Page 58 of A Kiss Of Lies

“Thank you, Lord Markham,” Lily gushed. “My room is lovely, and you brought all my things from home. That was very kind of you.” She threw her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

“I wanted you to have something of your parents with you. This is as much your home now as it is mine.”

A man coughed beside him, and he looked at Hadley Fullerton, his friend and a consummate rake. Hadley’s eyes were locked on Sarah, Christian saw, and a possessive fire ignited inside him.She’s mine,he wanted to scream.

“Lord Fullerton, may I present my ward, Miss Lily Pearson, and her governess, Mrs. Cooper.”

Hadley approached Sarah, the image of a cobra just before it was about to strike, and it took massive reserves of Christian’s willpower not to growl and position himself between them.

But his shoulders relaxed with satisfaction when he noted that Hadley’s rakish charms had absolutely no effect on Sarah. In fact, she looked pale, as if she was about to be sick.

“Governess? My God, I thought it was you the minute you entered the room. Lady Serena . . . I didn’t realize you’d remarried. My condolences. What happened to Dennett?”

Christian shuddered and froze. His world tilted from under him, and involuntarily he moved to brace himself, as if for impact.Lady Serena . . .

Clarity struck him, an axe blow poised to finish him off. He looked at her, aghast. ShewasLady Serena Castleton. She’d played with him. She’d concealed her true identity from him, and there could be only one reason. She’d never had any intention of staying with him.

She’d used him.

He recoiled from her, sickened.

He looked at her, this stranger, this betrayer. Hadley kept on talking. Each word he uttered was a knife cut to his fragile psyche. Each syllable pushed the blade in deeper. Hadley prattled on as if everything were normal, yet it wasn’t. She’d lied to him.

Why?

As his rich, good-looking friend, oblivious to the tension in the room, continued to address Sarah, or Serena, Christian tried to contain the anger moving as rapidly as venom through his veins. He drew on his inner strength, counted to ten, and exhaled through his mouth. He would not lose control, not now, nor ever, especially not in front of Hadley.

And he’d be damned if he didn’t have a good reason to be angry. She’d told him Serena was dead. Wait, no! She’d said she was gone. . . .

He stared at the woman who’d shared her body with him for the last few weeks, and nausea rose once again. She’d implied Lady Serena Castleton was dead. He thought they’d shared everything, and that he knew her as well as he knew himself. It was all a lie. She was a lie. A complete stranger, it seemed.

He hadn’t gotten to know her at all.

Serena dropped her gaze and shifted nervously on her feet. Hadley still had hold of her hand.

“Lord Fullerton, it’s wonderful to see you.”

Her words fed his anger. She obviously knew him, and knew him well. How well? Jealousy flared yet again and mixed with his potent fury.

Hadley stepped back, a frown chasing across his brow. “I can’t believe the Duke of Hastings’s beautiful daughter is a governess now. What on earth has happened? I haven’t heard that the Duke is in financial distress. I thought your marriage to Dennett solved that problem.”

She swallowed, her slender neck rippling with anxiety. Christian glowered. “Mrs. Cooper, I find that a very interesting question myself. I’d love to hear the answer.”

Hadley looked between them, and realization dawned. “The devil take me! You did not know her true identity?”

“No.” He wanted to say more, but Lily was watching and listening to the adults with an open mouth.

Roberts interrupted the tense scene by announcing, “Dinner is served.”

An icy calm descended over him. “Thank you, Roberts.” He turned to Lily and offered her his arm. “Shall we go in? Lord Fullerton, will you escort Mrs. Cooper?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

Christian left the room, Lily walking beside him. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Serena. He’d been looking forward to eating; now his stomach churned too much to even contemplate a morsel.

The anger emanating from Christian set Serena’s teeth chattering. She’d never forget the look on his face when he realized who she was. She’d never forget the play of confusion, hurt, anger, and pain that ran over his face.

She’d utterly hurt him. And she would wound him more savagely when she explained further. She knew now there was no way around it. He would demand answers and she couldn’t lie to him. She thought Christian was a fair man and a good man.

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