Falling for the Marquess - Julianne MacLean Page 0,48
replied, and the young man took his leave.
“What’s he doing here?” Sophia asked, picking Liam up off the floor and laying him down in his crib. “James hasn’t even returned yet. We haven’t had a chance to find out what happened.”
“You don’t think James coerced Lord Rawdon into proposing, do you? Because I will not agree to a forced wedding.”
“I don’t know.” Sophia took John out of Clara’s arms. “Just go, Clara. Don’t keep him waiting. Offer him tea. I’ll give you a few minutes before I follow.”
“Thank you. You are the best sister.”
Clara tidied her hair on the way to the drawing room. Nervous twitters gathered in her belly at the mere thought of seeing Seger again. She stopped and paused outside the drawing room doors, fighting butterflies, then entered.
The marquess stood at the window, hands clasped behind his back as he looked out. The sunlight shone on his face, illuminating the square cut of his jaw, his full lips and straight nose. All Clara’s senses came alive. Such power he could wield over her, merely by standing there, doing nothing.
He turned and faced her, and they stared at each other for several sizzling seconds. Excitement swirled in Clara’s belly.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, moving forward at last.
It was not the sort of question she would pose to a regular caller, but to say anything else to this man—whose hand she had allowed up under her skirts the night before—would be putting on airs, to say the least. They were beyond the usual protocol.
He spoke matter-of-factly. “Your brother-in-law paid me a visit today.”
Clara’s stomach careened. What happened between the two men? She couldn’t imagine.
“I was afraid he might do that,” she said apologetically.
Clara moved fully into the room but kept the sofa between herself and the marquess. She was afraid that if she were within arms’ reach of him, she would not be able to resist touching him.
“What did he say?” she asked.
“He came to warn me not to take any more risks where you are concerned, as any responsible brother-in-law would do. From now on, I may only see you in respectable settings.”
“That’s all?”
The marquess sauntered seductively around the sofa. She knew he wasn’t trying to be seductive. He simply couldn’t help it.
Feeling suddenly breathless, Clara backed up a step.
Seger stood before her, barely a foot away. “He also informed me that a possible scandal involving both you and me had come to his attention after you received a certain gentleman caller earlier today.”
Clara’s muscles tensed at the mere mention of what had occurred between her and the Duke of Guysborough. She was still shaken by it. “Did he tell you where things stood? Was he able to clear things up?”
Seger’s eyebrows drew together with surprise. “You don’t know?”
“No, James hasn’t come home yet.” Wondering what had happened, she began to feel ill. Perhaps the scandal had already exploded, and she would have no choice but to return to New York on the next ship.
The expression on Seger’s face softened. “You needn’t worry. It’s been addressed.”
“By whom? By James, or you?”
“Both of us. If Guysborough knows what’s good for him, he’ll never speak your name again unless it is to compliment your kindness or your grand sense of morality.”
Clara held her hand over a lump of dread in her belly. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
In that instant, Clara noticed a drop of blood on his collar. “Oh, I see.”
Seger saw what she was staring at and glanced down at the blood, too. He tried to rub at it. “I do beg your pardon. I didn’t notice this.” Then he glanced up at her face and his expression softened with understanding. “I’m not generally the violent sort, Clara, but the duke pulled a pistol on me and I had to disarm him.”
“A pistol!”
“Don’t worry, it went out the window.”
“Are you all right?” The image of Seger staring into the barrel of a gun sent her emotions into a rapid spin.
“I’m fine.”
“What about the duke? He’s not....” She couldn’t finish.
“He’s fine, too, though his ego is probably bruised. This blood…. It’s from a bloody nose, that’s all.”
She decided she did not wish to know any more details concerning his or James’s “conversation” with the duke. The bloody nose was more than enough information.
Seger looked her up and down. “You are all right, I hope?”
She nodded.
“Good.” He reached out a hand, his eyes warm with an open invitation. “Come and sit with me.”