Stranger in My Arms(59)

Gently Hunter removed the glass from her nerveless fingers, gestured for a servant who seemed to appear from nowhere, and placed it on a silver tray.

“Another?” he asked, and Lara nodded stiffly.

Her gloved hand curled around the stem of a new glass, and she drank it as rapidly as the first, with the same results. The sparkling bubbles seemed to float into her brain, and she covered her mouth with her fingers to suppress another attack of hiccups.

Hunter’s brown eyes gleamed with amusement.

“It’s not going to work, my sweet.”

“What’s not going to work?”

“You can drink until you’re corned, pickled, and salted… but I’m still going to hold you to our bargain.”

She gave him a glance of seething annoyance. “I had no such plan in mind. However, I’ll drink as much champagne as I want. After all, I can’t recall a time when you ever came to my bed sober.”

His gaze evaded hers, and his mouth tightened in what was either anger or regret. “I’m sorry about that,” he said gruffly, glancing about the room as if she had made him uncomfortable. “Lara, I-” Something caught his attention, and he stopped in mid-sentence. He didn’t seem startled so much as…

intent… as if he were suddenly occupied with solving an important riddle. Lara followed his steady gaze, and her entire body twitched in reaction as she realized whom he was looking at.

A tall woman stood near the doorway. Her attractiveness was the kind people usually called handsome rather than beautiful. She was lean and large-boned, her arms lightly muscled from a devotion to outdoor activities such as hawking, hunting, and archery. A man’s woman. Her strong, almost stern features were balanced by rich chestnut hair, sherry-colored eyes, and a pleasantly curved mouth.

A cream-colored gown draped over one shoulder and left the other bare, falling over her statuesque body in the style a Greek goddess would favor.

Lara was puzzled by the lack of obvious recognition on Hunter’s face.

He glanced around the room and took note of the slew of curious gazes fastened on him, the way everyone watched for his reaction.

Then he looked back at the woman, who gave him a faintly tremulous smile.

Suddenly the woman’s identity seemed to dawn on him, and he shot Lara a glance of black rage.

“Damn you,” he breathed, and left her as he headed toward his former mistress, Lady Carlysle.

Lara felt hundreds of gazes on her as the scene unfolded. The rush of gossip-amused, pitying, fascinated-threatened to drown out the musicians.

Shaken, she was barely aware of her sister coming to her side.

“All going according to plan,” Rachel remarked, trying to look as though nothing unusual were happening. “Try to smile, Larissa-everyone is watching.”

Lara obediently curved her lips in an imitation of a smile, but her mouth felt stiff and numb.

“Why do you look so strange, dearest?” Rachel asked softly. “He’s gone to her, just as you planned.

It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

Yes, it was what she had wanted… but how could she explain that everything seemed horribly wrong?

How could she explain the awful moment in which Hunter hadn’t seemed to recognize his former mistress? It must be that he had been shocked by the unexpected sight-that and the fact that he hadn’t seen Lady Carlysle for more than three years. It had taken him several seconds to recover.

Lara took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but the ache in her chest remained. She had accomplished her goal, bringing Hunter and Lady Carlysle together. Now their old passion would reignite and Lara would be left alone once more’. Exactly what she wanted.

Why, then, did she feel so betrayed? Why did she feel as if she had made a terrible mistake?

“Here, give me that.” Rachel took the empty champagne glass from her.

“You’re about to snap the stem in two.” She stared closely into Lara’s face. “Dearest, what is wrong? How can I help you?”

“It’s too hot in here,” Lara said thickly. “I don’t feel well. Act as hostess for me, Rachel, just for a few minutes. Make certain everything goes smoothly until I return.”

“Yes, of course.” Rachel squeezed her gloved hand. “Everything will be all right, dear.”

“Thank you,” Lara whispered, not believing her for a moment.

Chapter 14

HUNTER HAD SEEN the unmistakable guilt on Lara’s face, and realized in an instant what she had done.

He was filled with outrage at having been manipulated by his own wife.

More than that, he was aware of a wry realization that he should have expected such a maneuver. Lara was an intelligent and stubborn woman who would do anything rather than surrender to him. It had been a clever idea to stage a public reunion with his former mistress, and Lara’s timing couldn’t be faulted. No doubt she expected him to be occupied with Lady Carlysle in one way or another for the rest of the evening.

He couldn’t wait to enlighten his wife on a few important points.

In the meantime, however, he would have to deal with Lady Carlysle-something he had tried to avoid ever since coming to England.

A grim smile touched his lips. “You’ll pay for this, sweetheart,” he said under his breath, and squared his shoulders as he reached Lady Carlysle.