Page 46 of The Icy Duke Claims a Bride

The apparent flippancy of Hugh’s attitude towards his uncle angered her, as did his failure to share the intelligence he had gathered—never mind his casual mention of Lady Brightling.

But then, his talk of their activities since last night excited and distracted her in equal measure. Catherine could still recall the sensation of Hugh thrusting deep inside her in this very room at noon. Her inner thighs were still wet with his essence.

They ate in thoughtful silence, but as soon as the meal was over, Hugh stood up and came to put his arms around her from behind. “Come to bed,” he murmured in her ear. “Argue with me there instead.”

“Yes,” Catherine murmured back, turning her face to kiss his seeking mouth. “I haven’t finished.”

“Remember, calm and cool,” Hugh warned as their carriage pulled up outside the Theatre Royal the following evening. “We don’t want to reveal how much we know. Not yet.”

Catherine only nodded tersely.

Already from their short acquaintance, Hugh was well aware that she could be hot-headed, but this was not the moment for unmeasured statements or unpredictable outbursts.

Such hot-headedness made her exciting in the bedroom, he admitted to himself. Her angry kisses last night and the way she slapped him when he mentioned getting intelligence from Lady Brightling… Then, moments later, the way she tore his shirt, divested him of his trousers, and then quickly learned to ride him, a fantasy that had haunted his dreams since the first time he saw her on a horse…

Putting his erotic reflections aside for now, he hoped that, at least with his relatives tonight, Catherine would understand the need to exercise restraint.

“I’m so very glad you could both make it,” Lady Georgina gushed, reaching out to Catherine on the landing of the opera house. “We had two spare tickets, and when I heard that you made an appearance at Lady Tarleton’s ball last night, I knew to whom to offer them.”

Edwin and Lady Georgina were both very opulently dressed, certainly more so than the Duke and Duchess of Redbridge. Lady Georgina was in a striking, sophisticated chartreuse silk gown, set off by her matching gold and diamond necklace and earrings. Edwin wore a fashionably cut suit with diamond cufflinks and was holding a silver-topped cane.

Hugh, meanwhile, was in his usual plain black suit and white stock, while Catherine wore a simple evening gown of finely layered white muslin with embroidered flowers on the bodice and a simple silver cross at her throat. To Hugh’s eyes, his wife’s attire was almost virginal, a state to which she could certainly nolonger pretend. His mind wondered idly how long it would take to get her with child.

“You’re too kind.” Catherine smiled back, taking Lady Georgina’s gloved hands in her own and squeezing them but keeping the woman at arm’s length.

While neither of them really believed in the possibility of poisoning by touch, Hugh supposed that Catherine could hardly embrace his aunt while keeping a distance from her husband. Having extracted a summary of his uncle’s history in bed last night, she’d made it clear that even a distance of several miles wouldn’t be far enough from Edwin Vaughan.

From the cool expression on Edwin’s face, Hugh guessed that this feeling was mutual. If Edwin weren’t guilty, the glass-smashing incident at Redbridge Hall must have seemed to him like the work of a madwoman. If he were guilty, Catherine had obstructed his nefarious plans and made herself his enemy. And Hugh knew too well what became of Edwin’s enemies…

He shook his uncle’s hand and slapped him on the back in greeting, partly to draw his attention away from Catherine. Edwin responded jovially enough, and they discussed Andrew’s prep school for a short while.

“You weren’t at Lady Tarleton’s ball?” Hugh heard Catherine ask Lady Georgina artlessly.

“We aren’t often invited to move in such elevated circles,” Lady Georgina said with a self-deprecating smile containing morethan a hint of genuine annoyance. “That honor belongs only to Hugh, who, ironically, does not care for the pleasure. Is that not so, Nephew?”

Hugh only smiled and shrugged his shoulders. He knew that Edwin wished only to attend top-tier social functions in order to network, and he felt little sympathy for the denial of his uncle’s ambitions.

“Oh, we should go in!” Lady Georgina exclaimed as a bell rang nearby.

“Isn’t it early for the performance?” Hugh queried, checking his fob watch.

“Ah, but the celebrated soprano Christianna LaFanello is giving us a few impromptu arias before the opera begins.” She winked. “Come along. We have a box for tonight.”

The famous soprano was indeed as musical as her name suggested, and Hugh drifted gently on the strains of her voice while surreptitiously watching his uncle and aunt. Lady Georgina seemed quite determined that they should enjoy themselves, offering them wine, blankets, and sweets, all of which they politely declined.

Edwin was not in the slightest bit musical, but he attended the opera regularly for purely social reasons He looked frankly relieved when the handsome Italian lady on stage took her final bow and the curtain fell for a short intermission before the main event.

“Well, thank God for that,” he muttered, shifting in his seat.

“Don’t be such a philistine, Edwin,” Lady Georgina chided. “Look, Lord and Lady Edwinson are observing us. Smile and nod, please, my dear.”

With a resigned sigh, Edwin acknowledged the occupants of the adjacent box and then rose to his feet. “Right, I don’t know about anyone else, but I need a drink to fortify myself for the main event. How about everyone else?”

“No.” Catherine shook her head. “No, thank you.”

“What about you, Hugh? It’s thirsty work for a man, watching opera, especially something likeThe Fairy Queen. Why don’t we head down to the bar and leave the ladies here?”

“No,” Catherine repeated more firmly. “My husband will remain here with me.”

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