“But what about Mrs. Gunther? She has no idea why I refused the duke and she is pressing me to explain.”
“I will speak to her,” James replied, “and tell her that you simply did not favor the man.”
All Clara’s fears drained away in that instant but were quickly replaced by another cause for concern. “You won’t intimidate the marquess, will you? As I told you before, he has behaved honorably toward me. Well, with the exception of certain things he said in the letters…and inviting me out in the middle of the night, but even then, he did not take advantage when he could have. Will you think of that, James?”When you are face-to-face with him, as I’m sure you will be later today.
Her brother-in-law stepped away from the window and came around the desk. “I will indeed endeavor to think of it. Now, do not spend another moment troubling yourself with this disturbance. Guysboroughwillback down, and you can be certain that he will behave in the future. Go to the nursery now and try to smile, Clara. I believe Sophia is waiting for you to play peek-a-boo with Liam.”
She rose from her chair and allowed James to escort her out of his study.
Sickening dread poured through her, however, when she stood at the top of the stairs a few minutes later, watching her brother-in-law slip into his long, black greatcoat and place his top hat on his head, and inform the butler that he was going out to take care of a thing or two.
Chapter 11
Adele,
I have fallen hopelessly in love with Lord Rawdon, and everything is in a terrible, terrible mess...
Clara
Seated at the desk inhis study, Seger glanced up from the newspaper when his butler entered and informed him that the Duke of Wentworth wished to see him.
Seger laid his newspaper aside and let out a sigh. “Send him in, Cartwright.”
As soon as the butler disappeared, Seger stood up, went to the sideboard, and poured himself a brandy. “Here we go.”
A moment later, the duke entered the room. Hands at his sides, he said simply, “Rawdon.”
Seger poured another glass of brandy and approached the duke with it. He held it out, and without a word, the duke removed his gloves and accepted it.
Seger noticed the duke’s right knuckle was bloodied. “Were you practicing on a tree outside in the garden?”
Wentworth glanced absently at his hand, then took a deep swig of the amber liquid. “It wasn’t practice.”
For a moment, the two men regarded each other warily, then Seger gestured toward the chairs in front of the fireplace. The duke sat down and waited for Seger to sit before he spoke. “Shall we dispense with small talk, then?” the duke asked.
“By all means.”
Wentworth nodded. “You’re no fool, Rawdon. I’m sure you know the motive behind my call.”
Seger swirled the brandy around in his glass and took a sip. “I can hazard a guess. You want me to stay away from your sister-in-law.”
Wentworth’s shrewd eyes narrowed with scrutiny, as if he were attempting to determine what to make of Seger. “To be frank with you, I’m not certain. I’d like clarification from you first.”
“Concerning what, in particular?”
“I will come straight to the point. Clara informs me that she is still in possession of her virtue. Is that true? I will have the truth, Rawdon.”
Seger considered the material facts. Images of his encounter with Clara in the privacy of his coach the night before flashed like fireworks in his mind. He remembered sliding his hand into her drawers. He remembered what she tasted like and sounded like when he’d brought her to a climax. Then he recalled Clara sitting on his lap, straddling him.
If anyone had peered in at them, it would have appeared they were making love.
When one looked at it that way, he had certainly helped himself to her so-called virtues the night before, but for all practical purposes, he’d left her with the most important thing—her maidenhead. He’d ensured she would still have choices.
“It’s true,” he replied, then downed the rest of his brandy in one gulp. “She is still a virgin. You have my word on that. Most of the time, we just talked.” That, too, was the truth.
The duke continued to scrutinize him.
“Do you believe me?”
