Catherine Gayle
Of Love and Lust
ONE
Envy had never been high on Judith Lipscombe’s list of priorities. It was a rather ugly sensation, all things considered. Yet as she watched Lord and Lady Quinton from across the parlor at Quinton Abby, this blasted envy was yet again making its presence very much known in her heart-much as it did every time she was in their presence.
Her husband of four years, Piers, Viscount Lipscombe, had never looked at her the way Lord Quinton looked at Aurora on a regular basis-he even looked on her that way now, while Aurora was near to bursting with child. Piers had never looked at her like he was hungry for her, like a man dying of a thirst which only she could quench.
On the contrary, her husband most frequently looked at her as one might look at a still life painting of a fruit bowl, as something that was simply present in his life. Bored and indifferent.
Even now, Lord Quinton’s blue eyes held a devilishly randy twinkle as he talked to his wife, leading her ever-so-deviously away from their guests.
Piers, on the other hand, was far too busy at the whist table with the elderly Lord Rotheby to take notice that Judith was even in the room. She could stand up before the entire gathered crowd and dance a Scottish reel clad in only her drawers and shift, and he’d likely do nothing more than lift a brow and return to his cards.
Judith had been watching the Quintons for more than a year now, and Aurora still glowed like a blushing bride every day. She wondered what their secret was-how they kept the spark in their marriage. Granted, she and Piers had never had a spark to begin with, so perhaps there was no secret she could learn to use.
When Lady Coulter bustled over and took the seat next to her on the sofa, Judith forced a smile and nodded. It wouldn’t do to let anyone notice her mood. She took a sip from her after-dinner sherry to avoid having to fabricate something to say to Lord Quinton’s mother.
“ I tend to watch them rather frequently, myself,” Lady Coulter said. She inclined her head in the direction of the Quintons and winked at Judith. “They are so delightfully in love, aren’t they? And they still have a healthy dose of lust, as well, I should say. Which is only fitting. Any marriage needs a fair share of lust. Why, Quin looks ready to bend Aurora over a table and tup her at the first opportunity that presents itself.”
Judith choked on her sherry.
“ Oh, dear,” Lady Coulter said, patting Judith on the back. “Put your arms up. It’ll help.”