Read In the Garden of Temptation for Free Online Page B

of
vision. Instinctively, he knew she would resent him ogling her even
though she dressed in a way that would encourage disrespect. Adam
did not pretend to understand the mixed messages he was receiving.
He only knew he did not want to do anything that would offend the
lady.
    At that moment, the baron chose to reenter
the conversation. He stood up and, pushing his chair from the
table, ran his hands over his bloated belly.
    “ I need a few moments of
privacy.” He winked at the earl and stifled a colossal belch, his
cheeks puffing out with suppressed air. “I won’t be long. My dear,
see that Lord Ashworth is kept properly entertained.” He exited the
room leaving behind stunned silence.
    “ Well,” Adam said, coughing
to cover his unease, “Bourgeault is certainly a unique individual.
Don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like him.”
    “ You have a talent for
understatement, my lord,” Catherine said, face pink with
embarrassment. “My husband has no taste and little discretion, and
for some reason he enjoys flaunting that fact. I hope you won’t
think me disloyal, but I have difficulty pretending his bad
behavior is of no concern to me.”
    “ It’s plain you labor under
a burden. I would be the last person to criticize your efforts. I
don’t mean to pry, but how long have you and Bourgeault been
married?”
    “ Nearly seven years
now.”
    “ Seven years? Good Lord, you
must have been little more than a child.”
    “ I was seventeen.” She
smiled sadly. “It seems a lifetime ago. I made plans as young girls
often do, but I never envisioned my future turning out this way.”
She paused then. “Let’s talk of something else. I have a bad habit
of feeling sorry for myself.”
    “ Of course.”
    What she really meant was that she was a
private person and resented his probing. Whatever lay beneath the
fine veneer covering the truth about her life, she apparently did
not want it disturbed. Too bad, for he wanted to know everything
about her.
    One-half hour later, the baron deigned to
return to his duties as host. He made no excuses, nor did he bother
to explain his absence.
    “ I hope my wife offered you
an after-dinner drink,” was all he said.
    “ We decided on tea.” The
earl’s attitude had cooled to a freeze, and he did not bother to
pretend otherwise. He had grown weary of the baron’s utter lack of
manners. The man had left his wife with a total stranger for a
period of time not precisely proper, and Adam was outraged for the
lady.
    He wondered if her husband had a purpose in
leaving them alone. Though it made no sense, what was the baron
trying to accomplish? Not that Adam minded spending intimate time
with Catherine, for he found her exceedingly charming. But she was
clearly ill at ease, whether because of her husband’s rudeness or
the unsuitability of the circumstances, Adam could not be certain.
It could be both reasons.
    The earl felt his protective instincts
surfacing, a response he relegated to an automatic chivalry rather
than to any hidden motive. Maybe he didn’t want to face the truth.
But he did know that he was insulted by the lack of regard the
baron showed the baroness. Women depended on their male relatives
to safeguard them from the unsavory aspects of the world around
them. The baron flouted all the rules of convention, and his
exquisite wife paid the price for his rebellion.
    Adam was inordinately proud of the lady as
she sat with her head erect, refusing to give into the
embarrassment she must be feeling. But he realized if he spent
another minute in the company of his host, he would disgrace
himself by giving vent to a storm of anger. Time to say good night,
he thought, and be done with it. He stood from the table.
    “ It has been a great
pleasure to dine with you this evening, ma’am, and I look forward
to seeing you again in the morning.”
    He executed a slight, stiff bow in Lord
Bourgeault’s direction, and with a curt adieu, strode from