Page 90 (1/2)

He staggered to his feet and poured himself a drink, oblivious to the fact that the hour had not yet slipped frohtly it was a wonder it didn't break He downed the drink, and when it did nothing to ease his pain, he drank another

He pictured her face, hisover those spectacular silver eyes He could see her hair, could detect each one of the myriad colors that ht brown And then her

Kissing

He could feel her lips under his They had been soft and full and so eager to respond His body hardened as he remembered the sheer ecstasy of her touch She was an innocent, yet she instinctively kne to bind him to her with passion

He wanted her

He wanted her with an intensity that threatened to engulf hiement yet He had to see her one last time He had to touch her and see if he could withstand the torture of it

Did he love her enough to go through with thiswhat he did about her?

Did he hate her enough to marry her just to control her and punish her for what she'd made him feel?

Just one more time

He had to see her just one e is here to see you, Miss Bartlett"

Henry's heart slammed in her chest at the butler's announcement

"Shall I tell hi her hesitation

"No, no," she replied, nervously wetting her lips "I'll be right down" Henry set down the letter she'd been penning to Emma The Duchess of Ashbourne would probably withdraw her friendship froot out Henry had decided she'd like to send one last piece of correspondence while she still could count E her friends

This is it, she said to herself, trying to fight the choking feeling in her throat He hates you now She knew she'd hurt him, perhaps just asdown the folds of her pale yellow ht her back in Truro She wasn't sure why she'd instructed herPerhaps it was a desperate attempt to hold on to a tiny piece of her happiness

Now she only felt foolish As if a dress couldher shoulders, she walked out into the hall and carefully shut the door behind her She had to act nor she'd ever done, but she was going to have to behave as if nothing rong She wasn't supposed to know that Dunford had received a note meant for Rosalind, and he would be suspicious if she acted otherwise

She reached the top of the staircase, and her foot hovered over the first step Oh, God, she could feel the pain already It would be so easy to turn around and flee to her room The butler could say she was ill Dunford had believed her to be ill the previous week; a relapse was plausible

You have to see him, Henry

Henry swore at her conscience and finally stepped onto the staircase

Dunford stared out ain the Blydons' sitting rooreet him

Fiancée What a joke