The Sinner Read Online Free Page A

predictable and harmless as a peacock. Cat matched his smile with one of her own.
    "You are quite the flatterer, my lord," Slade said. "But there's no need. Cat is not used to it and doesn't expect it. Her tastes are simple. Her thoughts even simpler."
    Cat bristled. It was one thing to have Slade belittle her when it was just the two of them, but quite another in front of others. Particularly when Lord Oxley could help her get away from Slade Hall. He may be too far above her to be a candidate for husband number two, but he seemed extremely well connected. A recommendation from him could serve her well. Time to curb the damage before Slade caused more.
    "What my brother-in-law is trying to say is that our conversations rarely cover topics of interest to us both. Lord Slade prefers to read his ledgers while I prefer the wonders of Homer. Slade thinks the theater not fit for a lady, but I am of the opinion that all ladies should experience it. With an appropriate escort, of course."
    She hoped she'd judged Oxley correctly. He seemed like the sort of man who enjoyed wit and cultural amusements over talk of wool bales and crop yields. The plethora of ladies who had vied for his attention ever since his arrival wouldn't be so eager if he were as boorish as Slade.
    Oxley's eyes sparkled and he seemed to appraise her anew. "You've been to the theater, Lady Slade? You enjoy such pastimes?"
    "I've only seen the traveling troupes in summertime near Slade Hall. I do long to visit one of the magnificent theaters in Bankside, though. I hear the new Globe is quite a sight to behold."
    "It is," he said with warm enthusiasm. "If one doesn't mind the occasional drunkard lolling on the doorstep. And you must be sure not to leave your pouch in clear sight. The cutpurses at Bankside take that as an invitation."
    "As they should," she said with mock seriousness. "If a person is foolish enough to flash their coin about, they ought to be relieved of it. Clearly they have too much."
    He grinned. "You seem like a worldly sort of lady, unlike many here." Did she catch the hint of a sigh? The sense of ennui in his drollness?
    She must be mistaken. He'd not seemed at all bored with the ladies as they'd crowded around him earlier. Indeed, he seemed to enjoy their attentions very much.
    "It's true that I spend far too much time in the village near Slade Hall," she said.
    Slade nodded soberly. "Far too much time."
    She rolled her eyes and Oxley grinned. "Although I wouldn't call myself worldly," she went on. "The village is a great leveler, however, if one ventures beyond the main road. We too have drunkards lolling in doorways, and more besides."
    Oxley gave her a look of horror and pressed his hand to his breast. A large oval-cut sapphire ring winked in the candlelight. "It doesn't sound like the sort of place such a poised lady as yourself should endure. Where was Lord Slade? Protecting you, I hope."
    She laughed. "My late husband was too busy hunting. The current Lord Slade was too occupied."
    "With his ledgers?" Oxley winked. "I'm glad to see you've survived unscathed, dear lady."
    She leaned closer and whispered loudly. "Or have I?"
    She wasn't sure what she was saying, or why she was saying it in that breathy voice. Something about this man with his cool eyes that weren't icy after all, and his easy humor made her feel light headed and quite brazen. When he laughed or smiled, as he seemed to do often, warmth spread through her body to her extremities. It set her alight in places she'd thought dormant. Feminine places.
    "You could take her, my lord!" Slade cried.
    "What?" Cat blurted out. She blinked at him, not sure whether to be horrified, ashamed or amused.
    "Er, I mean, you could take Cat to the theater." Slade had a silly look of contrition on his face. It was quite out of place. How had Cat not seen him as the fool he was before? He'd always seemed so stern to her, so composed and in control, but Oxley reduced him to a bumbling idiot by his