiling like the cat who got the cream. Please don’t be jealous of me. It’s all over between us, I promise.’
No words could console Margaret because she was right. With all that had happened in the last few months, she had forgotten the real reason why they were together. It had been for the sake of his former lover. The Baroness had meant more to Jacob than she did, and yet he had moved on from her with hardly a backward glance. How long would it take for him to do the same to her?
And the Baroness had certainly been more rational and unsentimental about the situation than Margaret. She’d known what Jacob was like, just as Margaret had when they’d first met. The Baroness had accepted that. She had enjoyed their time together and when it was over she had accepted the situation. She hadn’t been foolish like Margaret and seen it as anything more than just a pleasurable time. She hadn’t been stupid enough to fall in love. Or even more foolish to think she wanted to become the mother of his children. It seemed she was still that naïve young woman who had walked up the aisle, and nothing that had happened over the last few months had changed that. If anything, she had become more gullible, more pathetic.
‘As I said, if you’ll excuse me, I must—’
‘Yes, you must be anxious to make the most of the time you have with him, because, unfortunately, as wonderful as it is, it won’t last and it won’t be long before some other pretty young thing takes his fancy, and she starts wearing that same look of delightful satisfaction. Just enjoy yourself while it lasts.’
Those terrible words ringing in her ears, Margaret fled from the ladies’ retiring room. Once the door closed behind her, she stood in the hallway, her heart pounding in her chest.
She had been such a fool. A stupid, deluded fool. But no more. It was time to recapture sensible Margaret Whitmore, the woman she had been when she’d first met Jacob at the Earl’s weekend party. That woman had taken no nonsense from anyone and that was what she would do now.
With more self-control than she’d thought she possessed, she pulled herself together, lifted her head high and strode into the drawing room, where the volume had risen substantially, along with the loud carousing of the Earl’s friends.
Finally, Margaret had emerged from the retiring room. What ladies did in there Jacob could not imagine but, whatever it was, it always seemed to take an inordinate amount of time.
He excused himself from Rupert Penvale, who was regaling him with ribald stories of all that he had missed over the last two months, and crossed the room to join his wife.
Once again, she had adopted that disapproving look he had seen so often before they’d married, but had not seen since they had started to share a bed. His suspicions were confirmed. She was starting to remember the man he was and the reasons why she had been so reluctant to marry him.
‘You were gone a long time,’ he said, lightly placing his hand on her arm, hoping she would once again smile at him in that loving manner that was so precious to him, but doubting he would ever see it again.
‘Yes, and I’m going to be gone for a lot longer.’
‘Longer?’
‘Yes, I forgot to mention earlier, but I’ve made arrangements to spend the evening with my friends, Primrose and Alice.’
‘This evening, but…’ he looked around the room at the wedding party, which had only just started ‘…but they are yet to serve the meal, have the toasts and so on. You must stay for that.’
‘I’m sure you will hardly notice I’m gone.’
