Angel in Scarlet (Bound and Determined #4)(61)

“But Bliss would probably skin me—and I do mean that literally. She might very well tell you herself if you asked, but if I were to breathe a word—well, I might keep my skin, but…”

“And how would you feel if I did ask your wife such a question?”

“Then you might be the one without skin.”

A boy emerged from the stable, leading Colton’s stallion, Goliath.

“Can you fetch my friend Lord Duldon a mount? Tell Higgins that I think the bay hunter would be appropriate.”

The boy looped the reins over a post and headed toward the stable.

Colton turned to Duldon. “I am glad to see you, in any case. It has been far too long.”

“Yes, I admit that marriage does cut down on the time one spends with one’s friends.”

“An evening out becomes more difficult?”

“Say more that one at home becomes more desirable.” Duldon walked over and scratched the stallion’s nose. The horse sniffed him and then accepted the touch.

“Does it really?” Was such a thing truly possible?

Duldon scratched the stallion again. “Now, don’t ever let my wife know I put it like this, but would you rather ride a new horse each day or stick with Goliath here?”

“Well, there is some excitement in the challenge of conquering a new beast, but I do confess that I always come back to Goliath.”

“A wife is rather like that: If a man has a good one, one who suits his every need, why would he want for more?”

“For the thrill of it?”

“And yet even the thrill gets dull after a while, does it not?”

Did it? He would admit that there was not the excitement there once was, but dull? He wasn’t quite sure he’d go that far. “I am not sure that I have found it so.”

“Then perhaps you have not yet found the right mount, one that you think of even when others are available, one that makes each ride better than the last.”

No, he’d never had that—or had he? He did have to admit that since he’d begun this game with Angela, he’d sought no other—and there had been opportunities. He’d never thought to feel this way, but recently something had changed. “I don’t know.”

Duldon shot him a strange look. “I would have expected a flat no.”

“Life has been complex of late.”

“And this one does seem to be the perfect ride, to suit you exactly.” Duldon patted Goliath, but he looked straight at Colton.

He was talking about the horse—he couldn’t mean more. Nobody knew about Angela and him—well, nobody but Thorton. And Thorton intended to hold his tongue, at least for the moment. But…“You walked from Lady Perse’s; was there any unusual gossip this morning?”

“No, but, then, I didn’t talk to anyone except my valet before I left to hoof it over here. I may have grunted at a footman when he opened the door, but that was all.”

“What about last night? Were you there for dinner? I was invited but had things to attend to here.” The truth was he hadn’t been ready to face Angela, not with the decision he had to make and knowing that he had hurt her with his abruptness.

“Yes, we arrived just before. Bliss took a tray in the room, but I went down. There was nothing remarkable. Lady Perse was her usual self, and as for the rest—well, I didn’t take much interest in it. I was more concerned about how my wife was faring after the long trip.”

“And Miss Ripon—how did she seem?” If Angela had heard anything, surely her demeanor would have revealed it.

“Miss Ripon? I don’t remember seeing her, and I am sure she would have come over to ask of Bliss. They always were quite close. I did see Mrs. Ripon, but somehow I’ve a feeling that does not answer your question. I thought you had decided that the fair Angel was not for you.”

Angela hadn’t come down to dinner? That could mean a thousand things—few of them good. “You call her Angel?” He’d thought that his own pet name.

“Bliss does; some long-ago joke she has never explained.”

The boy reentered the yard, leading the bay. Colton had more questions but could not find words for any of them. Duldon had implied that he was not missing out on certain activities, activities a man normally did not ask of his wife. Activities that Colton knew Duldon had indulged in at Madame Rouge’s. It was an impossible thing to ask: Excuse me, but have you ever tied your wife up? Taken a crop to her? And does she enjoy it? No, definitely not the questions to ask.





Chapter 17


“I can’t believe you are here,” Angela exclaimed, rushing into the parlor. “Why didn’t you send word that you were coming?”

Bliss rose from the couch, carefully. “I wanted to surprise you, and in truth I was not sure we would make it. I’ve not been feeling well, and Duldon was worried the carriage ride might be too taxing.”

“You are not ill?” Her joy dimmed.

“No, or at least no more so than any other woman in my condition.” Bliss placed a hand upon her stomach.

“Your…” And then she realized the meaning of the gesture. “Oh, how wonderful! When? And how? Oh, I don’t mean that. I do know how, but I thought you were hoping to wait until you had been married a bit longer. I mean, I know that it is always good to have an heir, but…”