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“Where have you been?” he snapped out.
Irene blinked. “Where…”
“This afternoon, where have you been all afternoon?” he asked, striding forward to loom over her as her neck tilted backwards to keep her gaze on his. He reached out and grabbed a hold of her upper arms, his touch surprisingly gentle as he ran his hands down to her elbows. It was only that hold on her that kept her from trying to step away. “Where did you go after visiting Eleanor?”
“To see my mother.”
“Why?” He glared at her suspiciously, not entirely sure whether or not he believed her. After all, her mother was a harridan, why would Irene want to spend so much time there?
“Because I wanted to.”
“Did you go anywhere else?”
“No… Hugh what is going on?” Exasperation made its way into her voice as she stared up at him, utterly confused. “Has something happened?”
“Other than my wife disappearing for hours without anyone knowing where she is or what she’s doing?”
“I was at the house my parents are renting, having tea with my Mother. I didn’t realize I couldn’t visit her without asking your permission,” Irene said a little snappishly, the spirit that had begun to break free on their honeymoon rearing its head. After an afternoon of chit chat and smiling gamely as her mother had shown her off like her father would a prize bull, Irene was feeling decidedly temperamental.
“Well especially after last night perhaps I’d like to know where my wife is,” Hugh snapped back, his hands tightening a bit on her arms.
Tears sprang up into Irene’s eyes, of both frustration and guilt. As if she would have gone to Alex today after what had happened last night! As if she’d go to any other man! Yet she couldn’t blame Hugh for his suspicions… but that didn’t make her feel any better.
“Well then let me inform you, husband, that when the Season ends I will be making a trip out to Bath with your sister. She would like some space and time from her husband and so would I!”
“Eleanor what?” Edwin was suddenly out in the hallway, dark eyes blazing as he came up behind Hugh. “My wife is going where?”
“Oh dear…” Irene whispered. Couldn’t she do anything right? Eleanor had said she hadn’t mentioned the trip to her husband yet, that she wasn’t sure how Edwin would react to her wanting to go on a trip without him. While Irene hadn't quite understood why Eleanor would want space from her husband, who obviously doted on her even if he did spank her, she hadn't disclosed her reasons to Eleanor either. Irene had felt the same way; she hadn’t meant to just blurt her intentions out to Hugh.
Just as she hadn’t meant to throw herself at Alex last night.
It seemed that no matter what she tried to do, she always ended up doing the wrong thing. Her mother was happy with her, but she was the only one. Lord Hyde looked furious, Eleanor would surely be unhappy with her even thought it had been an accident, Alex had been unhappy with her last night, and even though she thought she and Hugh had patched things up after Alex had left last night, now he was angry all over again.
Irene's upbringing had not prepared her for standing on her own nor for being able to express herself. Once her true self had begun to emerge, thanks to Hugh's careful nurturing and obvious approval, it was as if a dam had burst and she didn't have the requisite controls to temper herself. She'd never required a way to lessen her responses because she'd always been kept so confined and completely closed off, no response had been acceptable other than the one her mother demanded. In many ways she had been kept as a child, her actions and words directed by her mother.
Not that she understood any of this completely yet, but she was starting to realize that she didn't know how to handle herself without following her mother's edicts to be silent and accommodating. She didn't know how to be herself without making a mess of everything. Her entire life was falling apart around her, every good new beginning unraveling, and it was all her own fault for being so thoughtless and uncontrolled.
Tears welled up in her emerald eyes and her face crumpled. Hugh acted instinctively, pulling her into his arms as she clung to his coat and began to sob. He didn't entirely understand why she was so upset, but he knew that her tears were sincere and that something more was amiss than he knew of.
"I-I-I-I-I'm so-so-soooorryyy," she sobbed into his shoulder.
"Dammit all, did she say Eleanor and she are going to Bath?" Edwin came up beside him, his words snapping out like a whip.
Clinging harder to Hugh's front, Irene's sobs increased, as did the shivering going up and down her spine.
"Leave her alone Edwin," Hugh said with a glare, protectively shifting Irene slightly to the side so that he was subtly between the two of them. "If you want to know what's going on, go interrogate your own wife."
"I think I'll do just that."
Perhaps if he hadn't had his own hands full, Hugh would have felt a bit more sorry for his sister, but right now he was a bit occupied with Irene. Eleanor could take care of herself - and would. He could only imagine what hare-brained idea she might have gotten into her head and why she would want to drag Irene along with it.
"I think I'll be taking my leave as well," Wesley said, edging by him. The twinkle in his eye said that he was more amused than anything else by the tumult going on around him. Hugh almost growled. "If Eleanor does indeed desire to go to Bath then perhaps she and Edwin will go with me. Shall we make a group of it?"
"I don't think so," Hugh said. He had too much business to take care of in town to leave before the Season was over, not to mention that he and Irene needed to stay in the public eye to dispel any possible rumors or scandal after her behavior at Lady Cowper's. A retreat to the country only days afterwards would fan the flames of gossip. "Irene and I will stay in town and then return to Westingdon in a few weeks when the Season is over."
The shaking female body in his arms shivered again but she didn't protest. Which allowed Hugh to keep his temper firmly leashed.
"Then I'd best catch up to Edwin so I may offer my invitation. Good day, Viscountess."
