Page 72 of The Burning Passion of a Fiery Lady
He lifted her hand that he was gripping to his mouth, kissing it fervently.
Susannah’s skin prickled in disgust. She felt his lips almost crawling over her flesh like a spider. It was a truly awful experience that she could do nothing to stop. She just had to endure it.
Fear suddenly gripped her heart. What if he tried to take more liberties with her? What if he insisted that he must kiss her on her mouth as a token of their supposed affection? Could she endure it? How could she hide her deep revulsion at his touch if it became so alarmingly intimate?
She took a deep breath, trying to fight down the panic. She must do something now to waylay that possibility. Something that would not offend him but would protect her from any further unwanted advances.
“Oh, Leonard,” she said breathlessly. “You know that you are the only one for me, my dearest …”
Gently, she extracted her hand, standing up. He gazed up at her, his eyes cloudy with lust and surprise.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice husky again.
“I am a little cold,” she said, apologetically, walking towards the fire and stretching out her hands towards it. “You do not mind if I warm my hands, for just a moment?”
He shook his head. “Of course not, my dear.”
She smiled. “Thank you. You always were the most considerate man.” She looked confused for a moment. “What was I saying? Oh, yes. I was telling you that I realise you are the only one, Leonard. That there can be no other man for me …”
He gazed up at her adoringly.
“I must admit, I was a little shocked by your revelation that you had taken care of my husband for me,” she continued, in a calm voice. “At first, I did not quite understand. But then I realised that everything you have done has been out of love and loyalty to me, and that this was no different.”
His face changed a little, and his eyes grew wary.
“I owe you my future,” she continued quietly. “I was stubborn and wrong to refuse you. But there is something I must ask your forgiveness for … something I did, in the spur of the moment, when I was confused …”
His face still looked grave. “What is it?”
She dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief again. “I must confess that I spent one night with my master of horses,” she said in a strangled voice. “I was so confused about everything, and he seemed to offer comfort … it was only the one night, and I deeply regret it … can you ever forgive me, Leonard?”
His face flushed a deep and painful shade of red. It was obvious he was struggling to control his anger. Fear shot through her veins again, as cold as ice. Had she made a tactical error? How was he going to react?
Amy’s words to her in the kitchen suddenly sounded in her mind.
He is a dangerous man, Susannah. He is liable to behave erratically, and he is unpredictable. It gives me grave concern to think of you alone in that parlour with the man …
She watched him cautiously, barely able to breathe. But within a moment, he had his emotions under control again.
“We have all made mistakes,” he said, in a tight lipped voice. “If you resolve that it is behind you, then I am willing to forgive and forget, my dear. It is our solemn Christian duty to do so, after all.”
The pomposity of his words seemed to hit her in the face with the force of a fist. Once again, she struggled to keep going in the face of such hypocrisy. Hedaredto talk to her of solemn Christian duty, after all the terrible things he had done?
You are going to burn in hell, she thought darkly.Your immortal soul is going to burn for all eternity, for all that you have done.
But, of course, she could not say such things. She had to keep forging ahead. It was so much more difficult than she had even imagined. But she was very close, now. Very close, to achieving what she desired. She couldn’t afford to blow it now.
She had talked about the plan, over and over, with Jasper. He had almost made her memorise what she was going to say to Leonard Green word for word. It had been so tightly woven that there almost wasn’t room to breathe within it. And part of that was convincing him that she was sincere in her affection for him … so that he would trust her, once again.
“Thank you, Leonard,” she said, in as humble a voice as she could muster. “It means the world to me that you have given me your forgiveness.” She hesitated slightly. “I am ready, to give myself to you, now, with a free and clear conscience. I am ready to marry you …”
His eyes leapt, and he sprang forward, out of the chair, approaching her with outstretched arms. She stepped back, staring at him solemnly.
“Iamready to marry you,” she repeated. “But there is something that I would like to know before I make that final commitment.” She hesitated, staring him straight in the eye. “I should like to know the truth of what happened to my husband. I would like to know the full story of what happened to him on the night he died.”
***
Leonard gazed at her in dismay. He wasn’t quite able to hide the shock that he felt when she had uttered those words. He hadn’t been expecting them at all.
