Page 74 of Passions of a Wicked Earl
She knelt in the water, then rose like some sort of nymph and began walking toward him. Devil take her! He laughed at the sight of her shift clinging to her, the stark white revealing the darkened shadows of her body. When she reached him, he grabbed her hand, pulled her down, and tucked her beneath him.
Smiling up at him, she issued her invitation. Bending down, he kissed her deeply, with longing. It had been only a few hours since he’d last taken her, but he intended to have her here while the sun and clouds watched, and the tide lapped at them.
She wanted him to trust her with everything. He wondered when she might recognize that he already did. That against all odds, he trusted her with his heart.
Chapter 21
Claire sat on the ground in the garden, pulling a red stick on a string, chuckling as Fen jumped on it and attacked it with such vigor. A week had passed since she and Westcliffe had returned from the seaside. Beth had survived her time with the duchess remarkably well. Leo had begun painting a portrait of her. Another suitor, the third son of an earl, had begun calling on Beth, although she still favored Greenwood above all others.
She glanced up as Beth flounced down beside her. “You seem so remarkably happy,” Beth said. “Are you glad you came to London?”
Claire bit her lower lip, then nodded. “I should have come long ago. I should not have accepted exile so docilely.”
“What choice did you have? A woman is supposed to obey her husband.”
Reaching over, she squeezed Beth’s hand. “Which is the reason that it is important for you to consider all suitors. You wanted a choice, and you seem to have very quickly settled on one.”
“But he’s perfect. Why do you have such a difficult time believing that?”
Claire sighed. “Perhaps because I thought if I’d been given a choice, I’d have chosen another, and now I realize that marrying Westcliffe was the correct thing to do.”
“What happened with you isn’t going to happen with me.”
“But sometimes what we think is right, isn’t. I just want you to be cautious.”
“I would rather listen to my heart.”
Claire rolled her eyes. “Oh, you are quite the romantic.”
Beth smiled. “Because I’m being courted by a very romantic man. When we take our daily walks through Hyde Park, he recites poetry. A different poem each day. Does Westcliffe read you poetry?”
Claire laughed softly. “No. Lately, we’ve been discussing how to ensure that Fenimore learns not to do his business in the house.”
Beth groaned. “That is not something to be discussed.”
“At least he is finally warming up to Fen. I had not considered that he would need time to mourn his loss. It made me like him all the more for it, though.”
“At least he finally gave you flowers.”
He had. That morning a dozen red roses had arrived for her, with a note. Simply because.
Because what? she’d wondered. Because he cared for her? Because things were right between them? She could think of a hundred things—and perhaps they all applied.
“Can you believe how many have arrived for me?” Beth said. “I think if Greenwood does ask for my hand in marriage that I might delay giving him an answer until next Season.”
Claire worried that her sister might be becoming infatuated with the wrong things. “You risk losing him altogether. What if he decides you’re not worth waiting for?”
“Then he doesn’t deserve me.”
“Wherever do you get your confidence?”
“I don’t know. But I do know that I’m not marrying old Hester.”
Claire looked up as the butler approached. Bending down, he presented a card on a silver salver. Everything within her went cold as marble when she saw the name: Lady Anne Cavill.
“Oh, my word!” Beth exclaimed, snatching up the card. “Do you suppose she’s come to invite us to her ball?”
Claire was hit with a sense of dread. Nothing good could come of this meeting. Westcliffe wasn’t here. He had matters concerning the railway to deal with. He’d been gone since early that morning. Perhaps that was the reason for the flowers—just to let her know he was thinking of her. She turned her attention back to Beth. “I don’t know why she’s here.”
