Page 48 of Courting Claudia
“I do hope you’re not leaving on my account.”
She jerked her arm free. “Certainly not. I’ll have you know that very few of my actions are determined by you.”
“I see. Then you are not angry that I followed you here.”
“You followed me here?” What was it about him that made her want to touch him? A simple placement of her hand on his arm was all it would take, but such a thing was entirely improper. It seemed the more she tried to behave around him, the more her body and mind protested.
He shrugged. “I knew you would be here today, and I wanted to see you.”
She tried her best not to smile. It shouldn’t please her so that he’d come here only to see her. But it did. It was a heady feeling that tingled all the way to her toes. He’d followed her here. She should stop being such a goose and leave the house as she intended.
She glanced around the wood-paneled hall, seeing no sign of the butler or anyone else. “You’ve deserted poor Poppy and Viscount Felmworth. You should get back to your game, and I should be going.”
“Are you looking for someone?”
“The butler went to retrieve my cloak.” She lifted her chin. “And I don’t believe it is appropriate for us to be chatting alone.”
“We’re in the middle of the hall.”
“It matters not. Is there something of importance you wish to discuss with me? Or will you leave me here to wait for my cloak alone?”
“Actually there is something.” He grabbed her arm again, but this time he pulled her, leading her to an alcove below the stairs. “Now, is this better?”
“No. If people find us here, they will assume the worst.”
“The worst?” His eyebrows arched perfectly over his intoxicating eyes. “What might that be?”
She tried to peek around him into the hall, but his broad chest blocked her view. “That you are ravishing me,” she whispered.
“Ravishing?”
“Would you stop repeating everything I say? They’ll assume we’re being amorous.”
“I see.” He took a step closer to her, so that he stood mere inches away, his chest only a breath away. He leaned down so that his mouth was close to her ear. His hot breath sent a shiver racing down her spine. “So they might assume that we are kissing?”
“Yes.” Her whisper came out louder than she intended. She put her hand over her mouth. “I really must go, I have—”
He straightened, but did not get out of her way. “Yes, a headache. I do hope you’re not too ill.”
She frowned. “What is it that you wish to discuss with me?”
“Richard.”
“Again? I shall not listen. I am meeting with him in a few days, and I plan to discuss your allegations with him.”
“And you think he’ll tell you the truth? Claudia, surely you’re not that naïve.”
Was she? She hadn’t even considered that Richard, were he in fact guilty, would probably lie about that guilt if she pressed him about it. That certainly made her sound naïve. And stupid. She wasn’t stupid.
He plucked a curl from behind her ear and fingered it. “You know what your problem is?” he asked.
“No, but I’m betting you think you do.”
“You trust all the wrong people. I think inside you know that Richard isn’t the man for you—whether he’s done the things I claim he’s done aside—you know you shouldn’t marry him.” He trailed his finger down her cheek to her throat and then across to where her heart lay. “You should trust that.”
She didn’t trust the wrong people. She simply trusted people until they gave her a reason not to. And she trusted herself. Didn’t she? What was she feeling inside about Richard? She didn’t want to marry him, Derrick was right, but that was for purely selfish reasons. She didn’t want to marry Richard because he would never love her, but more importantly, because she would never love him.
“Think about what I’ve said; that’s all I’m asking,” he said.