Falling for the Marquess - Julianne MacLean Page 0,101
can’t help worrying that I’m inclined to take your side only because it’s what I want to believe.”
She knew she was grasping at straws. “Quintina and Gillian.... This is all their doing. They want me out of here, Seger. Think about that. It makes sense. If you can’t trust your heart, trust that. Ask them.”
He nodded, and she almost cried out in relief.
Seger moved around the bed to stand before her. He laid a hand on her cheek and kissed her tenderly. “I will, but not now. It’s late, and after what happened today, I want to make love to you. I need to know that you are mine.”
She thought about insisting that he go and ask them now, but the weary look in his eyes changed her mind. All that mattered was her husband’s confidence in her love for him, so she pulled off her wrap and began to unbutton his waistcoat.
When Clara woke the next morning, Seger was gone.
She took a deep breath, knowing this day would either turn out to be the dissolution of a family or the dissolution of a marriage. There would be a confrontation. Accusations. Someone was going to be ousted and maybe even sent away.
She prayed it would not be her.
Clara rose from bed and rang for her maid. A half hour later, she left her room to go and knock on Seger’s door. She wanted to go to the breakfast room on his arm. She wanted to present a united front.
When she reached his room, however, his door was wide open. She saw him standing in front of the window, handsome as ever in his dark morning jacket and waistcoat, so she entered without knocking.
He was holding a letter in his hands.
“Seger....”
He faced her. “A footman just brought this.”
His eyes were dark with concern. Clara took the letter and read it.
Dear Lord Rawdon,
I am the one who sent you the telegram on your wedding day. I have information about your wife.
Please meet me at ten o’clock at Hyde Park, under Marble Arch.
“Who sent this?” Clara asked, as panic welled up inside her.
“It doesn’t say.”
She swallowed nervously. “Have you talked to Quintina yet?”
“No, and there won’t be time. It’s almost ten now.”
Almost ten! Clara’s whole body tensed. “Will you go?”
“Yes. I want clarification.”
“What do you mean, clarification? I’ve told you everything, Seger. There is nothing you don’t know, nothing this person can possibly say that you haven’t already heard, unless what they say is a lie. Maybe Quintina has orchestrated this.”
He studied her face, then nodded. “It is quite possible, but I still have to go. I need to know who sent me that telegram, and why they felt the need to travel all the way here to explain themselves.”
“But do you still believe me about Gordon?” she asked.
His shoulders rose and fell with a sigh. “I don’t know anything right now, Clara. I want to gather all the information before I form any decision. Surely you can understand that.”
She did understand. She always understood, didn’t she? But it didn’t make any of this easier to bear. “Seger, I want your trust and support. I did nothing wrong.”
“But you of all people should know how difficult it is to trust your spouse completely, when there are questions.”
Clara shifted uncomfortably. She supposed she deserved that. All she’d done was point her finger at her husband and assign blame, make him feel that he was never giving quite enough, without thinking about how it must have made him feel. No wonder he had not been able to hand over his heart to her. He felt she had no confidence in him. He didn’t believe that he had her trust.
“Take me with you,” she said.
He shook his head. “No.”
“Please, Seger. I’ll stay in the coach. I need to know who sent this, too, and I deserve a chance to defend myself if need be.”
He considered it a moment, then finally agreed. “All right, but I don’t want you to show your face. For all I know, this person might be dangerous.”
The Rawdon coach clattered over cobblestones at precisely ten a.m., causing a flock of sparrows to flutter noisily from the treetops over Marble Arch.
Clara sat across from Seger in the coach, feeling sick to her stomach, while her husband appeared completely in control. The vehicle came to a slow halt, and Seger reached for his hat.
“You’ll be careful?” Clara said, touching his arm.
“Of course.” He settled his hat on his head and leaned to open the