Page 127 of The Seaside Homecoming
After that, Claire did her best to avoid both Lord Bertram and William Hammond, not ready to face the one nor explain herself to the other.
She skipped dinner that evening and instead sipped some warm, salty broth in the kitchen to settle her stomach. She carried up coffee and dessert to the morning room but avoided conversation with the Hammonds and Miss Patel. Then she waited until she saw Mr. Bertram leave the dining room before going in to help Mary tidy up.
Claire was folding up the used tablecloth when Lord Bertram came back into the room.
“Good evening, Miss Summers.”
She stiffened. “My lord.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but she held up a hand to cut him off, hoping to forestall more awkward conversation—especially with Mr. Hammond and Sonali still in the next room. “W-was the meal to your liking?”
“Perfectly adequate. I wonder ... Might I have a private word? I was just upstairs and saw the parlour there is currently unoccupied.”
Not eager to be alone with the man, Claire hesitated. But better a private conversation than another confrontation like the one in the hall upon his arrival. She wondered how much Mr. Hammond had overheard.
“Very well. Let me finish here and I will join you in a few minutes.”
She carried the cloth to the laundry basket with unsteady hands and looked at her hair in a mirror as she passed. Her hair was fine. Her face? Tense and pale.
Reaching the parlour, she closed the door but kept her distance. “Why did you come here—really?” she asked.
“I told you why.”
“In Edinburgh, you told me it was not within your power to make amends.”
“That was true then.”
“If you have changed your mind about marriage, I understand Miss Craven is eager to be the next woman to break her heart over you. You are wasting your time with me.”
“I am not interested in Persephone Craven. You are the only woman in my thoughts at present.”
“Why?” The word came out almost like a groan. “What is it you want?”
“To marry you properly, in a church, surrounded by your family, as I should have done two years ago.”
Foolish hope sparked to life within her before memories flooded in to drown it. She slowly shook her head. “Why the sudden change of heart?”
“I will not deceive you by pretending I have simply changed my mind. I am not so fickle a man. You know the reason I did not go through with it before. Your dowry was not what I had been led to believe.”
“That has not changed. In fact, I am not certain I have any dowry after being disowned.”
“You—we—have something better.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You remember your Aunt Mercer summoned me to meet with her in Edinburgh?”
“Of course.”
“She told me she needed to appoint a new heir, since your father had died, and was considering candidates. She went onto ask me a series of questions. I thought it must be a ruse, that she simply wanted to have a look at the man who had eloped with the great-niece now living with her. Or perhaps she wanted to force our paths to cross in hopes of rekindling our short-lived romance.”
Had she?Claire wondered. The notion startled her.
“During our interview, she made it clear she knew about my financial difficulties. I anticipated she might offer some incentive to force my hand. Yet she dismissed me that day without doing so and without making any promises, so I assumed she’d decided against me. And considering that you were not exactly pleased to see me, I left Edinburgh not expecting to hear from either of you again.”
Claire had never expected to see him again either.
“Then I received a letter through her lawyers. Apparently your aunthasnamed me conditional beneficiary of the majority of her assets: stocks, shares, and over ten thousand pounds.”
