AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Richard growled, then picked her up and twirled with her in his arms. Jo giggled as she held on to his neck tightly. He let her go but not before planting a demanding kiss on her lips.
“Why can’t I seem to get enough of you?” he asked before he drew away.
Jo looked at him forlornly. “Perhaps for the same reason I can’t.”
He caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “And why is that?”
She shrugged before playfully biting his thumb. “Love.”
* * *
Richard insisted on escorting her to the theater. Before he left, he reminded her that they were to attend the Countess of Supe’s ball later that evening. And that was the main reason Jo spent the entire day worried and out of sorts.
Everything else was going splendidly. The rehearsals were lively, and Selena was in a good mood. Everyone was congratulating Jo on her advantageous if hasty marriage. She wasn’t worried about Mick anymore, because Garrett, as always, was attached to her side.
But the thought of facing hundreds of aristocrats in a ballroom, while being introduced as the new viscountess, paralyzed her.
Richard didn’t seem worried at all when he’d imparted that bit of information to her. On the contrary, he’d seemed quite pleased with himself that he would get to introduce his wife with all haste.
Jo supposed she should have been happy that he didn’t mean to hide her away from others’ gazes as if ashamed, but she wished he was at least a little worried about how society would react to that bit of news.
He didn’t seem the least bit worried. And that was why Jo was surprised to see Richard saunter into the theater a few hours later.
He was wearing a deep scowl, and he didn’t even acknowledge Jo’s presence at first.
He went directly to her theater manager. Unable to concentrate on anything else, she hopped down from the stage and approached the whispering couple.
Before she could say anything, Richard turned toward her. “Here you are,” he said with a tight smile. “Come with me. We are leaving.”
Jo’s lips quivered as she hesitated between laughing or asking him if he’d gone mad.
She didn’t have a chance to say anything. He took her hand and squeezed. “Come, dear. I’ll explain on the way home.” With a reassuring wink, he tugged on her arm and led her away.
Jo waved goodbye to Selena and hastened her step after her husband’s ground-eating strides. His soft tone of voice and flirtatious wink did nothing to alleviate her worries. On the contrary. It was obvious that something was troubling him deeply. And he just didn’t want to rattle her in front of her peers.
They climbed into the carriage and it lurched into motion, yet the deafening silence still prevailed. Richard calmly looked out the window, as his fingers twirled his walking stick.
“Richard,” Jo finally said. “Either you speak or I’ll scream.”
Richard looked at her, his gaze weary. “I think it is better if we reach the house first.”
“I shall go mad long before we reach the house. What is the matter?”
He let out a breath. “You have not read the papers today, have you? I mean, it is obvious that you haven’t, because you are oblivious to any issues.”
“What issues?”
Richard took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair before replacing it. “I really would rather show you—”
“And I’d rather you told me. Now.”
“Very well.” Richard cleared his throat. “There was an article about you in the morning paper.”
Jo blinked, her mouth opening as tumultuous thoughts ran through her head, thinking of all the terrible things that piece could have said about her. But what came out of Richard’s lips next was nowhere on her mind.
“It’s about your background with a heavy emphasis on your mother.”
Jo froze, her pulse thumping loudly in her ears, overshadowing even the clatter of the carriage. Her mother, a famous actress, and a courtesan, and later a cheap, but rather notorious harlot.
