Page 72 of A Game with the Rakish Duke
They both turned their attention to the stage. Thomas felt a bit ill. The very thought of Catherine with another man made him want to punch a wall. The thought that she might one day betray him—and leave him—made a cold sweat break out over his body.
She had sworn that she was loyal and would never do such a thing. But had his mother promised the same thing to his father, once upon a time, during the first flush of love? How was he going to live with this constant fear, thinking that Catherine was going to betray him every time she spoke to an attractive man?
Catherine walked down the staircase, adjusting her gloves. It was intermission during the opera, and she had just visited the powder room to refresh herself. Various members of the ton were mingling in the foyer again, waiting for the gong to sound for the second act.
She frowned. She had been so looking forward to this night. The thought of sitting beside Thomas, holding hands in the opera box while listening to divine music, had made her heart soar. It was their first outing to the theater as a married couple, and she was so excited.
But Thomas’s mood had inexplicably darkened. He had barely looked at her since they had entered their box. Every time she tried to talk to him about something in the opera, he just grunted. Clearly, he was grumpy about something, but she was mystified what that was. He had seemed so happy and loving when they had spoken before the show.
Abruptly, she stopped, resting a hand on the balustrade. Thomas was standing with his friend, the Duke of Oakdale, in the foyer… and he had been joined by Lady Isabella Lyndon, who was looking very beautiful in a dark jade silk gown with a matching green headband wrapped around her golden hair.
Her heart almost stopped. How many times was he going to just coincidentally bump into the lady? Why was she even still in London, given that she had insisted her father despised thecity? Apparently, her family had come here for the ball at the insistence of the Dowager Duchess, but that was over a week ago now. And yet, here was Lady Isabella, again.
Stop it, Catherine. He promised you that he would never do to you what your father did to your mother. He will never betray you.
Her eyes flickered over them. Was her husband standing just a little too close to Lady Isabella? And why did Lady Isabella keep looking up at him in that way, batting her eyelashes and laughing just a little too hard at every single thing that he said?
Catherine clenched her hands into fists, fighting her feelings. She was being ridiculous. He had told her there was nothing between him and the lady. Just because Lady Isabella was clearly infatuated with him didn’t mean that he reciprocated her feelings. He was just being polite.
She took a deep breath and kept walking, pushing through the crowd until she reached them. The Duke of Oakdale was the first to notice her, smiling cheerfully. It took her husband and Lady Isabella a moment more to see her standing there.
“Your Grace.” Lady Isabella sunk into a deep curtsey before straightening. “Are you enjoying the opera?”
“Very much,” Catherine replied in an overly bright voice. “And you, My Lady?”
“It is wonderful,” Lady Isabella enthused. “I was just saying how much I am enjoying it to His Grace. The costumes, the stage scenery… why, all of it is magnificent!”
“Indeed,” Catherine said in a sour voice.
Deliberately, she turned away from Lady Isabella, focusing on the Duke of Oakdale instead. Her heart was racing. She knew she was being snobbish and quite rude, but she just couldn’t help it.
She felt Thomas’s eyes on her, but she didn’t turn to look at him. He wasn’t the only one who could be grumpy. Her mood plummeted. All she wanted to do was go home now. The night hadn’t turned out how she had expected at all.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Grandmother.” Thomas’s voice was filled with tenderness as he walked up to the Dowager Duchess and kissed her on the cheek. “You are looking well. I swear you are getting younger with every passing day.”
Catherine smiled as the Dowager Duchess waved a dismissive hand in the air at the compliment. She gazed around as her husband and his grandmother continued chatting, taking in the scene.
The Dowager Duchess was hosting another garden party on the grounds of her London townhouse this time, rather than Newden Estate. People were milling around, sipping tea and champagne. A large white marquee had been erected on the lawn. A game of Pall Mall was already in progress.
Catherine’s smile widened as she spotted the maze at the end of the grounds, remembering the maze at Newden Estate andhow she had gotten lost in it. She shivered, remembering how Thomas had found her before he led her to the gazebo, and what had happened there…
As if her husband knew what she was thinking about, he turned to her, taking her hand and raising it slowly to his lips, his eyes lingering on hers, filled with a wicked light.
Catherine shivered again. She couldn’t quite believe that she was hungry for him again… and that he was hungry for her. They had only made love an hour ago, a wild romp in the small closet beneath the staircase, trying not to cry out in passion in case the maids heard them.
He was back to being his normal self after his strange grumpiness on the evening of the opera. Her doubts about him and Lady Isabella had receded. How could he be having an affair with the lady when he was so enamored with her, barely able to keep his hands off her? He rarely left her side. When would he have time to conduct an affair or the energy for that matter?
“You two look refreshed,” the Dowager Duchess remarked, an amused look on her face. “Quite refreshed, indeed.”
Thomas cleared this throat, looking a bit embarrassed. “Ah, well, yes, we have been relaxing at home over the past week. Ithasbeen quite refreshing, Grandmother.”
“I daresay,” the Dowager Duchess said, her lips twitching. “May I take it that I canfinallydare hope for great-grandchildren at long last?”
Catherine and Thomas both burst into laughter. Catherine felt her face turn pink. Thomas squeezed her hand. She edged closer to him, leaning into him. She just couldn’t help it.
“Let us just say that the possibility is there,” Thomas offered, looking sheepish. “And we will leave it at that for today, Grandmother.”
