She laughed without mirth. “I would simply say he is arather cold and heartless man.” Yes indeed, that described Sandhurst perfectly.
He squeezed her fingers. “I’m sorry, my dear.”
“You are not the man who owes me an apology,” she saidsadly. “But I suppose I’ll never have one from him.” If he ever even deigned todarken her door. She’d thought surely he would have wanted an heir, or at leastthe pretense of married life. But his silence had said more than words could.He was too busy pursuing the woman he truly loved to have a care for the wifehe’d never wanted. And Maggie was too busy wallowing in her misery at havingthrown over the manshetruly loved for a man who ignored her existence.
“Do you love him?” he asked, startling her.
His query threw her. People of their class so rarely marriedfor love. She did not love her husband, but she had certainly married him witha hopeful heart. Her mother had assured her that many modern marriages beganwith respect and led to tender affections after time and diligence. She hadhoped to foster a relationship of kindness between herself and her husband, atthe very least. Instead, their relationship simply consisted of silence. But itwas odd, she thought again, for the man before her to have even pondered such aquestion.
“Of course not,” she said at last. “What of you and yourvery dear friend? Do you love her?”
“I did for many years,” he said, the admission seeminglytorn from him. “Now, I’m not certain what I feel any longer. A need for change,certainly.”
She saw them for what they were then, a man and woman whohad somehow run across each other’s paths at the same ball, both of them lost.Searching. She longed for something more. Perhaps this stranger was the veryreason she’d chosen to come to Lady Needham’s country house party. Had fortunespun her a good turn at last?
“What sort of change to you seek?” she asked, watching himabove the rim of her flute.
His sinful mouth curved in a half-smile. “I think perhapsit’s you.”
She nearly choked on her mouthful of champagne. “Me?”
“Oh yes,” he told her in that seductive, deep voice of his.His green eyes were fierce on her, trapping her gaze so she couldn’t lookanywhere else. “You.”
* * * * *
Very likely, she should not have invited the stranger to herchamber. She thought of one of her favorite poems,The Lady’s Yesandhow it cautioned against the flirtations of the ballroom, how inconstant theyseemed by bright daylight. Yes indeed, very likely, she should never haveentertained such iniquity, let alone offered herself up for it.
Maggie paced the length of polished floorboards peeking outfrom amongst thick carpets. Perhaps it was the champagne. Perhaps it was theevening, the man’s dancing eyes, his deep voice laden with desire. Perhaps itwas the allure of something more, the mysterious relationship between a man anda woman that had never been fully realized for her.
For a wife of nearly a year, she was still, somehow, avirgin.
The shameless summons she’d issued was not like her at all.Dear heaven. What would the man think? She didn’t even know his name, his face.She’d chatted with him in a crowded ballroom and now he would arrive at anymoment to take her innocence. Maggie fanned her face with her hand, needingair. What did it all entail? She’d heard murmurings that the deflowering wouldbe painful at best, horridly humiliating at worst. Whatever it would be, everywoman knew she need face the time. It had become apparent that her husbanddidn’t want her. She had no choice but to seek that closeness elsewhere. Hadshe?
A discreet knock sounded at her door. Two quick raps. He hadcome.
She flattened her palms over her nightdress, a fairly formalaffair of cotton and lace. Upon dismissing her lady’s maid, she had retied themask to conceal her face. After all, the freedom of anonymity was what madeLady Needham’s country house weekend so wicked and so wonderful. Participantswore masks for its three-day duration, enabling guests to dabble in pursuitsthat were decidedly more sinful than ordinary society permitted.
She took a deep breath before hastening to the door andpulling it open. There he stood, the man who had trampled her train and won herdesire in the process. He stood tall, still wearing his black evening tails andhis mask. They were to remain entirely unknown to each other. Maggie wasn’tcertain if she was relieved or disappointed. While she very much longed to seehis face, she also wasn’t ready to reveal hers to him.
“Am I still welcome?” he asked, his voice low and intimateand somehow hesitant all at the same time.
His uncertainty won her over. She stepped back into thechamber, gesturing him inside. “You are most welcome as long as you promise notto do any further damage to my wardrobe.”
He chuckled as he strode across the threshold. “I shall domy utmost to keep your gowns in good order, I swear.”
It wasn’t her gowns she feared he’d do damage to at thispoint. She closed the door behind him and spun, unaccountably nervous now thatshe’d done what she’d set out to do in the first, obtained a lover. If only sheknew what to do with him.
“My lady’s maid will be relieved to hear it,” she quipped,clasping her hands at her waist and simply watching him. She’d never felt moreawkward in her life. And that was certainly saying quite a bit, for she wasaccustomed to being a wallflower and an oddity.
He smiled, his teeth visible in a brief white flash beforehe was once again serious. His eyes dropped. “Your hands are shaking, my dear.”
She looked down as well. So they were. Dear heaven. How wasshe ever going to make it through the night? “I suppose I’m a bit anxious,” sheconceded.
“You’ve never been to one of Lady Needham’s house partiesbefore, have you?” His voice was knowing. He closed the space between them,catching her worried hands in his large, warm ones.
She was dismayed that he saw through her with such ease.She’d thought she had done an admirable job of playing the part of debauchedlady. “How did you know?”
“You’re a trifle too sincere.” He raised her hands to hislips, kissing each with a slow reverence that thoroughly disarmed her. “Intruth, I’ve never met a woman as candid and lovely.”
