Falling for the Marquess - Julianne MacLean Page 0,35
had sent, he was every bit as notorious as the gossips claimed.
“It wouldn’t matter.”
The lights dimmed and James and Sophia took their seats. The curtain at the back of the box lowered as if by magic.
Clara sat stiffly in her seat, contemplating everything Mrs. Gunther had said. She felt a great pressure squeezing around her heart at that moment—an obligation to ignore what she wanted and do what was expected of her.
Another part of her, in angry response, wanted to see the marquess again for the single purpose of rebellion. Of proving that he was not all bad, and also to prove that she had a mind and will of her own and she would not relinquish her personal happiness for the mere sake of appearances.
Clara chided herself. She had felt this way once before, and there had been terrible consequences.
The opera began. Clara sat agitated for a while, then she tried to calm down and use the time to come to terms with what Mrs. Gunther had said. The woman could not be faulted for acting in a way that she believed was in Clara’s best interest. The woman came from a very old family, after all. She had traditional values that were not easy to renounce.
Clara sighed.
Who was she fooling? She knew she could never act rebelliously for the mere sake of rebelling. She had learned to be smarter than that. Well, most of the time.
She raised her glasses and glanced at the box across the way and saw the Duke of Guysborough sitting alone, watching the opera. His wife had probably occupied the seat beside him when she was alive. How sad that she had died so young and left her husband and children behind. Clara felt a strong wave of sympathy for the man.
Perhaps she was being foolhardy, dreaming about a wild, dishonorable marquess when a decent, genteel man with proven high moral and family values was within her reach, expressing his interest in her. Treating her with the utmost gentlemanly respect.
Clara lowered her opera glasses and sighed heavily, then promised herself she would keep an open mind.
Three days later, the Duke of Guysborough called upon Clara. He walked into the drawing room, sat down on a sofa, and proposed.
Sitting opposite him, in a chintz upholstered chair, Clara stared at him blankly.
“I would be a good husband to you, Miss Wilson,” he said. “I am highly regarded by the queen herself. My estate is comprised of some of the most prestigious lands in England, and my children are obedient. You would almost never see them.”
Never see them? That was supposed to be a good thing?
“You would become a duchess, like your sister,” he added with a proud nod.
Clara tried to think straight. It was the offer of a lifetime. Hundreds of young women on both sides of the Atlantic would give anything to be in her shoes at this moment. Why then, could she not feel her toes?
Clara tried to smile. “You flatter me, Your Grace. I had not expected such a wonderful speech from you today.”
Just before he’d proposed, he had told her that she was lovely—a rare jewel. Purity and perfection.
But she was not perfect. She was far from it. Would he still want her if he knew the passions that dwelled in her heart? Passions of the mind as well as the flesh? She suspected that any wife of his would have to hide or completely smother that side of herself.
“May I deliver good news to my family this evening?” he asked.
Clara’s skin prickled all over. It was too much too soon. How could she possibly accept? At the same time, she did not want to pass up this opportunity—which was indeed a great boon—and later live to regret it.
“Your Grace, you must give me some time to think about it. I am honored by your proposal, truly I am, but as I’m sure you can understand, I must consult my family on the matter.”
He smiled. “Of course you must. It is an important decision. I’m sure they will guide you in the right direction. Shall I return tomorrow?”
“That would be very good of you.”
He made a bow and took his leave.
Clara sat in her chair, unable to move. The walls seemed to be closing in all around her. The Duke of Guysborough had just proposed marriage, and before twenty-four hours were out, she must make the biggest decision of her life and choose her destiny.