“I heard you had lunch with Gillian today,” she said.
Seger gazed at her questioningly. “Yes, but it was a chance meeting.”
She recognized how intent he was to assure her of that. How she hated this.
She reminded herself that Gillian was not to be trusted. The woman was determined to make her feel unstable, and Clara would not, under any circumstances, let that happen. She had to keep an open mind and not rush to blame Seger. She must not look at the vase on the mantel.
“Seger, I must be truthful with you. I’m going to tell you what Gillian said to me today, and you can form your own opinions about it. I just need to relate it to you, for my own peace of mind.”
He sat up, too, and began to look concerned. “What did she say?”
“She said things about Lady Cleveland. She made references and suggested that you were still involved with her. That you were with her today. Were you?”
His eyes darkened. “No, I was not.”
Clara inhaled deeply. One down, one more to go.
“Gillian also said that you confessed all your deepest feelings to her, and you thought I was little more than a stranger to you.”
“I beg your pardon?” Seger replied. “She said those exact words? You are not paraphrasing?”
Clara’s heart was clamoring, her stomach churning with dread. What if he thought she was hysterical and imagining things? What if he took Gillian’s side? What if he truly was still involved with Lady Cleveland and lying about it?
“That is exactly what she said,” Clara replied. “Almost verbatim. Truly, I do not want to cause trouble, but Gillian has said some terrible things to me, and I don’t think I can bear it another minute. She has tried to make me doubt you, and I must admit, I am a vulnerable target in that regard.”
He gazed at her for a moment. “Do you doubt me?”
As difficult as this was, the most important thing was to nurture what intimacy existed between herself and her husband, and to close the emotional distance between them. She needed Seger to understand her heart, and she needed to understand his. There had to be truth between them.
“I will be honest with you,” she said. “I am not sure.”
There. The truth was out in the open. And the vase was still standing on the mantel.
Seger pulled her into his arms. “Clara, my darling, you mustn’t believe a single word Gillian has said. I have not seen Lady Cleveland since the night you met her at that wretched ball. Gillian had no reason to say those things. I don’t know why she would even think it.”
Clara fought the tears that were threatening to fill her eyes. “I don’t know either, except what I suspected weeks ago—that she has feelings for you, and she hates me because I am your wife. Even if it were true—that you were having an affair with Lady Cleveland—why would Gillian want to tell me and hurt me by doing so?”
He held her close and kissed her cheeks and then her mouth. “It is not true. Clara, have you been miserable because of this?”
“I’ve tried not to let her get the best of me, but I admit, I do not completely trust you.”
Seger held her in front of him so that he could see her face. His eyes were dark and growing darker with every second. “I don’t know what to do to change that. I want your trust, and I damn well deserve it, for I’ve done nothing wrong.” He pulled her into his arms again. “I swear on my life, I am not seeing Lady Cleveland. I care for you in ways I never thought possible. I didn’t think I was capable of this.”
Because of Daphne, she thought.
Clara almost sobbed. “I want to make things better between us. I want to believe you.”
He kissed her again, then slipped out of bed and reached for his trousers.
“Where are you going?” Clara asked.
“To speak to my cousin. She will apologize to you, and if she refuses, she will be packing her belongings this very night.”
Clara realized the ramifications of such an action, and climbed out of bed, too. “You mustn’t do that. Quintina would be devastated. She would hate me.”
“She would not be justified in that hatred.”
“Perhaps not, but it wouldn’t matter in the end. Emotions don’t always make sense, especially when they concern a loved one. Quintina adores her niece, and I don’t want to be responsible for a rift between them. Quintina might resent me.”
