Dealing With Discipline (32 page)

"Oh..." Irene floundered.
 She didn't quite know how to respond to that.  While she
loved the idea that she was responsible for his return, that didn't
explain why he was still here.  Or why he'd want to get to
know her husband.  Irene definitely did not want Hugh and Alex
to become friends, she would much prefer they were kept far away
from each other.

While her mother had explained the
"way" things were done within Society when it came to extramarital
affairs, Irene was astute enough to realize that Alex's sense of
honor would not include having a friend's wife as his mistress.
 No matter that Irene had known him first.  

"Were there any other reasons?" she
asked, hoping to distract him away from the part that she didn't
want him thinking about. 

"A few," he said
non-committedly, but Irene knew him well enough to see how he
withdrew rather than giving her a real answer.  She didn't
like being closed out.  Not at all. 

Coquettishly, she shifted closer to
him as they walked, snuggling her side against his.  Strangely
she didn't feel the same excitement that she did when Hugh's arm
brushed her breast or when she was pressed against Hugh.  No
sense of anticipation, no breathless pounding of her heart or
tingling between her legs.  Irene ignored her body's response.
 This was Alex, after all, the man she'd loved all her life.
 Perhaps she just didn't respond that way to him yet because
they hadn't been intimate.  

To her surprise he frowned
down at her.  "Are you alright, pet?"

"I'm feeling a bit chilly now that you
mention it," she said, tilting her head so that the moonlight could
catch her fluttering eyelashes and pouting lips.  Tilting her
head the way she would for a kiss as he stopped to face her,
pressing herself close to him.  Warmth suffused her but...
none of the expected heat.  The lack of it, as well as Alex's
apparent confusion as to her intentions - not that they had been
great, she had only wanted to plant the idea in his head but the
fact that he didn't seem to be getting the message was making her
more frustrated and more brazen than she would have normally been.
 As well as the fact that she now felt as though she had to
convince her own body that Alex was what she wanted, that the
position of Alex's mistress was one she desired.  

"What are you doing
Irene?" Alex's obvious confusion, her strange reluctance, and the
desire to prove to herself that Hugh was not what she wanted
combined into a dangerous determination as she grasped the collar
of Alex's jacket.  She was no longer thinking about the fact
that they were clearly visible in the moonlight, her emotions were
wildly out of check and all she could think about was proving to
herself and to Alex that she was destined to become his mistress
and that they could be happy and in love and together - as together
as Society would allow them to be.

******

With a sense of relief,
Eleanor watched her brother exit the card room and obviously ask
one of the footmen standing nearby for his wife's direction.
 Everyone in the room knew that Lord Brooke had escorted Lady
Harrington to the terrace; it was already the talk of the
ton
because Lord Brooke
never escorted married ladies anywhere even remotely questionable.
 Despite the acknowledged childhood friendship it was still a
juicy enough piece of gossip to cause comment. She watched as Hugh
headed towards the terrace, his easy stride giving the
ton
 the verdict
that he was going to join his wife and his friend in getting some
air.

Nothing at all
scandalous. 

And she didn't even have to search him
out or worry about Grace's warnings.  If Irene had, indeed,
had ulterior motives for asking Lord Brooke to accompany her for
some air, Hugh would put an end to them.  She hadn't had to
intervene at all.

Her stomach tightened as her own
husband followed Hugh in exiting the card room only a minute later.
 Edwin's dark gaze scanned the room, obviously looking for
someone.  A woman stepped up to him; from behind Eleanor
couldn't recognize her but she saw Edwin bow and kiss her hand.
 Once again jealousy wracked her, but there was nothing she
could do.  If the woman was propositioning him she knew that
he would say no.

Because he had Eleanor in his bed that
night, at his beck and call, passionate and eager.  Once again
she wondered whether she should continue with her plan to go to
Bath.  She still had yet to find a traveling companion and she
hated the idea that Edwin might be with another woman in her
absence.  On the other hand, it seemed like the risk she had
to take in order to know his heart.

Watching him finish his conversation
with the woman and brush past her, his eyes lighting on herself and
his smile broadening when she saw her, she felt the inevitable tug
to stay by his side.  Always.  

But she couldn't risk her heart
without knowing his.  She'd spent her entire life doing
whatever she could to prevent ending up in her mother's situation,
she wouldn't give that up now.

******

"Irene!"

She found herself forcefully thrust
away from Alex as two different and distinct voices said her name.
 One was appalled and shocked, that was Alex.  The other
was appalled and furious, and the immediate weakening of her knees
and swirling of her senses told her exactly who that other voice
belonged to. 

The moonlight showed the absolute fury
in Hugh's face, it was written in every line of his stance.
 Next to her Alex was practically vibrating in
affront. 

Everything had spun so wildly out of
control so quickly... Irene's heart was pounding as she thought
over the last few minutes and tried to understand herself. What had
she been thinking?  Had she been thinking at all?

Alex's quick eyes took in what Irene
was too shaken to notice and Hugh was too angry to see; the
gathering, curious crowd.

"She's faint," he said loudly, his
voice carrying.  The glance he gave to Hugh was a tiny warning
that unless he wanted a serious social scandal, he needed to go
along with the cover that was being provided.  "Here, you'll
need to carry her."

The man she loved passed her off to
her husband before Irene could protest.  Her knees buckled and
she did indeed feel faint when she looked up into Hugh's eyes.
 In the moonlight they seemed much darker than usual; his
features shadowed and unforgiving.  Something inside of her
clenched.  

Then he was sweeping her up in his
arms and she became aware of the voices around them.  Groaning
in mortification, she buried her face in his shoulder, wrapping her
arms around his neck as if she could hide away from the entire
world.  Herself included. 

