Courting Claudia (12 page)

Poppy sighed and squeezed her hand. “I understand, and I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong for loving and respecting your father, but you cannot continue to live your life trying to please a man who will never approve of you. Instead of thinking about him and how he feels today, you should be reveling in the fact that Derrick rose to the occasion and saved your reputation. He did the honorable thing, and to find a man with honor is a rare thing—he will make you a good husband, Claudia.”

“He doesn't love me.”

“You don't know that.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Could he love her? In time would he grow to love her, once she gave him children? He liked her, seemed to enjoy her company, but ultimately she didn't believe she was the kind of woman who could evoke such a strong
emotion in a man. Derrick would never love her. She was being ridiculous even considering it.

“All right, so maybe he doesn't love you. Yet. That doesn't mean he won't or isn't already starting to. He certainly started courting you for a reason. He genuinely likes you. Anyone can see that. He enjoys your company. He obviously desires you, else you wouldn't have found yourself in this situation.”

He did desire her. She knew that. Felt it deep inside. She didn't understand it, but she knew it. Perhaps it was simply that she was a willing female, and he'd have reacted that way with anyone.

But he'd said himself that he'd never wanted anyone the way he wanted her.

“He will love you, Claudia. I know he will. How could he not?” Poppy wiped the tears that Claudia hadn't even realized she'd cried. “I'll leave you alone now, but let me know if you need anything.”

Claudia smiled at her best friend. “I'll be fine. I promise. This morning my life was headed in a different direction. But I'll be fine,” she assured her.

Poppy was a good friend, but there were things she'd never understand. Derrick would never love her; Claudia knew that. But she could certainly see herself falling in love with him, and that terrified her.

She'd resigned herself to a loveless marriage with Richard. With Richard it wouldn't matter if he didn't love her, because she knew in her heart that she would never love him. But a loveless marriage with Derrick was a different matter entirely. She didn't want to love him if he didn't love her in return. Marrying Derrick would break her heart because she was certain she'd begun to love him already.

T
he following day Claudia sat in the Livingston parlor waiting for Derrick to arrive and call off the entire thing. Surely after a night's sleep, he'd come to his senses and realized he didn't want to marry her.

“Do stop pacing, Claudia, you're making me ill,” Poppy said.

The door opened, and the Livingston butler poked his head in. “Miss Prattley, a Lord Foxmore to see you.”

Richard. Claudia stopped wearing a path in their carpet and glanced at Poppy. “What should I tell him?”

“You don't owe him an explanation, Claudia. You weren't betrothed to him. Simply tell him that you and Derrick are to be married. That is all that needs to be said.”

Richard entered the room looking more haggard than she'd ever seen him. In fact, she'd actually never seen him look haggard at all. His usually perfectly groomed hair lacked the oil that kept it in place, so it sat in reckless waves on his head. It was more attractive this way, but she thought better of commenting on it. And his clothing was less than clean. Bags sagged beneath his eyes, indicating at least one sleepless night, but probably more.

Gracious, she hoped this state wasn't because of her.

“Hello, Richard.”

“Claudia.” He forced a weak smile, then nodded to Poppy.

“I believe I shall go and see if our dresses are ready for the soiree,” Poppy said, then left the room.

Traitor
. She could have stayed for support. Of course, this was something Claudia needed to do herself.

“I suppose my father told you I was here,” she said.

He nodded. He clenched his thin lips tightly together.

“And I suppose he told you why I'm here.”

He looked at her, and she was almost certain she saw something close to hatred flash in his eyes. “I cannot believe you would do this to me. You were supposed to marry me.” His voice was low and soft, too soft to be calm.

Claudia took a step away from him. She didn't owe him an explanation. Perhaps repeating Poppy's advice would prevent her from giving him too much information. She was sorry if she hurt him, but Poppy was right. They had never been engaged. He'd never even so much as muttered the word marriage to her. Not even once.

“You never asked me.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? You knew of my intentions. I had spoken with your father about it a number of times and planned to ask for your hand when I returned from the country.”

“Speaking to my father is not the same as us being engaged. I'm sorry this happened the way it did, but I'm marrying Derrick.”

“You're sorry? You're sorry!” His voice rose to an alarming level. He pushed his hand through his hair. “Damnation, Claudia, this ruins everything. All my plans.”

Raw rage dripped off him like wax droplets from a burning candle. She'd ruined his plans. She hadn't hurt him.

“Your plans? I ruined your plans? Richard, I am not a plan. Marriage is not a plan. Not in my eyes, anyway. Marriage is a sacred relationship. It's about mutual respect and admiration and sometimes, if you're one of the lucky ones, sometimes it's about love. But never is it about plans.”

“Don't be foolish.” A cruel smile lit his face. “Did you think I loved you?”

“You told me you did. All those poems. The trinkets. Those are the actions of a man in love. But to answer your question, no, I didn't think you loved me. Not really. I did think you were at least fond of me. I thought you wanted me for your wife. Not simply because you needed me to secure your political future.”

His eyebrows shot up.

“Don't look so surprised. I'm not as foolish as you think, just a little slow to see the truth.”

“Truth? Do you know what kind of man Derrick Middleton is?”

