Page 52 of Only Scandal Will Do

Stella snorted.

The explosion of sound made Kat and Dalbury leap back and away from each other.

Shaken by the intimacy she’d found herself enjoying with her husband, she hung onto the stall. She hid her face, trying to calm herself. He had done it again, damn him! Even more exasperating, her attraction to him had not diminished a jot.

When she peeked at Dalbury, he stood turned away and his breathing came in jerky gasps. At least he wasn’t as self-assured as last time.

Glad to have a different focus for her attention, she steadied herself with several deep breaths and stroked the mare again. When she thought she could speak calmly, she said, “I thank you, my lord, for your gift to me. She is most beautiful and I will look forward to riding her soon.”

Dalbury turned toward her, his breathing once again even, eyes shining. “You are more than welcome. I am glad you take pleasure in the gift. I look forward to riding with you, if you will permit?”

Trapped, she could only nod.

“Shall we go in to luncheon, then?”

Again she nodded, took the arm he offered and felt the now familiar heat of him through the fabric of his coat. The sensation unsettled her. His warmth seemed to seep into her very bones.

Returning to the house in awkward silence, Kat tried once more to mentally distance herself from her husband. She dredged up all the reasons why she could not trust him: his escapades, his women, his seductive words. But with his warm, comforting presence beside her, outrage faded. Despite her very real concerns, she was increasingly aware that if she were not careful, her resolve to deny her husband would crumble like a mud pie in a steady rain.

CHAPTER 22

Duncan stared out the casement window to the precise, clipped figures of the topiary garden at the rear of the house, where Katarina and Juliet walked about, deep in conversation with Juliet’s dear friend Lady Honoria Claypool. He smiled at Juliet, who whirled her hands in circles, unmistakably telling of her recent conquests at various ton events. He could hear her squeals of merriment even at this distance as she relayed all the most exciting details of Mr. Randolph Sutton’s attentions to her. Well, he supposed it was Sutton; he was the most recent suitor, anyway.

He chuckled to himself. Sutton was son and heir to Viscount Brisbane, not a stellar match for Juliet, but eligible. And the gentleman certainly had seemed interested enough at Lady Bercy’s musicale last evening. Mr. Sutton had inveigled a seat next to Juliet and monopolized her for the first part of the entertainment before escorting her in to supper.

He should speak to Juliet soon, gauge her feelings on the matter. Sutton was quite close to a declaration, if the pining looks he’d given Juliet during the evening were any indication. From her lively conversation below, Juliet seemed to return the young man’s interest, although they had only met the previous month.

During that month, lack of progress best described his attempts to woo Katarina. Memories of the early weeks of his marriage were anything but pleasant. Most of that time he’d feared he was no nearer to Katarina’s capitulation than he had been the day of their wedding.

She’d appeared the perfect wife in public, the perfect icicle in private.

The gift of Stella had been by far his best inroad to Katarina’s affections. Whenever he wished, he could recall the moment he presented her with the mare, and the passionate almost kiss that followed in exact detail. He had only to close his eyes to relive the warmth of her hand, the silky, seductive feel of her hair, the delicate scent of jasmine that clung to her always.

Duncan took a deep breath and the phantom fragrance wafted through his mind.

Exhaling, he turned away from the window and the delights of the bright garden. That almost kiss was as close to his wife as he had come during the month, despite his unfailing attempts at politeness and gallantry. He’d squired her to more ton events than he had ever attended before, and ended up watching her dance and socialize with other men. All offers to take her driving and had been politely refused. Hoping to engineer time alone with her, he’d even suggested they journey to Merrywell, his family’s estate in Gloucestershire, and had offered to show her some of the countryside. To no avail. Her response had been that they could not neglect Juliet’s season when there were so many young men interested in his sister. And in deference to her request, he’d let the matter drop.

The upshot was, during the four weeks since their wedding they had spent almost no time together alone. The frustration of having Katarina so near, yet so far removed, ate at him, eroding his good sense. More than three months had passed since he’d had a woman in his bed; his body could count the hours. And though he’d entertained ideas of going discreetly to another woman to ease the physical torment, the very thought of doing so wilted any desire his body summoned. Only Katarina aroused him now, the one woman he seemed unable to seduce. She remained maddeningly polite, distant, and indifferent.

The week after the presentation of Stella had been interminable. The chill, rainy weather had kept them indoors. Juliet had languished with her cold for several days and he’d tried to amuse his wife as best he could, but could soon tell his presence grated on her patience. She’d kept him company at meals, obliged him by sitting in the library with him after dinner, and on the two occasions he’d sought her out for conversation after luncheon, they’d spoken about a variety of topics, although she had not lingered either time.

He had been unfailingly polite and attentive to her that whole time, while Katarina’s attitude toward him had steadily deteriorated from subdued politeness to outright hostility. Her tongue had become sharper, until almost every sentence dripped with sarcasm or carried a barb. The temper he knew well had flared in earnest at the end of the week, when he’d denied her outrageous suggestion she ride in the park in the rain. She’d refused to speak to him for three days.

The ban on outdoor activity had lifted on the first day of sunshine and Katarina had tripped happily down the stairs to meet Jack for their long promised ride. She’d passed him in the hall, flung a smile at him on the way out the door and called, “We will be back in time for breakfast, my lord.”

Duncan smiled ruefully into the empty drawing room that overlooked the garden. It was patently pathetic when a man was so desperate for attention from his wife that he remembered every word she spoke to him. But he did. He’d listened raptly every time Katarina opened her mouth, answered her with warmth and humor when called for, with gravity when she’d turned to serious subjects. Tried throughout the month to demonstrate kindness, warmth and his affection for her. What he had gotten in return was a cool demeanor and polite distance. She seemed to treat him like an annoying relative one could not quite dismiss from one’s house and therefore must tolerate until other arrangements could be made.

Nothing had given him hope that his situation might change...except for one day in the park.

He had chosen not to insist upon riding with his wife and her brother, had hoped instead to be asked along in the rush of freedom once the rain subsided. After a week had passed, he’d realized no such invitation would be forthcoming. So he’d presented himself in the stable one morning at dawn, the time he knew Katarina preferred to ride.

Mounted on Stella, she looked extremely fetching in a Prussian blue riding habit as she glanced about, calling for John, the groom who always accompanied her.

“Will I do as escort this morning, Lady Dalbury?” Duncan had asked, appearing beside her on Saxon.

Startled, she’d tapped Stella, and the mare had tried to turn in the small space. Katarina had controlled the horse with expert hands, soothed her down with murmured words. “I did not expect you this morning, my lord.” Head bent--to hide her displeasure?--she’d rubbed the horse’s neck.

“But you gave me leave to ride with you, did you not?”