Page 49 of The Study of Seduction

Granted, any man would want her, but to continue once Edwin and Clarissa started going about in public together? Once they announced their engagement? It was beyond odd.

It was nearly midnight by the time they drew up in front of Warren’s town house. Edwin glanced over at Clarissa, his gut twisting into a knot to see how still and silent she sat. This business with Durand could not go on.

And what if she’s silent because ofyouand your rash actions in that dressing room?

God, he couldn’t bear the thought.

When the door opened, Edwin climbed out to help the two ladies disembark and tried to gauge their moods. Normally he wasn’t good at reading women, but even he could tell that Lady Margrave was worn-out. It had been a long night, after all.

Meanwhile, Clarissa’s furrowed brow and faraway look made Edwin want to put his fist through the flimsy wall of the carriage. The intensity of the feeling alarmed him. He’d never had such urges in his life as he did when he was around her. That couldn’t be good. A man should always be wary of strong emotions. It invariably drove him to behave badly.

Edwin helped Lady Margrave up the steps, all too aware of Clarissa climbing slowly up behind them. He wanted to halt her, drag her into his arms, and comfort her until she returned to her usual buoyant self. It was too late to do more than accompany them inside, yet he burned to finish his conversation with her about a possible marriage between them. He couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that she was in more danger from Durand than ever.

And his feeling was confirmed when, as soon as they entered, the butler took him aside. “You asked me to keep an eye out for that Frenchman, my lord, and I did. He’s here.”

Anger burned Edwin’s throat. “In thehouse?”

“No, down the street, in his coach.”

He scowled. Durand must have driven to the house another way to await their return. Otherwise, they would have seen him on their way here. “How long has he been there?”

“Half an hour or more.”

Clarissa came over. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Edwin didn’t want her to feel unsafe in her own home. He could take care of Durand without involving her.

She searched his face, then shrugged. “Mama wants to know if you’ll join us for a celebratory glass of wine before you leave.”

He glanced over to where Lady Margrave stood beaming at him. “Another time, perhaps. I have something to attend to.”

“At this hour?” Clarissa said.

“I’m meeting someone later.” It was true, though the “someone” didn’t know it yet.

“Oh.” Coloring deeply, she lifted an eyebrow. “I had no idea you were such a night owl, Edwin.”

Her arch tone and clear assumption that it was a woman scraped his nerves, especially given her stubbornness about marrying him. “Once again, I must remind you that you don’t know everything about me. Perhaps it’s time you look beyond your own nose where I’m concerned.”

“I’m sure Edwin is just going to his club, my dear,” her mother hastened to put in. “Even your father enjoyed gambling into the wee hours of the morning from time to time.”

Damn, now he had Lady Margrave making assumptions about him and his character, too. “I won’t be gambling,” he told Clarissa. “And it’s a meeting with a man. I can see you’re going to be quite the jealous wife.”

“Not a bit,” she said defensively.

“Edwin,” her mother broke in again, “since we missed our dinner with you tonight, you simply must come to dine tomorrow night.”

He tore his gaze from Clarissa to say, “Of course. I’d be delighted.”

“And be sure to bring an automaton for me,” Clarissa said blithely, “since I won our wager.”

That arrested Edwin. “You did not.”

“The agreement was that if you chided me—”

“Which I didn’t do.”

Her gaze narrowed on him. “Were you not just saying something about ‘looking beyond my own nose’ and being a ‘jealous wife’? Sounds an awful lot like chiding to me.”