Page 35 of The Baron's Return
“I didn’t know how he felt about you. No one ever mentioned the matter after that. Ashford was just trying to warn me that perhaps it would be better if I didn’t pursue a friendship with you.”
Abigail smiled. “Well, I for one am glad you ignored him. But you should know that I always meant to tell Cranston the truth. Your invitation just provided me with a convenient way to approach him.”
“And it has all worked out,” Amelia said.
Mary shook her head. “We need to test him.”
Abigail didn’t like the sound of that. “Please tell me what you’re planning. I don’t like the idea of tricking my husband.”
“Oh no, never that. I just thought that now that we’re back in town, we should host a party. Perhaps a small ball?”
Amelia balked at that. “Only if you’re the one planning to host it. Besides, there aren’t many people still here. Mostly bachelors.”
“But there are a few?” Mary asked.
Abigail nodded. “Yes. Mostly…”
Her voice trailed off. Mostly widows.
“We can host a dinner party then. It doesn’t need to be anything as formal as a ball. And you”—Mary looked directly at her—“can flirt with some of those bachelors.”
Abigail cringed. “Absolutely not.”
Mary sighed. “Or you could just allow them to flirt with you. Then we can see if your husband becomes jealous.”
“No. I want him to trust me. I’ve already hurt him in the past and married someone else. Why on earth would I betray his trust again?” Abigail shook her head. “The first time I was young and my father forced my hand. But this time I would have no excuse.”
Mary slumped back against the cushions of the settee.
“Widows,” Amelia said.
Abigail looked away.
“What do you mean?” Mary asked.
“The majority of people still in town are bachelors and widows. Women who are enjoying their freedom now that their husbands have passed away. They don’t want to stay buried in the country.”
Mary smiled. “We can see how Cranston behaves with these other women. If he shows any indication of wanting to bed one of them…”
Mary’s voice trailed off when she looked at Abigail.
She knew what the woman was seeing. Abigail felt as though she were going to be ill. The thought of having to witness her husband flirting with another woman. She closed her eyes to hold back a grimace of pain.
Amelia sighed. “I think it’s a good idea.”
“And how would you feel if it were your husbands we were throwing at women who wanted to bed them?” Her tone was harsher than she’d intended, but she didn’t want to do this.
“Abigail.” Mary’s tone was sympathetic. “That happens every time we are out in society. It doesn’t matter how innocuous the event. There’s always at least one woman who wants to lure them away.”
Amelia nodded. “I foolishly thought that behavior would stop after we married, but it didn’t. It just changed from young women who hoped to ensnare them as husbands to widows and other married women who just want a quick tumble.”
Abigail blew out a breath. If what her friends were saying was correct—and why would they lie about such a thing?—then this was something she would soon face herself, with or without their schemes.
Perhaps it was better to get this first trial over with quickly. If Cranston planned to be unfaithful, it might be better for her heart to come to terms with that fact as soon as possible.
She hated the cold-bloodedness of this “test” that her friends were proposing, but there was no point in delaying the inevitable.
“What did you have in mind?”
