He closed the door behind her and took both her hands in a warm grasp.
“You came,” he murmured, gazing at her intently.
Sabrina felt ill at ease with his inexplicable fervor. Yet Oliver seemed not to notice as he launched into what was evidently a prepared speech.
“I can scarcely credit how greatly you’ve changed, Sabrina.”
“I might say the same about you.”
“You cannot claim to have acted the fool. Seeing you again has made me realize what a terrible error I made.”
“Error?”
“In forsaking you for Frances.”
“Oliver, you shouldn’t…”
“No, I must say this. I should never have left you. Oh, my dearest, my life has been empty without you.”
“Surely…you mistake your feelings.”
“No, indeed not. My feelings for you have never been stronger.”
Highly discomfited, Sabrina managed to withdraw her hands and move away, to a safer distance. She had never seen him behave this way. “Oliver, you have a wife.”
“Frances does not understand me the way you do.”
“I am not certain I understand you.”
“Then I must speak plainly. I miss you, Sabrina. I want you. And I cannot see why we must endure the misery of being apart. Say you will be with me, cherie.”
She stiffened. “What are you proposing? That we commit adultery?”
“Do not look at me that way, my dear. You are a woman of the world now. How could you be less—wed to a libertine whose affairs are legion?”
He moved toward her purposefully, startling her with his aggression. Was this the same Oliver who had always been gentle, solicitous, respectful in his behavior with her? His glittering eyes just now made her wonder if he was foxed.
Slipping an arm around her waist, he bent his head to kiss her. Stunned, Sabrina could only stand there as his lips pressed hotly against hers.
At her silence, Oliver tightened his embrace, but it was another instant before Sabrina marshaled her shocked senses. She struggled in his arms for a moment, but he was stronger than he appeared, and he refused to release her, only becoming more passionate.
When finally she managed to pull free with a jerk, she drew back her hand and delivered a resounding slap.
Oliver stared at her, rubbing the offended cheek. His gaze held astonishment and admiration.
Sabrina was surprised to find herself trembling. “I will forget this incident ever occurred, Oliver. Now I strongly suggest you return to your wife, while I return to my husband.”
Oliver’s mouth curled scornfully. “Your husband is otherwise engaged at present. Only moments ago I spied him with his English mistress, making an assignation to meet. Why else would I suppose I could find you alone?”
“His mistress?” Sabrina asked, her voice fainter than she would have liked.
“Yes, Lady Chivington.”
She shook her head, unwilling to credit his claim. After all Niall’s protestations of love, he would not openly pursue another woman…Would he? Perhaps she simply did not wish to believe.
Whatever the troubled state of her marriage, though, she realized how fortunate she was to have escaped a union with her former suitor.
“I pity my poor cousin,” Sabrina said, her disdain for Oliver apparent in her expression. “She does not deserve you. Now I bid you good evening.”