Cressida's Dilemma by Beverley Oakley Page B

act so calculated to whip up his desire only to reject him at the end?
    He was confused and hurt. Suspicious, too. Not that she’d indulged in activities he’d not condone, but as to the source of her inspiration for such extraordinary bedroom antics. Antics that she had initiated.
    Only to reject him. That’s what it all came down to.
    For the first time since he could remember, Cressida had not been at breakfast this morning. Though he’d endured a hellish night, he’d forced himself to take his seat at the usual time, hoping to glean something over their habitual haddock and toast, even if no actual allusion were made to the previous evening’s several extraordinary encounters.
    Mariah came to stand beside him, bending to look over his shoulder. Her still lovely face bore a pallor and tightness that hinted at her stress, and Justin reached up to squeeze her hand.
    “I agree with you, Mariah, that the most likely candidate is this Miss Madeleine Hardwicke, Lord Slitherton’s betrothed. As you know, I am Patron of Sedleywich, and Miss Harwicke’s sister-in-law, Annabelle Luscombe, is on the committee.”
    “Which makes muddying the trail all the easier.” Mariah sighed. “Miss Hardwicke looks just as I did as a young girl, Justin, with her blue-black hair and Castilian features, yet she has Robert’s strong nose.” She twisted her hands. “Surely you can trace her origins and reveal the deception? I’m going insane, Justin, unable to think of anything but the growing suspicion my beloved Robert’s evil mother retrieved my child from the Sedleywich Home for Orphans and somehow engineered that she be brought up as the child of Robert’s sister.” She covered her face with her hands and turned away, her words muffled as she continued, “Lord knows I was in no position to keep the child, I know that, but I was used, deceived, abandoned. Where was Robert when I needed him? We were so in love.”
    Justin reached up and squeezed her fingers tight, then he got to his feet and put his arms around his old friend. “Hush, Mariah, you are overwrought,” he murmured as she clung to him and her body convulsed with tears. “Do not blame Robert. You think men are all-powerful creatures? They are equally at the mercy of women when the balance is not in their favor.” A frisson of despair speared him at the thought of Cressida and the power she wielded over him. “Love is a wonderful thing when two people are of one mind and that love is sanctioned by those around them who wield the power. Robert was not yet of age. He could do nothing in the face of his mother’s opposition.”
    Mariah drew back, sniffing and attempting to smile, then she resumed her seat on the sofa while Justin returned to his desk. “You are a sensible man, Justin. Of course, I know what you say is true.”
    He drummed his fingers upon the document. “But I have to tell you that another possibility has presented itself.” His smile failed to banish the rawness of her feelings. He knew desperate hope hovered beneath the surface of her restraint.
    Wearily, she said, “Who is she, Justin?”
    He shook his head. “It would be unfair to divulge names until her identity is confirmed.”
    Mariah rose and trailed to the window.
    “If you have narrowed down the list to two, and indeed you know Miss Hardwicke’s family, tell me if your investigations have concluded this at least…” She closed her eyes and the whitening of her knuckles, which matched the pallor of her face, tugged at Justin’s heartstrings. “Will she want to know me?”
    Justin pondered the question. Although he was navigating these dangerous emotional waters as best he could, he felt close to being overwhelmed.
    He shuffled the papers, wishing he’d been able to confide in Cressida from the start and cursing his promise to Mariah that he not breathe a word of her affairs to his wife. Cressida’s wise counsel would have helped ensure he was dealing with the matter as