Imitation of Love by Sally Quilford Read Free Book Online

definitely too mature to be involving himself in stupid
duels. She wondered how someone who had been so brave in the war, and was
clearly an intelligent man, had lowered himself to such childish antics.
     
    “You’re disappointed in me,” he said
with the perception that always unnerved her. Mr. Harrington had left the room
to find some wine, though Catherine suspected he was rather squeamish.  Suddenly
alone with Mr. Oakley, she became more aware of the fact that he was naked from
the waist up. His torso was that of a sportsman, lean and hard, without an
ounce of spare fat. She made a point of looking only at the wound. To see the
rest of his torso was far too disturbing.
     
    “I’m sure it’s none of my business,” she
said, as she inserted the next suture.
     
    “Damn it, Catherine, your prodding with
that needle suggests otherwise. Could you try and be a little kinder?” He took
a deep breath. “I apologise, Miss Willoughby. I shouldn’t swear like that in
front of you.”
     
    “You should have heard the things Jimmy
used to say,” she said, with a smile. “Believe me when I say that I am
unshockable.”
     
    “Really? Be careful, Miss Willoughby,
another less honourable men might see that statement, coming from someone with
such innocent lips, as a challenge.”
     
    “And would you fight a duel for me if he
did?” The moment she said it, she wished she hadn’t. It was asking for
something to which she had no right.
     
    “I’d kill him long before we reached the
dueling ground.”
     
    She looked at him, startled by his
savage tone, and for a moment was lost in his deep blue eyes.
     
    “I thought you said you were
unshockable,” he said in a husky voice.
     
    “What happened to the other man?” she
asked, turning her head, afraid that if she looked at him any longer, he would
know how she felt about him.  “He’s not dead is he?”
     
    There was only a momentary pause before
he said, “No, he’s quite well.”
     
    “So you lost the duel?”
     
    “Make up your mind, Miss Willoughby,” he
said, grinning. “You’re either disappointed with me for fighting the duel, or
disappointed with me for losing. You can’t have it both ways.”
     
    “I’m just glad you only lost the duel
and not your life. Especially for such a trivial reason.”
     
    “You don’t think Mrs. Somerson’s honour
worth fighting for?”
     
    “It seems to me that if a woman has to
call on a man to defend her honour, she must have behaved in a way that brought
it into question.”
     
    “No wonder Jimmy called you Cat. Those
claws are quite sharp, aren’t they? Well, I’m glad. It shows you’re not as
different to other women as I thought you were.”
     
    She ignored him, but had the grace to
feel ashamed of her cattiness. She hoped that he wouldn’t realize it was down
to her jealousy of Mrs. Somerson. “You should be alright now,” she said, as she
finished bandaging his wound. “I’ll leave you and Mr. Harrington to your wine.”
As she spoke, the man in question returned to the room with the wine and three
glasses.
     
    “Are you sure you won’t join us, Miss
Willoughby?” said Mr. Oakley in rather more tender terms. “You look pale and as
if you’re about to fall down.”
     
    “I’ve told you, I’m not the swooning
kind.” She wished she was not the crying kind, because at that moment she was
struggling hard with the emotions he evoked in her. The idea that he could have
died filled her with horror. Not because it would leave her and Alyssa without
a benefactor, but because to lose him would be a pain she could not bear.
     
    “I’ve been ungrateful,” he said gently.
“Especially after you’ve done such a good job of patching me up. Thank you.”
     
    Catherine said goodnight and curtseyed
to both men.
     
    “Catherine…” She’d reached the door when
he spoke her name.
     
    “What is it?”
     
    “I’d rather none of our guests knew
about this.”
     
    “I shan’t say