Page 54 of Long Live the Baron
The viscountess smiled coyly, her red curls bouncing as she bobbed her head back in glee. “This is my first time visiting your home, Brendan.”
She stepped close, and once again rosewater assaulted his senses, suffocating him with the cloying scent so that he could gag from the potency of it. “I came to the realization that you are a married man now, which means I can visit Ridley House and claim I was here to see that flibbertigibbet you married.”
How had he ever found the jaded widow alluring? Her straining breasts were on display for any man to see, and she was a hairsbreadth from revealing a nipple. How had he never realized before seeing Lily in church that sincerity and effervescence were so much more appealing than this lurid display of sensuality?
“I do not wish to receive a visit!”
Harriet ignored him, arching an eyebrow to peer about the room with amused interest. “Your home is … quaintly Gothic.”
Brendan’s blood boiled, but he clamped down his anger so he could remove the widow from his home as quickly as possible.
“Be that as it may, I am afraid I do not wish to receive a visit from you, so …” He strode forward and flung open the door that Michaels had shut.
Harriet laughed, taking advantage of his proximity to move closer. Placing a hand on his lapel, she stroked the fabric provocatively. Brendan immediately moved away, but she followed him until he was cornered against the opened door. It had been an error to approach her with no plan on how to escort her from the room. He could hardly shove her away without the fear of hurting her, so how to untangle himself from the clutches of this succubus?
Damn Michaels for showing her in!
At this distance, he noticed the wine on her breath and the flags of color across her cheekbones and realized the widow was soused. That was not going to help even a little bit.
“You do not prefer your silly debutante over me, do you?”
He shook his head in disbelief, then realized that it might appear to be a response to her question. “It is time for you to go.”
“Because that would not make any sense. I am … fashionable … and attractive. Most men of thetonare honored to spend time with me. You would not discard me for a silly little mouse like Perry Balfour did last year, would you?”
Brendan shut his eyes in horror. Was Harriet having a sodding crisis of the soul? And was he not a thorough idiot for picking up with her after Perry had left Town to marry little Emma Davis? Perry had warned him to stay away from the widow, but Brendan had thought he could handle her.
“I beg of you. You must leave immediately!”
It would seem he was now going to pay for his error in judgment involving Lady Slight yet again. His affair with this particular widow was turning out to have been a very poor choice.
Somehow, he needed to get the viscountess out of his home before Lily returned. It would be the height of disrespect for his bride to find his former paramour in her new home, but how to remove the viscountess expediently without hurting her?
He did not know how to march a woman out, and his skills of diplomacy were failing him in such an unprecedented situation.
Brendan had never had an overlap with the women he was pursuing. He had always been a one-woman kind of man, so there had never been any jealous lovers or unseemly displays of emotion. His affairs had always ended naturally, both parties happy to move on. Brendan did not seek drama in his life, which was currently a hindrance because he had no relevant experience on how to part ways with Harriet.
I must get her out before Lily returns.
Carefully reaching out with both hands, he took hold of her by the arms and gently pushed her away so she was not standing so close to him. Harriet resisted, raising her arms to throw herself against him, her bountiful breasts pressing against his chest. It felt all wrong. He wanted his little chatterbox with her lithe body pressed against his, not this overblown trollop.
Brendan backed up farther against the door, but the widow threw him off balance with her lusty embrace. He attempted to push her off, but she was a leech, her limbs entangling with his as he did his best to remove her without hurting her.
* * *
“Good evening,Wesley. Do you happen to know where Lord Filminster is at the moment?”
Lily had decided to find Brendan forthwith to discuss the gossip in the news sheet that morning. She should have spoken to him earlier when she had the opportunity, because her anxiety over it had grown exponentially on the way home from Sophia.
Ordinarily, Lily preferred to tackle issues that were worrying her as quickly as possible. She hated having thoughts festering in her head, and there could be no more festering fear than the notion of her husband being unfaithful with the voluptuous widow. He had done nothing to deserve mistrust, so she must simply speak with him about her concerns.
“His lordship is … in the … library.” Wesley’s pleasant face was stiff, and he was clearly reluctant to impart Brendan’s whereabouts. Lily’s brows came together in query, but the footman merely turned a ruddy shade before darting off to put her bonnet and pelisse away.
Heading down the dim hall in the opposite direction the servant had taken, with first John following a few feet behind, Lily saw the library door was standing open and made to walk through it. She stopped in shock, staring at the sight of Lady Slight locked in a passionate embrace with Lily’s husband in the doorway. Her head began to swim, which made her realize she had stopped breathing. Inhaling a reedy breath, her eyes flickered to Brendan who appeared appalled.
Appalled he has been caught?
“Lady Slight! What an unexpected … Has anyone offered you any tea? I must apologize for not being here to receive … I do hope that Lord Filminster has been …” From a great distance, Lily heard herself speaking, and she wished she could slap herself into silence.
