The Countess by Catherine Coulter

thought. I knew I had managed to overlay any fear with lots of fresh excitement

and pleasure at seeing him. What the devil was he doing here? He had just left

early this very morning. I couldn’t believe this.

Where the devil was John?

I stretched my hands toward him as he quickly placed his sherry glass on a table

and walked over to me. He grasped my hands and leaned over to kiss my cheek, his

warm breath fanning against my cheek. “Ah, my dear Andy, only a man who was an

utter fool would not come home as quickly as possible with such a beautiful and

very charming lady waiting for him.”

What did I do to you? I wanted to ask him that so badly that I nearly had to

bite my lip. Instead, what came out was “Lawrence, you just left. What happened?

Is there some sort of problem? Oh, yes you are also a dreadful deceiver, sir,

all that flattery.” And I laughed, I truly managed to laugh.

He leaned over and kissed my cheek again. I didn’t jerk away, but it was close.

As he straightened, I looked directly up into his face. His eyes, I saw for the

very first time, held no warmth at all. At least there was none directed at me.

They were a cold gray, like hard steel. He was smiling as he looked back at me,

and I shivered. What was he thinking? Planning?

I looked away and said my good evenings to everyone. Judith was so excited she

could barely sit still. Miss Gillbank looked particularly lovely in a dark gold

muslin gown of mine that Belinda had made over for her. It flattered her. As for

Miss Crislock, she was tatting a scarf, by the looks of it, in her own special

chair by the fireplace. A beautiful screen protected her from the heat. A book

lay open in her lap, a gift, she had told me, from my dear husband.

“What are you reading, Miss Crislock?”

“Ah, my dearest Andy, it is a novel Lawrence thought I would enjoy. It is about

a girl who is very bad indeed, but her parents are resolute and teach her the

path of righteousness.”

“Oh, dear,” I said, and turned to Amelia. Lawrence believed she would enjoy that?

“Where is Thomas? Don’t tell me he has succumbed and is ill?”

“No, he walked up and down three flights of stairs ten times. He wants to make

himself even more fit. I left him in his bathing tub, soaking away his sweat.”

I laughed, a healthy laugh, one that just came out, despite the fact that my

husband was standing not ten feet from me and I didn’t have a clue what he was

thinking.

“Lawrence,” I called down the table to him once we were all seated in the dining

room, “you have not yet told us what happened to your trip. You left this

morning, and now here you are back for dinner.”

“There was a simple misunderstanding. The men I was to meet with were coming

here to see me. We conducted our business in Leeds. It is wonderful to be home.

I even had time to do some shopping for Christmas gifts.” He was speaking toward

Judith as he said this.

She immediately sat forward. “Would you perhaps like to tell us something of

your shopping, Father?”

“Oh, no, you must wait, just like everyone else, including your lovely

stepmother.”

“Has anyone seen John?” I asked after Brantley offered me some braised goose

with celery sauce. I knew I would gag if I ate any of that goose.

“Didn’t you know, Andy?”

I blinked at my husband. “Know what, sir?”

“John has gone to the Cockburns’ weekend Christmas party over near Harrowgate.

He wished to spend more time with Lady Elizabeth Palmer.”

I didn’t say a single thing.

Amelia laughed. “Well, it is about time. John must needs consider marrying soon

and setting up his nursery. Lady Elizabeth certainly charmed him.”

But he was only twenty-six, I wanted to say. Not at all old for a man. Naturally

a woman of twenty-six?unmarried?was quite a different matter, an embarrassment,

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