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pulled out and shown off when the mood struck.
    “ She is indeed lovely,” Adam
agreed, but the words were for the lady as he took her hand and
placed a kiss on the tips of her fingers.
    Something flickered in the back of her eyes,
but what it meant he wasn’t certain. Her expression had not altered
and, though cordial, she remained distant and cool. He raised his
gaze back to her face, refusing to linger on her bosom as he knew
most men would have done.
    She withdrew her hand, and the tiniest of
smiles softened her features as if she were aware of his
discretion.
    “ Would you care for a glass
of ratafia , my
dear?” the baron asked, his manner ingratiating. He had already
poured the beverage.
    Lady Bourgeault reached for the glass,
however, she took it gingerly as though she avoided touching him.
She cast her husband a look filled with mockery.
    “ Thank you,” was all she
said, but the words were edged with sarcasm.
    Her husband returned a
warning glance hard to misinterpret. The earl, watching the byplay
between the baron and his wife, was baffled. Rather than intimacy
as one might expect, the air around the couple crackled with
hostility. He had intercepted the look Bourgeault had sent the
baroness, and there was little doubt of the threat that lingered in
the depths of the man’s piercing black eyes. Adam would have bet
his last sou this
was not a marriage built upon affection.
    “ You kept the cook waiting,
Catherine,” the baron said in a hard voice. “I hope dinner is not
spoiled.”
    Abruptly, he turned and led the way to the
dining hall, leaving Adam to escort Lady Bourgeault, a chore he was
more than happy to perform. She placed her hand lightly on his
sleeve as she tried to follow his lead, but the tightness of her
skirt hampered her movements and she stumbled.
    “ You must forgive my
awkwardness. This dreadful gown doesn’t leave much room to
maneuver.”
    The self-derision in her tone was clear, but
then why did she dress in such a manner?
    “ I think you look charming.”
Here Adam cleared his throat, “Flamboyant, perhaps, but I find no
fault with that.”
    The baroness darted him a searching glance,
and he stared into her eyes, hoping to convince her of his
sincerity.
    “ Flamboyant…” she murmured.
“Nice way to put it.”
    The baron seated himself at the head of the
table with Adam to his left and Catherine to his right, facing each
other.
    “ This is much cozier, don’t
you think? You don’t mind if our guest calls you by your Christian
name, do you, wife?”
    Ho! What in hell is going
on here? Adam turned a shocked expression
on his host.
    The lady winced. “No, of course, not,” she
responded weakly.
    “ And you must call me Adam.”
The earl smiled graciously at his hostess but made it clear the
invitation did not extend to her spouse.
    If the baron was conscious of the slight, he
chose to ignore it.
    The first course arrived, a
cold vichyssoise that tasted wonderful.
    “ This is really quite good,
Edgar,” Catherine said.
    She sounded amazed, an oddity, Adam thought.
The baron merely grunted in response as he spooned the soup as
rapidly as possible into his mouth. He attacked each course in the
same mindless fashion, leaving the task of entertaining his guest
to his wife.
    The lady chatted on in a genteel if somewhat
insubstantial way, obviously trying to fill the void her husband
had created. She conducted the evening with grace and dignity,
despite the boorishness of her mate, and had managed to put Adam at
ease in a circumstance that was anything but easy.
    He found sitting opposite and conversing with
the baroness extremely pleasant. His only problem was an
overwhelming desire to simply stare at her. He wished to drink in
her beauty, for it fanned a hunger having little to do with the
credible meal being served. And that disreputable dress didn’t make
it any easier.
    He found his eyes wandering against his will
to the enticing cleavage that seemed directly in his line