Falling for the Marquess - Julianne MacLean Page 0,89
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.”
“What would that matter?”
Clara paused a moment. “Earlier tonight, after she learned what Gillian had said to me about Lady Cleveland, she came to my room and was very kind to me. I believe that her intentions were good. She said she never had a daughter of her own, and I feel there might be a chance for affection between us. I don’t want to spoil that. Please, all that matters is that you and I are clear with each other. If I am confident in your faithfulness, Gillian cannot hurt me.”
But was she truly confident? She wanted to be. She wanted to believe that he was sincere in everything he’d said tonight—that he was no longer seeing Lady Cleveland, that his grief over Daphne was fading away, and that he was finally ready to love Clara.
Seger hesitated, then walked around the bed. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I don’t want a confrontation over me to divide this family. I’ll be able to handle Gillian from now on. Now that you know what she is trying to do, she has no power. I will tell her that you know, you can even say so yourself, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she leaves quietly on her own.”
He shook his head, as if in disbelief, then urged Clara down onto the bed and covered her body with his own. Soon, she was writhing with pleasure, feeling the onerous weight of the day lifting. Her body grew warm, and she buried her fingers in her husband’s thick hair.
“I wish we could go on our honeymoon now,” she whispered. “If only we could be alone together.”
She wanted to forge a deeper bond.
Seger kissed her tenderly on the mouth. “I would like that, too, but I have an interview with a business speculator at the end of the week that cannot be rescheduled. I have many questions I want to ask him, and he is only in town on the twenty-third.”
“Could we go somewhere closer and be back in time?” Clara asked. “What about your country estate? I haven’t seen it yet, Seger, and I am desperate to see your home. Our home.”
He stopped what he was doing and looked down at her. “Why not just stay here? We could spend the days together.”
Clara sighed. “There are so many distractions. I want to be alone with you. Just the two of us. I want to stay in bed all day and not worry about my mother-in-law knowing what we are doing, or my sister dropping by to visit. I want to go for long walks across country meadows with you and listen to the birds. I want to make love in the woods.”
A slow, lazy smile touched his lips. “You know that I am always at your service. Anywhere and anytime.”
She ran her fingers through his hair, and replied playfully, “I’ve come to discover that. Please say you’ll take me, Seger. I want to see our home.”
Seger rolled to the side to lean on an elbow. “You should know, Clara, that I don’t consider Rawdon Hall to be my home.”
Surprised, she gazed at him blankly. “But it’s where you were born and raised, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I haven’t been there in a very long time.”
She felt a heaviness settle in her chest. “Why ever not?”
“I’ve always traveled abroad during the winters, and when I return to England I come here to the London House.