"I'll have your carriage summoned,"
she heard Alex say, his voice clipped and tense.  

As he carried her from the garden Hugh
was forced to answer question from the others who were strolling.
 His wife was fine, just overwhelmed by the crush and a stroll
with Lord Brooke hadn't been enough to help, he was taking her
home.  Sympathetic murmurs arose.  It was well known that
Viscount Harrington's wife was shy and retiring, such a crush as
Lady Cowper's ball and her new position... no wonder she was
overwhelmed.

The constant whimpers and tiny moans
from Irene, as well as her clinging to her husband's neck, only
affirmed the story.  No one knew that she was moaning and
whimpering as much from embarrassment and anxiety over the
repercussions of her actions, as well as the shattering of her
plans, or that she was clinging to Hugh because she couldn't face
anyone, much less him.  

To her shock, when Hugh gently placed
her in the carriage and sat beside her, Alex climbed in after
him. 

Covering her face with her hands,
Irene turned to the side of the carriage so that she didn't have to
look at either man.  The ride to Harrington House was made in
silence.

******

Hugh couldn't describe his feelings as
he helped his wife out of the carriage and they headed into the
house, Lord Brooke bringing up the rear.  While he had no
reason to distrust Lord Brooke, and it was blatantly obvious that
the man had a care both for his marriage and Irene's reputation,
the fit of fury that had engulfed him at seeing his wife's in
another man's arms had been overwhelming.  And that didn't
even begin to describe his feelings when he'd realized that Irene
had been the instigator.

Why?

To pay him back for the spanking?
 To lash out?  

She could have hurt her reputation far
greater than she could have hurt his, however, and how could she
have known that he would go looking for her at that moment if she
wanted to hurt him personally? 

Gripping her by the arm, he led them
to the study.  The short nods that he'd given the staff upon
his entrance to the house had kept them at bay.  It was
obvious that something was going on that he didn't want any of them
to be a part of.  Thankfully Lord Brooke followed.

"Sit."  Hugh released
Irene's arm so that she could sit in the seat in front of his desk.
 A chair that had seen many a disciplinary session in fact; it
was the same one Eleanor had frequently found herself bent over for
her various transgressions.  The chair itself was as
comfortable as ever, but the wide, cushy armrests had a much darker
use.  One that Irene hadn't been introduced to yet.  Hugh
leaned against the desk directly in front of her, basically
looming.  Since she was seated she felt even smaller than
usual with him hovering over her like that. 

"Viscount Petersham," Alex
said from behind her.  The tension that had been growing
between Irene and Hugh changed as Hugh focused his attention behind
her where Alex was standing.  She felt abject relief that her
friend had not abandoned her.  The moment she'd stopped trying
to figure out how exactly she'd gotten into the position that she
had with Alex and starting thinking about what Hugh might do once
they were home, she'd known deep down that she was in for another
spanking.

Worse, some part of her felt as though
she deserved it.  She had basically thrown herself at Alex,
which had not been her intention... and Hugh had seen them.
 The implacable look on his face didn't entirely obscure the
hurt and disappointment in his sapphire eyes.  Irene knew that
it was due to her.  Still, she didn't want it.  She
worried how much more severe a punishment for her scandalous
behavior might be compared to the spanking she'd had before.
 Were Hugh's true colors about to be revealed?  Would he
beat her bloody with some horrible instrument?  

Not with her white knight about.
 As always, she knew that Alex would protect her and she took
comfort in that security.

"I just want you to know that... the
interlude in the garden wasn't what it looked like."  Alex
blew out a breath.  "I'm not... entirely sure what it
was..."

"I do believe that you may have been
caught in the crosshairs of a marital dispute, Lord Brooke," Hugh
said.  His voice was cold but civil as he faced the other man.
 Irene peeked up at him, keeping her head bowed, doing her
best not to draw attention to herself.  

"I apologize for my part in it
nonetheless," Alex said firmly.  It was obvious that he didn't
want to cause any trouble with Hugh for his own part, which Irene
appreciated.  Hugh could make it very difficult for her and
Alex to continue their friendship if he took a dislike to the
man. 

"I'm not inclined to blame you," Hugh
replied.  His gaze dropped to Irene and hardened.
 Clenching her hands in her lap, she focused on them and
decided to stop peeking up at him.  What she saw only made her
more anxious.  "I do appreciate your efforts to nullify the
issue for the gossip mongers.  It seemed to work.  They
won't be speaking about anything other than my wife's 'delicacy,'
which could have any number of reasons."  There was only the
slightest emphasis on the way he said 'my wife.'  "I assume
you accompanied us to hear Irene's explanation for her
behavior."

Since he didn't reply, Irene assumed
that he nodded.  Anxiety welled up inside of her
again.

"I don't have an explanation," she
burst out, glaring up at Hugh as if it was all his fault.  "I
don't know... It was just the night.  And the moonlight.
 And the excitement.  I wasn't thinking... I don't
know..."  She ran out of breath, panting
raggedly. 

The bright blue eyes of her husband
caught and held her, measuring her defiance and finding her
wanting.  The rebelliousness seemed to drain out of her under
his steady gaze.  

"Well whether there's an
explanation or not, there
will
 be repercussions," Hugh
said finally.  His voice was low, controlled.  Looking up
at Alex he nodded his head.  "Lord Brooke, I apologize for my
wife's behavior.  You can be assured that it will not be
repeated in the future.  I think she and I need to... speak
alone now if you don't mind."

"NO!"  Wild panic
filled Irene as she tried to push away from Hugh, but the chair was
too heavy a piece of furniture for her to be able to move.
 She twisted, clutching at the broad arm, ready to crawl over
it if need be, catching a look of intense surprise on Alex's face.
 "You can't leave me here with him, he'll
beat
me!"