Falling for the Marquess - Julianne MacLean Page 0,90
I deal with estate matters from a distance.”
“But why?” she asked again, fearing she already knew the answer.
He shrugged. “The place does not hold happy memories for me.”
Clara stared at her husband in bleak silence and sat up. “Because of Daphne?” There it was...out in the open at last.
For a long moment, Seger said nothing. Then he sat up as well and touched her cheek. “You look wounded, Clara.”
“No, I’m not.” But her voice was trembling.
“I promise you, my feelings for Daphne are ancient history. She might have been my reason to leave eight years ago, and the reason why I haven’t returned, but that’s merely because I became a creature of habit. I assure you, she is forgotten. You’re all that matters to me now. Come, lie down. Seger inched toward the pillows. “There has been too much talk of other women tonight, and I don’t want to think of anyone but you.”
Clara forced herself to lie back and snuggle close to her husband.
“And you’re right, my darling,” he added. “We are newly married. We need to spend some time alone together. I will send word to Rawdon Hall first thing in the morning and tell them to expect us the day after. It’s time we embarked upon our new life.”
Clara rested her cheek on his warm shoulder, smiled when he kissed her forehead, and wished she could feel better about the new life she had begun.
Gillian stood at the window in her bedchamber and did not even try to fight the tears that were pouring from her eyes like two cascading waterfalls. Her cheeks were drenched. Her nose was running, and she couldn’t stop sniffling.
She pressed her hand to the cool pane of glass and watched Seger’s coach disappear down the road. She cursed that vile American cow. Clara had lured him away with sex. How could Gillian compete with that?
But when had she ever been able to compete with anyone where Seger was concerned? Gillian had been fooling herself to think that Seger could ever fall in love with her. She had no idea how to charm a man. How to be coquettish. Everything Gillian had told Clara about her father wanting her to marry Seger had been a lie. He would never even have considered such a thing. He’d always called Gillian an embarrassment.
Gillian should not have let Quintina manipulate her. She should have given up on those dreams the day of the wedding. Quintina had been wrong to suggest that things could change. She had given Gillian false hopes.
Quintina entered the room, saw her niece sobbing by the window, and immediately embraced her. “There, there darling. Go ahead and cry, get it all out. That’s better. All will work out, you’ll see.”
But Gillian did not see. She pushed her aunt away and wiped the tears from her eyes. “No! I have tried and tried, but she will not be broken! I can’t do it anymore. She is not behaving the way you said she would. You said she would be driven to tears, but I am the one who is crying.”
“Get a hold of yourself, dear. The war is not over.”
“This is not a war, Auntie. It is a marriage, and I am an outsider. I do not belong here. I should go home to my uncle’s house and forget about Seger. I should prepare for a Season of my own next year and find someone else.”
Quintina moved forward again and took hold of Gillian by the shoulders. “You are upset because they just left, but they will be back, and we still have one more scheme to execute. Do not give up now. I want Susan, God rest her soul, to know that I made your dreams come true, and to be frank with you, dear, I cannot bear to think that my future grandchildren will be half American. Wait until we at least exhaust all possibilities.”
“I’m beginning to think this is more for you than me!” Gillian replied. “You hate the fact that your parents lost their home to an American, and you can’t bear for it to happen again. But Clara is mistress of this house now, Auntie, and there is not one single thing we can do about it.”
“But there is!” Quintina replied desperately.
“No. I can’t do this anymore. It’s humiliating! I hate being in this house when he goes to her bed every night!”
“Gillian, calm yourself. Sit down and listen to me. Something significant is about to happen. I have