Free Lord Romney's Exquisite Widow by Jenni James Page A

understand what this beautiful, elegant woman was attempting to tell him.  He was not willing to break the spell now that she was sharing fully.  "How did you hear of such things? Were they from your husband?"
    "Oh, yes. In a continual lamenting. I was told in every way, in every deed, how much I lacked from what the late Lady Romney had once been." And then the sharpest of realities came to be as she looked directly at him, one eyebrow rising as if to challenge him. “Ironically, to fully share with you what a horrid wife I made, Lord Hamson, you must understand fully that I was never—uh, how did you graciously put it?—soiled, so to speak."
    For a full minute, he could not grasp what she was about. Then, as her stare became more settled, challenging him to understand, realization dawned. Great heavens. The foolish cur never touched her, either! How could that be? Hamson closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the reality of everything she had said settling over him. The poor, poor girl. To take such life and joy and snuff it out—how could the infernal man not see her for who she was, this angel before him?
    George removed himself from his seat and knelt down beside the lady, taking her two small hands and placing them into one of his. His gaze caught hers as his free hand came up to brush aside the wayward curls upon her brow. They were face-to-face, merely centimeters apart.
    "Whatever are you about, George?" she asked, concern on her features.
    "Hush, my dear," he said as he cupped her chin. "I am going to kiss you."
    She inhaled sharply and went to move away, but his soft words halted her.
    "If I understand correctly, it will be the first real kiss your lips have ever tasted."
    "George." It was half plea, half desperation.
    "No, my dear. I may have wounded you, but I held your heart the longest, as you have held mine. This is the kiss I should have stolen four years ago, sweetling. Forgive me for being so tardy, but I am here now, and ready to stake my claim."
     
     
     

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
     
     
    Catherine wiggled one hand free and placed it between Lord Hamson's lips and her own. He kissed her palm and then pulled away. His shocked look would have made her chuckle if the whole situation were not so very sad. "Though I thank you for the honor, you do not want to kiss me."
    "I am fairly certain I know my own mind, Lady Romney, and I have most definitely wanted to kiss you for these four years at least."
    "Certainly not while I was married."
    He slowly shook his head. "You are an innocent if you believe that. A man's heart does not change simply because the lady he cares for has married another."
    This was all nonsense. "You misunderstand my meaning. You truly do not want to kiss me. You would rather kiss the idea of me, but not me."
    "Are you saying this because you were told how very much you were lacking?"
    She stood up, brushed past him, and then walked to the center of the floor and sat down. Her gray skirts billowed around her as she allowed the now-wiggling kitten to escape her clutches and explore the blue carpet beneath them. "Lord Hamson, let us not contend with one another over this. I shall merely say that my feelings are not biased because I was told something, but because I know them to be true." A surprised giggle released as the rambunctious sprite found one of the long silk ribbons upon her dress and began to bat at it. "You do believe you are a mighty hunter, do you not, little one?"
    George did not remain in his position longer. Instead, she found his fine Hessian boots fairly close to her before she looked up and noted his grim countenance.
    "I cannot be happy with this," he said.
    "With what, my lord?" She gave him a coy look. "Are you still upset that I would not let you kiss me?"
    He knelt down, and she swallowed her next saucy reply.
    "You are not happy because you believe a pile of falsehoods about yourself. I am not happy because I allowed—for a brief moment—my frustrations to add to