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.But she was determined to treat him civilly.“Good evening, William.”Mrs.Peters—Elizabeth—slanted a knowing glance at her, said good night and bustled out.She always made herself scarce when the marquess appeared.She was too loyal to Helen for William to trust, and she had no interest in gaining his confidence.“Milady.What keeps you busy on this cold night?”She tapped her quill inside the inkwell so she could rid it of ink and set it aside.Out of habit, she also folded the letter to shield it from her husband’s view, although she didn’t care overmuch if he saw that it was addressed to Treynor.“I was just answering some correspondence.”“And what do you hear from Georgie?” He moved closer, until Helen could smell the scent of the expensive tobacco he smoked.“Is he well at Oxford?”Georgie, their youngest son, was by far Helen’s favorite, but she couldn’t avoid the truth.“I have received no word this week.But I am comforted by that.It means he is not in some sort of scrape that requires extraordinary amounts of money to fix.”The marquess chuckled.“He will be a force to reckon with, our Georgie.”“If he ever grows up.Is there something you require, William?”The marquess eyed her shrewdly.“Brooding over the stable master’s brat again, are you? You spend all your evenings the same way.And it only serves to shorten your temper.A wife should not speak so to her husband.”If he only knew how constrained she had behaved thus far.“I prefer to think of it as getting to the point.You want something or you wouldn’t be here.Supper is the only time we see each other anymore, besides social outings.You normally sleep in Exeter with.what’s her name?”“Clarissa.” The clock in the hall outside struck the hour of midnight as he studied her.“You were the one who set the boundaries on our relationship, not I.”He referred, of course, to her infamous betrayal, but he’d dabbled with other women long before she’d become involved with Treynor’s father.In his mind, there was a great difference between their taking of lovers, but Helen had never conceded that point and never would.She’d agreed to her marriage, and done her best to honor it.Except for how she had neglected Treynor, she had few regrets.“I will not argue with you, William, if that’s what you’re looking for.It has been a war of words for years on end.”After setting her pen in its silver and marble holder, she put away the rest of her writing implements.She wouldn’t get a letter off to Treynor tonight.She’d sit and compose until the wee hours of the morning, as she did so often, and never find the right words to convey her feelings.Words weren’t enough to excuse what she had done.“Clarissa is going to have another baby,” her husband announced without warning.Helen closed and locked her secretary, then deposited the key in the pocket of her silk dressing gown.So that was it.“Oh?”She looked up to search his face, but there wasn’t a single trace of sensitivity for what she might feel.“I wish her well,” she said.Barely twenty-five, her husband’s mistress was still capable of bearing him many children.It wasn’t as if his infidelity would become less obvious any time soon.“Now, if you will leave me in peace.”Instead of heading for the door, he fidgeted with the miniature portrait of Mary, their daughter, which sat on the table by the window.“You don’t care?”Helen shook her head.She felt ancient.“I ceased to care long ago.”*When Jeannette awoke, she found herself swinging in the lieutenant’s hammock, half-naked and burrowed deep into his feather tick.The sun’s rays floated dust motes through the porthole above the bed, letting her know that night had long since passed.With a groan, she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed a hand to her aching head.Her tongue felt thick, her mouth dry.And even with supreme effort, she couldn’t stop the memories of her behavior the night before from tumbling back to her.Fortunately the lieutenant wasn’t in his cabin.She opened one eye and glanced around, grateful for that small blessing.Then she sat up and tried to get out of his bed.The skin had peeled away from many of her blisters, leaving open sores.They made it difficult to dress.She managed as best she could, then looked around, hoping to find salve to ease the sting.The lieutenant’s cabin was rather spartan.Besides the bed, a wardrobe, and the large trunk Jeannette had ransacked when she’d stolen away that first night, only a desk and chair competed for the limited floor space [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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