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"I will see him rid of you before I takeyour pardon?" The dowager drew herself up

"I have spoken to Grayson about separation many times since his return He refuses"

"You have no wish to be er’s complete astonishment would have amused Isabel if she were less distressed over Gray’s behavior since leaving her bed To be set aside so easily…To be ignored so directly…To have trusted a man who lied to her…

It hurt, and she had proain

"No, I do not" She lifted her chin "The reasons for our e seem foolish and ill-conceived now I’m certain they always have been and ere both too obstinate to take note"

"Isabel" The dowager pursed her lips and fingered her weighty sapphire necklace with a narrowed, thoughtful glance "You are serious?"

"Yes"

"Grayson insists that a petition for divorce will meet with failure In any case, the scandal will be dreadful for all"

Tugging off one of her long gloves, Isabel reached out and fingered the petals of a nearby rose So Gray had been considering severing their bond She should have known

How unfortunate for her that she was a woman who relished the companionship of others She thrived on it Perhaps if she did not, she would not feel such a need to be held and cared for, and she would not be in this position now Many wohed The censure heaped on the, but how e to Grayson be? She’d nearly been destroyed by her last spouse and her attraction to the man Gray had become was just as powerful as what she had once felt for Pelham

"What do you want me to say?" she asked bitterly "That I a of a future as a woman divorced for adultery? I am not"

"But you are resolved, I can see it in the set of your shoulders And I will help you"

Isabel turned at that "You hat?"

"You heard er’s harshly drawn mouth "I am not sure hoill help you I only know that I will, in whatever manner I can Perhaps I will even see you well settled"

Suddenly, the events of the day were too much for Isabel "Excuse me" She would find Rhys and ask him to escort her home Faulkner scratches wounded her on all sides, and she wished for her room and a decanter of Madeira more than she wished for her next breath

"I shall be in touch, Isabel," the dowager marchioness called after her

"Lovely," sheup her steps "I cannot wait"

Frustrated by his lack of success in finding Spencer, Gerard was about to do violence to someone, when he turned a corner and ca out of a dark room

She turned and juloved hand sheltering her heart "You frightened me, Grayson"

He studied her with an arched brow Flushed and slightly disheveled, she was obviously fresh froain and Spencer stepped out with crumpled cravat, Gerard’s other brow rose tofor you for hours"

"You have?"

His brother was clearly far more relaxed than he had been earlier Intimately familiar with Barbara’s sexual appetite, Gerard was not surprised He smiled This was exactly how he had hoped to find Spencer

"I would like to speak with you"

Spencer straightened his coat and shot a glance at Barbara, who hovered "To him carefully, Gerard asked, "What are your plans for this evening?" He would not wait if his brother was still intent on solance at Barbara settled Gerard’s worries If Spencer was fucking, he would not be fighting "Breakfast inBarbara’s bare hand to his lips, Spencer sketched an elegant bow and e their departure

"I will be along in a " Barbara’s eyes remained locked on Gerard

When they were alone, he said, "I arateful for your association with Lord Spencer"

"Oh?" She made a moue "A tiny flare of jealousy would be welco between us to warrant jealousy, and there never has been"

Her hand ca h her lashes "There could be, if only you would war was lamentably short, it reminded me of how beautifully you and I suit each other"

"Ah, Lady Stanhope," Pel said tightly behind hi my husband for me"

Gerard did not have to turn around to know that his evening had, impossibly, taken a turn for the worse

As the obviously rumpled countess moved away, Isabel stood silently, her fists clenched Grayson eyed her warily, his powerful frame tense with expectation while she considered what she wanted to do She had once fought hard for Pelha and pointless Husbands lied and strayed Practical wives understood this

With her heart encased in the icy shell she had learned to rely on, she simply turned her back to Gray with the intent to leave--the ball, his house, hi, her brain quickly sorting through her belongings

"Isabel"

That voice She shivered Why must he have that raspy bedroom voice that dripped lust and decadence?

Her steps did not falter, and when he caught her elbow to stay her egress, her thoughts shifted to her previous home and how all of her furniture would be sadly out of date

Gray’s gloved hand cupped her cheek Forced her gaze tocolor and thought of her parlor settee, which was of a similar tone She would have to throw it out

"Christ," he aze dropped to where his large hand gripped her forearm

Before she realized it, he had pulled her into a dark room that reeked of sex and closed the door behind thee to flee, she hurried across the moonlit space toward a room on the other side It was a library where ed doors led outside There she paused and leaned her hands upon the back of a leather wingback chair, sucking in deep breaths of untainted air