Page 48 of A Marquess to Save Her
“Wait, Louise!” Callum said. Seeing her walking away from him in such anger rose something in him that he did not know existed, a sense of desperation.
“You are no different from Pembroke or Felington yourself if you would keep lying to me,” Louise said, her hand on the knob.
Callum rushed toward her before she could walk out. He placed his hand on her hand that was on the knob in a bid to stop her but he was not prepared for the electric jolt that coursed through his body just at the touch.
She seemed to have also felt it because she looked up at him, her blue eyes brimming with unshed tears. Callum's heart broke as he came to the realization that directly or indirectly, he had brought about the tears in her eyes.
They stood there staring at each other for what seemed like forever but was really only a moment. He could feel her breath on his body and he knew that if he pulled just a little on her hand that was on the doorknob, her body would be pressing against his. With her head raised up to look at him, all he had to do was place a hand under her jaw and he would be kissing those luscious lips that haunted him, even in his sleep.
“Would you tell me the truth now?” Louise asked.
Callum took a deep breath to calm himself even as his member nodded in his trousers. “I... tried to protect you because I do not like to share the woman that I spend time with,” he said.I could not bear the thought of him touching you.
Saying the truth at this moment would change everything and even confuse Louise more and he could not afford to do that to her. Acknowledging that he cared about her more than he should and he wished to take her right there and then, in the library would only scare her off. His answer, however, did not seem to please Louise in the least because he could see her take several steps away from him.
“And what do you think I am?” Louise asked, “An object that you can claim ownership of and decide to not share with others? Is that what you think I am, a plaything? And what about Catherine? You seem to be spending a lot of time with her recently.”
“That is not what I mean, Louise,” he said, quickly, “and I, most certainly do not have anything to do with Catherine.”
“Oh, what do you mean, then?” She asked, “Do you mean that I am your woman who you must have total control over?”
Callum shook his head in frustration. “I am simply trying to help you here,” he said, “everything…at least most of all the things I have done is to protect you. You have to believe me.”
“Is that so?” She asked, “Then tell me, how is your secrecy supposed to protect me?”
“Secrecy?” He was lost for a moment.
“You are keeping secrets from me,” she replied.
“And if I tell you this secret that I have been keeping from you, do you promise to stop being upset with me?” he asked.
Louise shrugged in a nonchalant manner, “I do not make any promises.”
“Fine, I will tell you. Can you just…leave the door?” he pleaded.
Louise looked at him for a while and then at his hand that was currently placed on hers, a quizzical look in her eyes and Callum could tell that she was pondering over what he had just said. Eventually, she took her hands off the door knob and let him lead her back to a couch in the library. Louise sat on the farthest end of the couch and her arms were tightly wound around her chest.
“I know that you are upset because I refused to talk to you about the betrayal that I suffered from someone I used to love,” he said.
“I am not so upset as much as I am hurt. You know everything about me and yet, it seems like I know nothing of your life.”
“And I apologize for that, especially since I knew everything about you,” he continued, “this incident is a really hurtful one, and even now, when I think about it, I still get incredibly angry that I had allowed myself to get betrayed in such manner. I still get mad that I had let down my guard for someone enough for them to hurt me.”
At his words, Louise's eyes began to soften up and her arms were back at her sides. “Callum,” she said, “you do not have to tell me if it hurts you so much. I thought…”
Callum shook his head. “I have kept it in for so long. It is time for me to talk about it and there is no one else that I would rather talk about this with than you.” For the first time since Callum walked in on Pembroke and Louise, her face finally lit up with a smile.
“It all started when I fell in love,” Callum said. He could not help but chuckle at the irony, “Love is supposed to make one happier, freer, and more open. I suppose I was not so lucky. She was of a lower class and from a humble house but this did not deter me from falling deeply in love with her. In fact, that only made me love her more. She was from a different world from me and it was exciting to see new things with her as she introduced me to her world and I slowly introduced her to mine too.”
“I suppose your grandfather was not happy about that,” Louise said.
Callum nodded. “You are right. At first, the Duke dismissed our affair as me being an exuberant youth who is simply sowing his wild oats. However, when I showed him that I was serious with her, he ordered me to stop seeing her.”
“Did you obey him?” Louise asked.
Callum laughed. “What do you think?” He asked.
“You continued to see her despite his disapproval,” Louise replied.
