“Daniel, what are you doing here?”
“Adam?” Daniel squinted at the earl. “I’ve been waiting to see you. Don’t you ever come in at a decent hour?”
“Well, see, the thing is…” Adam chuckled. “No, I ‘spose not.”
“Sounds as though you’ve had a great deal to drink this evening as well.”
“From the looks of my brandy decanter, it would appear you have been doing some sampling of the spirits yourself.”
“I’m not drunk, Adam.” There was no smile in Daniel’s voice.
The earl turned serious. “The implication being I am? I’m in no mood for a lecture, my friend.”
“That’s too bad, I’m afraid, because that is exactly what you’re going to get.”
“I see. What if I leave you here to stew in your righteous indignation and I simply go off to bed?”
“I’ll follow you, I swear it. Might as well take your medicine like a man. You deserve every last word I’m about to lay on your head.”
The earl nodded in mock obedience. “Right, I’ll just pour myself a glass of that brandy to swallow with your sermon.”
“You’re not going to have any more of that, either. I want you to listen to what I have to say with a clear head.”
Adam perched on the edge of his desk, his ankles crossed and arms folded over his chest. He stared at his friend through deceptively lazy eyes and lifted his brows.
“I’m waiting,” he said coolly.
“At any other time I might be intimidated by this show of irritation, but there’s more at stake here than a spoiled gentleman’s overindulgence due to pique and disappointment.”
“Really?” Adam drawled.
“Have you taken a good look at yourself lately?”
“Last time I bothered, it had been many years since I’d reached my majority. Don’t think I have to answer to you or anybody else.”
“Come on, Adam, you don’t live in an isolated world without responsibility. You’re not handling this thing very well.”
That was the first guarded reference to Catherine.
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Adam ground out. “You have no idea what I’ve been through, and I’ll be damned if I’ll stand here and listen to this sanctimonious rot. I’m going to bed, which is what I should have done the moment I knew what you had in mind.”
He stood from the desk with every intention of doing just that.
“I’ve talked to her.”
The earl went very still. “Who?” he asked after a moment.
“Lady Bourgeault.”
“She’s come to town?” His voice was barely audible.
Daniel shook his head. “No. I paid a visit to her home.”
“Why would you go all that way just to see my old mistress?”
“Actually, I went to Bath to be with my father and, since I was in the vicinity, I decided to pay her a call.”
“You still have not said why.” The earl watched his friend, struggling with a growing sense of distrust.
“Charlotte Richards asked it of me. She has been worried ever since Lady Bourgeault left the city. Charlotte said something was wrong there. I wanted to see for myself.”
“And what is your conclusion?” Adam asked grudgingly, although he could not completely hide his curiosity.
Daniel leaned forward in his chair, his expression one of deep concern. “She needs us, my friend. I don’t know how we can manage it, but we have to help her.”
“Oh no, not me. I have no intention of going anywhere near that woman.” When the viscount did not reply, Adam asked, “Do you know what she did?”
“I know what you think she did,” Daniel answered. “Maybe you were too quick to believe the worst.”
“You speak in riddles.” Adam’s voice rose in frustration. “If you have something to tell me, get on with it. I grow weary of the subject.”
“You’d better hold your tongue until I reach the end,” the viscount said. “This isn’t easy for me, either.”
Adam hesitated briefly before moving to the chair opposite his friend. He took the seat and ran his fingers impatiently through his hair, but he did not speak.
Daniel cleared his throat. “As I mentioned, I went to visit Lady Bourgeault to check on her. It’s an odd household, but I can’t say anything out of the ordinary happened in the beginning. The baron invited me to stay for the evening meal. Catherine joined me at dinner, though she said her husband had been called away. That did seem strange, but we had a convivial time without him, and then we adjourned to the parlor.”
Here Daniel paused and, clearing his throat once again, he looked uneasy.
Adam knew his own expression was not encouraging. He watched his friend through hard, wary eyes and, though alert to the heightened tension, he felt no obligation to relieve it.
The viscount continued. “Catherine let it be known that my advances would not be unwelcome, and in a matter of moments we were in each other’s arms. I’m not going to make any apologies, Adam. I was taken by surprise and I acted abominably. If it had not become painfully clear that she was not into the spirit of the thing, I would have taken her right there on the sofa as I was undoubtedly meant to do.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Adam snarled through gritted teeth.
“Because it is pertinent, and I want to be honest with you. For one insane moment I forgot honor and friendship and culpability. I wanted her and, truth is, given the right conditions my feelings could be deeper. I tell you this in fair warning, for if you won’t help her, I will.”
Adam leapt from his chair, his fists clenched at his side. “You fool! Have you no idea what she wants from you? No man of pride would allow himself to be used in such a way.”
“You surprise me,” Daniel stated calmly. “I knew lady Bourgeault only superficially when she resided in London yet, in the short time we spent together last night, I realized I could trust her. As close as you were to her, you still did not know what was in her heart.”
“What is to know? She deceived and lied to me. I thought she loved me—she did not.”
