Page 79 of The Rogue’s Countess

“Oh, Gideon, don’t tell me you’re off to find a card game already.” The Countess of Lyndham laughed as she shook her head at him.

“I take it someone’s mentioned there’s one to be had this evening?” Gideon pretended to be enthused by the possibility, and Constance shook her head as, with a flip of her wrist, she closed her fan to point it at him.

“No, they haven’t, but I know how bored men can be when it comes to dancing, and it would not surprise me to hear of one in the works.”

“Then you’ll be glad to know I have no intention of leaving my bride alone for more than a few minutes. I simply need to have a word with an old friend.” Gideon caught Phoebe’s hand to kiss it as he met her gaze. “I promise I will return momentarily and will not leave your side for the remainder of the evening.”

The brilliant smile curving his wife’s lips made Gideon wish once again that they’d not come to this infernal event. Turning away, Gideon’s gaze scanned the now crowded ballroom. In seconds, he caught sight of Edith, and he made his way toward her. Although several people tried to stop him, he easily extricated himself from any lengthy conversation. Edith was speaking with Baroness Nevey as Gideon reached her side.

“Gideon, how lovely to see you this evening.”

To those who didn’t know her well, her smile would appear beguiling. He knew better and saw the hard light in her eyes. How in the hell had he ever thought himself in love with her? Gideon bowed and accepted the hand she offered. Politely he carried her hand to his mouth, but his lips simply brushed the air over her fingertips.

“Your Grace,” he murmured as he released Edith’s hand to greet the baroness. “Lady Nevey, you’re looking lovely as always.”

Gideon didn’t have to look at Edith to know his compliment to the baroness had angered her, especially when he’d made no such observation where she was concerned. As Lady Nevey blushed, Gideon glanced at Edith for a moment before he smiled at the baroness.

“If you will pardon my interruption, my lady, I’m afraid the Duke is suffering from a sudden attack of gout. I told his grace that I would find and take his duchess to him.”

“Oh dear, I do hope his grace is not in too much pain,” the baroness said with a gasp of dismay.

Edith eyed him with suspicion as he waited patiently. As if suddenly realizing she’d not displayed any concern for her husband, a worried frown furrowed the duchess’s brow.

“It was kind of you to come find me on the duke’s behalf, my lord. The dear man was actually looking forward to dancing with me this evening.” The duchess’s voice was filled with dismay and concern, but Gideon knew the woman could care less if her husband was in pain or not.

“Shall we?” Gideon offered his arm to Edith, and she linked her arm through his and pressed herself into his side in a manner that suggested intimacy.

Gideon released a low sound of irritation at her behavior but forced a polite smile to his lips as he pulled Edith away from the woman. As he guided Edith to the outer edges of the growing crowd, he remembered the small salon that adjoined the ballroom. It wasn’t suitable for the conversation he intended to have with Edith, but if memory served him well, there was a door leading out into the garden.

In silence, he guided Edith around the crowd and to the salon. As they stepped into the room, Gideon was relieved to see it was empty. It made it all the easier to pull Edith out onto the darkened terrace and out into the gardens without someone seeing them. He’d visited the gardens more than a year ago when Lord Gresham had asked for advice on several plants the man was cultivating.

As they walked through the doorway out into the garden, Edith looked up at him and laughed. The sound was meant to be charming but was merely brittle and scraped on the nerves.

“Obviously, my husband isn’t having a gout attack.”

Gideon didn’t answer the duchess. He simply ushered her into the darkness and down the steps lined with torches. Remembering a secluded spot where they could talk uninterrupted, he pulled Edith along with him until she protested.

“Gideon, please, you’re walking too fast.”

Ignoring her protest, he made his way along the walkway past a small fountain. The musical sound of the splashing water brought to mind an image of Phoebe the night they met in Montjoy’s gardens. His mouth tightened with resentful anger. The last place he wanted to be was in the garden with Edith, but he intended to make it clear that the woman wasn’t to go anywhere near his wife.

As they reached the small alcove he remembered, Gideon came to an abrupt halt. Before he could say a word, Edith threw her arms around his neck and tugged his head down to press her lips against his. Immediately, he recoiled from her and tugged her arms off of his neck, then pushed her away from him. A flirtatious pout on her lips, she shook her head.

“Surely, you didn’t bring me out here to talk, darling. It’s obvious you still care for me,” she exclaimed as she threw herself into his arms again. “All these years, you’ve been so cruel in refusing to come to me. Now I understand why. You’ve simply been waiting to find a way to strike back at me. Oh my darling, if you intended to make me jealous, you’ve succeeded—”

“I did not marry Phoebe to make you jealous.” Gideon’s jaw tightened with repressed anger.

“Now, you’re simply being cruel. Please don’t, Gideon. I want you to take me in your arms and kiss me the way you used to. Make love to me.”

“You are under the misguided notion that I want anything to do with you at all, your grace.” Gideon’s studied the duchess with contempt. What in God’s name had he ever saw in this woman?

“Then why did you bring me out here?” she eyed him with a petulant look as if suddenly realizing this was not the intimate rendezvous she’d expected.

“I brought you out here to emphasize what I said in the note I sent you. You are not to do or say anything that will hurt my wife.”

“What note? I received no note,” Edith snapped.

“The note you sent Phoebe this evening never reached her. I burned it and replied for her.”