Somewhere I'll Find You (Capital Theatre #1)(19)

“Lady Ashton has no claim on me. She and I have an understanding.”

“How sophisticated of you,” she said acidly. “Let me pose a question to you, Lord Savage. If you were a married man, would you still desire to have dinner alone with me?”

“Since I'm a bachelor,” he said evenly, “the question is irrelevant.”

A bachelor! The realization that he had decided to ignore their long-ago marriage, pretend she had vanished from the face of the earth, filled Julia with outrage. To be truthful, she had done the same thing—but their situations were hardly comparable. After all, she had spent the past years struggling to make a new life for herself, whereas he had enjoyed himself playing lord of the manor with her dowry at his disposal!

“Does it bother you in the slightest that I have a husband?” she asked. “That I belong to someone else?”

He hesitated for a long moment. “No.”

Julia shook her head slowly, staring at him with disdain. “I know what you think of me, my lord…the same thing most men in your position think of actresses. But let me assure you, I'm not a prostitute—and I certainly can't be had for the cost of dinner and a few promises—”

“That's not what I think.” Savage unnerved her by taking a step forward until she could almost feel the warmth of his breath on her skin. She was aware of the latent strength in his body, the intimidating force of him, but when he spoke, his voice was gentle. “I'm not going to take advantage of you, Mrs. Wentworth. All I want is an evening with you. If you don't enjoy my company, you can leave at any time…but you won't want to.”

She laughed unsteadily at his arrogance. “You're damned certain of yourself, aren't you?”

“I'll be waiting at the Capital on Friday, after your performance.”

Julia's mouth tightened as she considered him silently. Savage was a perceptive man. If he had attempted to force her outright, she would have fought him to her last breath. But he had sensed that, and had left her the ability to refuse, if she chose.

Savage waited for her reply with the expectancy of a cat stalking some small creature it fancied. For some reason his patience touched her. With a flash of intuition, Julia thought that perhaps he secretly feared and desired the same things she did. He had been shaped by the same manipulations that she had…and in his own way, perhaps he had rebelled against them also.

How could she help but be curious about him? How could anyone resist the opportunity to find out more about the stranger she was married to? And he had no idea who she really was. Why not spend a few hours with him? What harm could it do? Most evenings after a performance she went straight to her small house on Somerset Street, and either read a book or stared pensively into the fireplace. This would be an interesting diversion, to say the least. And she need never tell him that she was Julia Hargate.

The irony of the situation almost made her smile. What a rich joke it would be, although no one but she would understand. If only her father knew that after all the years of rebellion, she was going to have dinner with her husband. He would have apoplexy!

“All right,” she heard herself say in a businesslike tone. “I will see you on Friday.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Wentworth,” Savage said, a flicker of satisfaction in his gray eyes. “I guarantee you won't regret it.”

“He sounds quite dashing,” Arlyss said, drawing her short legs beneath her as she sat in a worn chair in the greenroom.

“No,” Julia replied thoughtfully. “‘dashing’ implies a devil-may-care quality, which Savage hasn't got. There is something very controlled and intense about his manner.”

“Fascinating.”

The two women sipped cups of tea and talked languidly as they waited to be called for rehearsal. Logan Scott, Charles Haversley, a handsome blond actor in his twenties, and two other players were currently occupied on stage with a complicated bit of blocking. The rehearsal was for The Taming of the Shrew, a production that Julia was particularly enjoying because it was her first opportunity to play the part of Katherine. Arlyss had been cast as the younger sister, Bianca.

Although Julia and Arlyss were often in competition for the same roles, they had become friends during the past two years. Each had come to recognize that the other had talents different from her own. Some roles were better suited for Arlyss's comic abilities, while others required Julia's more versatile range. In between rehearsals and performances, they talked about their personal Lives, their fears and ambitions, although Julia was careful never to reveal too much about her past.

“Why don't things like that ever happen to me?” Arlyss complained, stirring more sugar in her tea. The possessor of an incurable sweet tooth, she battled constantly to keep her short, shapely figure from becoming too plump. “I would adore being pursued by an attractive marquess who happens to be as rich as Croesus. Instead, I get the fat old men who only want a quick roll in bed, and then point to me while I'm on stage and boast to their friends.”

Julia gave her a sympathetic glance. “You allow men to take advantage of you, Arlyss—and there's no need for that. You're beautiful, talented…you're one of the most popular actresses on the London stage! There's no need to give away your favors so easily.”

“I know,” Arlyss said with a glum sigh, toying with her mop of brown curls. She pulled a few hairpins from her untidy coiffure and stuck them back in haphazardly. “I just can't seem to help myself where men are concerned. I'm not like you, Julia. It's hardly natural for a woman to be so iron-willed. Aren't you ever lonely? Don't you crave a man in your bed sometimes, if only to remind you that you're a woman?”