“Ah…but there you are wrong, Adam. She loves you even now. She has suffered dearly because of the baron’s scheming. It shocked her as much as it did you. He brought many men home, dangling them in front of her, hoping she might find one to her liking. You were the first one she chose—and the last.”
“Why should I believe that?”
“Because it is true. In fact, she came to you untouched.”
“A virgin?” Adam asked incredulously.
“She didn’t put it that way, but yes, a virgin.”
“How could a woman married seven years remain untouched? Impossible, especially a woman with Catherine’s beauty. I can’t believe he does not desire her unless he’s a sodomite.”
“He desires her, all right, from what I can gather, but he has this phobia Lady Bourgeault refers to as his affliction. Seems he is repulsed by contact with human flesh. He can’t tolerate being touched. He married her hoping her beauty would circumvent his difficulty, but it didn’t turn out that way. That’s when he resorted to finding his wife a lover for procreation purposes—without her knowledge, naturally. She swears she would never have cooperated had she known.”
Two very striking memories assaulted Adam simultaneously as he listened to the viscount, two curious circumstances long forgotten. The first one involved the baron donning gloves to shake hands. At the time Bourgeault had said he disliked casual contact and, though it had seemed peculiar, beyond the moment the earl had not given it much thought.
The second situation had been more troublesome. Catherine had bled after making love with Adam that first time, and he had feared having hurt her. If she’d been a virgin, there was little doubt she had suffered some discomfort. Though he knew he should be feeling remorse for hurting her, his first reaction to her chastity was a purely male exaltation at the knowledge she had been his and his alone. Selfish and
egotistical, he knew, but for the life of him he could not stifle the surge of elation that enveloped him. He turned a hopeful gaze on the viscount.
“Let’s suppose I accept everything you have told me. That does not explain why she would throw herself on a man to whom she knows I am close.”
Daniel looked smug. “There is a simple answer to that, my friend. The baron now has the power to coerce his wife into doing his will. Catherine gave birth to a daughter about ten weeks ago—beautiful child, black curly hair, big blue eyes—looks much like her father.”
Adam stared at the viscount, mouth agape. When he could speak, he asked, “You’ve seen the baby?”
“Yes. You’re a father, no doubt about it. But I’m worried. Bourgeault has threatened to take the infant from his wife if she does not make an effort to produce another child, hopefully male. He’s so desperate for an heir, he told her to lie with the gardener if that is what it takes.”
“By God, I’ll kill him, the filthy bastard!”
“Settle down, Adam. You won’t accomplish anything if you lose control. We have to put our heads together and devise a plan to free her from that madman.”
Adam drew in a deep, calming breath, his nostrils pinching with the effort as he took several agitated turns around the room. He came to a halt in front of Daniel.
“I’m about as composed as I’m going to get, so tell me what you propose we do.”
“I see one clear possibility, but it will mean enduring the worst kind of scandal. Are you up to the challenge?”
“Yes, yes.” Adam nodded impatiently. “Tell me.”
“Seems to me that Catherine is entitled to a divorce on the grounds her marriage was never consummated.”
A speculative light entered the earl’s eyes, and the hint of a grin touched his mouth. He took his seat again and leaned the back of his head against the cushions, lost in thought.
“It could be hard to prove,” he said at last.
“Perhaps,” Daniel agreed. “You will have to publicly pronounce Lady Bourgeault chaste when she came to you.”
“But I didn’t realize. How could I be unaware of such a thing?”
The viscount shrugged. “It happens, I’m told. It was the last thing you expected, and she didn’t want you to guess. It doesn’t matter. We know the truth and that’s what is important. I don’t think it will be difficult to find witnesses who will testify as to the baron’s aversion.” He paused. “It can go another way, though.”
“How so?”
“Given the choice of airing his very personal concerns in public, the baron may decide it would be better to seek a divorce on the grounds of his wife’s infidelity. It might be wise to give him that option to save face. Either way your affair with the baroness cannot be hidden, and if you are able to free her from her husband your ultimate goal will be achieved.”
Adam nodded slowly. “Another point—what of Catherine’s family? Will they be supportive or will they disown her? I think I ought to approach them before I do anything else.”
“It would be appropriate, but I don’t envy you the task.”
“Daniel, I wish you to be honest with me.” Adam leaned forward in his chair, now feeling uncertain. “Will she welcome my intervention? Are you certain she still cares for me?”
“There is no doubt, dear boy. She loves you absolutely. If you do not trust me on this, speak to Charlotte Richards.”
“Then why did she send me away?” Adam asked.
“She thought it for your own good. She was made to feel she would be a burden, and you would fare better without her.”
“Who would feed her such tripe? Bourgeault?”
There came a long silence as Daniel doubtlessly considered how best to answer. “I really wish I didn’t have to tell you this,” he said. “In fact, I had contemplated not saying anything, but I think you deserve to know it all. The baron enlisted the aid of your mother.”
The earl’s eyebrows snapped together. “Explain yourself.”
