Page 56 of A Wicked Kind of Husband

His eyes swung wildly from one to the other. “I should check first, his lordship said.”

“No need, Smith. You have done your job beautifully. Your mother must be very proud.”

She advanced without hesitation, again forcing him to back away to avoid touching her. When she reached out a hand, he leaped aside, exposing the handle, which she gripped.

“My husband is teaching me to open doors all by myself,” she said to the butler. “It is very liberating.”

And enjoying the chuckle from behind, she pushed open the door to Lord Bolderwood’s library and swept in.

* * *

Joshua tippedthe hapless butler and sauntered after Cassandra, eager to see what she came up with next.

“Harry,” Cassandra said warmly, as though she were happy to see him. Joshua glared at her back. That pushed politeness a bit too far.

Or maybe shewashappy to see him.

Bolderwood leaped to his feet.

“Cassandra! And…” Bolderwood’s face dropped when he saw Joshua. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m astonished you must ask, you insolent pup.” Joshua sauntered to the middle of the room, enjoying the feeling of his wife by his side. He was used to fighting his battles alone; it was strangely warming to have an ally. “You seem to be making free with my name, putting it on legal documents and so forth.”

“Joshua. Restrain yourself, please.”

She was delightful when she became stern and he could be absurd. He was coming to enjoy her nagging. He suspected she was secretly coming to enjoy his teasing.

“What? You said I must not call him a goat. You never said I couldn’t call him a dog.”

“Please refrain from likening him to any animals.” Mischief glinted in her eyes. “A man of your talents can find much better names.”

“I did not wish to upset your delicate ears.”

“Oh,nowyou’re concerned about my delicate ears.” She turned back to Bolderwood. “We have come to deal with this nonsense, Harry.”

Bolderwood looked right at Joshua. “You bring your wife to do this? What kind of man hides behind his wife’s skirts?”

“But they are such lovely skirts.” He grinned at her. “Although generally I prefer to hideunderthem.”

She slapped a hand to his chest, her eyes on his. “Behave, darling.”

Darling?Ah, a game for Bolderwood’s sake. ForHarry.

“Anything for you, my little poppet,” he said.

On impulse, he brushed his knuckles over her jaw. Her eyes darkened ever so slightly; perhaps she could be made to desire him after all.

Somewhere, a man cleared his throat and they jumped apart.

“Ah, Bolderwood, it’s you, is it?” Joshua said. “Forgot you were there.”

“We are inmylibrary,” Bolderwood said indignantly. “Of course I’m here.”

“So easy to forget about you. My wife is so charming.”

“Yes, I remember.”

That smirk was going to earn the fellow a punch soon, despite Cassandra’s rule against it. These two had probably kissed at some point. Maybe more than kisses. Not that Joshua was jealous, as such, because there was no way he could ever be jealous of an insipid idiot like Bolderwood. It was simply that Cassandra seemed to think that Bolderwood was what a gentleman ought to be, and if Joshua kissed her properly, she’d change her tune on that fast enough. But he wasn’t going to kiss her. Go around kissing your lovely wife and the whole world could come crashing down.

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