“Bourgeault did not feel he could make his wife listen to him. Catherine had decided to leave with you, and the baron was about to watch all his carefully laid plans crumble at his feet. When you think about it, it took a bit of dexterity to make everything come together. But in the end the baron still required some cooperation from Lady Bourgeault if he was to succeed. The one intangible he could not control was the sex of the infant. I take it he was livid when your daughter was born.”
“Of course,” Adam stated darkly. “Where does my mother fit into all of this?”
“Lady Ashworth visited Catherine. Your mother spoke of your career and progeny and the terrible toll flight would have on your reputation and future. The countess can be intimidating when she wants to be as I’m sure you know. Catherine was made to see that she would be destroying your life.”
“So that is why Bourgeault visited Mother,” Adam said, another memory assaulting him. “Did she know about the child?”
Again, a silence as the viscount waited before replying. “She said she would not play grandmother to a bastard.” He uttered the words, his sadness for his friend palpable.
Adam came to his feet in a blistering rage. He was consumed by an anger so savage and malevolent, it frightened even himself.
“Are you all right, Adam?” The viscount also stood, and he awkwardly patted his companion on the shoulder.
“What?” The earl was startled that Daniel was still there, for he was grappling with the anguish of betrayal.
“All will be well. I feel it in my bones,” Daniel said.
Adam smiled grimly. “Perhaps there is hope for saving what I feared was lost to me forever. Wish me luck, my friend, for I think I’m going to need it.”
*****
Adam slept for a few hours and, upon rising, bathed and dressed before packing a small leather valise. The aching in his head from overindulgence the previous evening had begun to abate, and with the easing of the pain came clearer reason.
He had swallowed a late breakfast, more from necessity than desire, and he now sat sipping a strong cup of tea as he pondered the future and lamented the past. He had only one more order of business to complete in preparation for the most important journey of his life.
He wanted to forgive her, he really did, but every time he thought of his mother’s perfidy he was infuriated anew. How could she have done it? How could she have interfered when he had gone to such pains to make her understand the importance of his relationship with Catherine? He cringed when he thought of his mother using her rapier tongue on the baroness.
His thoughts drifted to Lady Bourgeault where they lingered, a divergent mixture of elation and guilt. On the one hand, faith had been revived. Catherine had not deceived him. Her protective instincts, however misguided, had been aroused, and she had made the ultimate sacrifice. The notion sent a warm glow of pleasure to his bruised heart.
Being a man he had not believed himself vulnerable to such poignant yearnings, but these last months had taught him much about being in love. It was not an emotion that could be willed away when it became too arduous to bear. It clung tight with the tenacity of a stubborn clam, forcing its victim to face the pain.
Naturally, that brought him to his own failings. Daniel was right—Adam had been very quick to believe the lies. He remembered that terrible scene when he had last seen Catherine. He might as well have called her whore, for that was surely what he had meant. She had taken the tongue-lashing all the while aware of what her silence would cost her. He felt more ashamed than he thought possible.
And he had become a father—what an amazing revelation. Yet he could not quite comprehend it. How much he had missed, was missing still. He felt as though he had been robbed of these last months—robbed by his mother’s deception and his own stupidity. Adam knew he didn’t deserve Catherine’s forgiveness, but he hoped fervently that Daniel had not misjudged the situation. And if the viscount had been too optimistic, Adam would press his suit until she relented. Cat
herine would be his, of that he was determined.
*****
“Good morning, dear. Lovely day, isn’t it?” Lady Ashworth greeted as she entered the sunny dining room and approached the sideboard. Not receiving an answer, she turned and looked at her son where he sat at the dining table.
Adam was staring at her, an unfathomable expression on his face. She could see he was displeased about something.
“Are you recovering from a heavy head?” she ventured.
“Why do you ask?”
“Seems to be your normal condition this time of day.”
“Then you’ll be pleased to know I’ve decided to begin a new regimen. I’ll not be imbibing as much anymore.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” she said severely. “In fact, you’ve been doing entirely too much drinking of late.”
“Really? Why do you think that is?”
He watched her through narrowed eyes, and something in his manner made her uneasy.
“I have no idea, I’m sure.”
“Come, Mother, it can’t have escaped your notice that I’ve been unhappy recently.”
“You’ve not been yourself, I admit.” She took a seat at the table, carefully arranging her skirts.
“Do you also admit that you are in large part the reason why this is so?”
She stiffened. “I have no idea to what you are referring. And I resent being made the excuse for your dissatisfaction.”
Adam leaned his arms on the table from elbow to wrist and leveled a penetrating glare on his parent.
“I will ask you this once only and, for your sake, I hope you can be honest with me. Did you go to Catherine Bourgeault and convince her to put an end to her relationship with me?”
The dowager countess blanched. Suddenly nervous, she set down her teacup in its saucer, and the china pieces rattled precariously, one against the other.
“I don’t deny it,” she admitted finally.
“Why would you do something that would so badly hurt me?” His voice rose barely above a gravelly whisper, for he plainly strove to keep in check a temper spiraling dangerously out of control. “If you were a man, I would horsewhip you for your wicked meddling. Have you no idea what you’ve cost me?” He brought his fist down on the table with a loud bang.
In the Garden of Temptation Page 23