“Decent and hardworking.”

Richard let out a humorless laugh.

How could she have ever looked at this man with favor? True, she had never loved him, but she'd been somewhat fond of him. Had believed
he was a kind man. Had believed he'd honestly wanted to marry her.

What a fool she'd been. Perhaps Derrick had been right about Richard all along, and perhaps Derrick would tell her what he'd been reluctant to tell her before. She wanted the details of Richard's past. She needed to know what kind of man she'd almost married.

“If this is the only reason you came here today, then I'd rather you leave. I'm sorry things turned out the way they did for you and that your plans are ruined. But I have no time to listen to your stories.”

“My stories? You don't know anything, you foolish chit. Your would-be lover has a secretive past. I'd wager there's quite a bit you don't know about Derrick Middleton.”

“You're talking nonsense.” She stood and walked away from him. Wanting to distance herself from his lies. “But if you're talking about his previous marriage, then yes, I know about that.”

“No, I'm talking about something Derrick wrote for his father's paper and the result of it was someone's death.”

“Reporting the truth is the great purpose of newspapers. It does not make him responsible for a man's life.”

“I never said the story was the truth,” Richard sneered. “Only that it resulted in a man's death.”

What did that mean? That Derrick printed a false story? Impossible. Derrick wasn't a liar. She knew him well enough to know that. Didn't she?

Richard closed the distance between them. “How did you meet Derrick Middleton?”

“My relationship with him is none of your concern.”

“From what your father said, you've made it everyone's business.” He let his eyes roam down the length of her, and it was as if he'd actually touched her. She shivered in revulsion.

“Had I known that you were so willing,” he said, “I'd have made advances myself.”

With that he pulled her to him and pressed his mouth against hers. There was no tenderness or sweeping passion in his kiss, rather it was filled with anger and spite. She pushed against him, but to no avail. He continued his assault on her, pushing his tongue against her closed mouth.

She wanted to scream, but his mouth against hers and the bile rising in her throat made it impossible to do so. Tears pricked her eyes, and she kicked at him as best she could with the hindrance of her skirts.

Oh God, how could she get out of this?

And then he was gone, off her as fast as he'd ad
vanced. She opened her eyes and found Richard slammed facedown onto the blue carpet with Derrick hovering above him. He held Richard's head by a handful of hair.

“If I ever catch you again with your hands on Claudia, I will kill you. Is that understood?” His voice was low and even-toned, which made it all the more chilling. He meant those words, and fear and pride rivaled in Claudia's blood. She didn't know what to feel.

“Get off me!” Richard said, his words muffled by the angle of his head.

“Apologize to Miss Prattley.” Derrick jammed his knee into Richard's back.

“I'm sorry,” his words came out in a grunt.

Derrick released him, and Richard climbed to his feet. He wiped at the blood dripping from his jaw.

He gave a chilling smile. There was something horrible in this man that somehow she'd missed. “I know why you're marrying her, Middleton. Got another news story?”

“What the devil are you talking about?”

Richard's eyes narrowed. He looked from Derrick to her and then back again. “You don't know, do you?”

“I don't know what you're talking about. I
don't report anymore. I run the paper; I don't write anymore.”

“Well, in that case, if you want the story of your life—let me know. The story that will explain all the mysteries from your last piece. I'll sell it to you.”

“Do you think I'm a fool? The last story you fed me was a pack of lies.”

Richard nodded. “I will admit to that. But this time, it's the truth. This time, I'm not working for anyone. It's only me.” He shrugged. “As I said, if you're interested, let me know.”

He left them standing alone.

“Did he hurt you?” Derrick cupped Claudia's face and searched her skin for any markings.

“No, I'm fine.” The rush of emotions nearly overwhelmed her. She blinked back tears. “I had no idea he could behave that way.”

“Of course you didn't. He was always on his best behavior. And it is not in your nature to see the less perfect side of people.”

“The two of you have more of a past than I thought.”

“Yes, well, as I told you before, I know things about Richard.”

“Clearly you know things my father is unaware of. Perhaps once he's not so angry, you could talk
to him, tell him what you know about Richard. Then maybe he'll be more accepting.”

He ran his hand down her cheek. “Are you sure you're not hurt?”

She gave him a weak smile. “I'm fine.” Tears pooled in her pretty blue eyes. She waved a hand in front of her. “I really am fine, I don't know why I'm crying. I'm just being silly.”

“He scared you.” He pulled her to him and hugged her close.

“Yes, I suppose he did.”

“He won't do it again.”

Derrick kissed the top of her hair, then pulled her in front of him. He kissed each eyelid, then her nose, then placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

“I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner.”

“It's not your fault,” she said. “But I'm glad you came when you did.” She paused before asking, “What did he mean that you wanted to marry me for the story? What story?”

“I have no idea. He's angry, nothing more. Pay him no mind.” He gave her a smile. “Have you and Poppy discussed the wedding plans?”

“No.” She chewed at her lip. “I wasn't positive. I mean, I still want to allow you to back out if you wish. I will be content alone.”

“We're not discussing this again. We're getting
married. You and Poppy decide on the plans—I have the ceremony set for Saturday.”

“That doesn't give us much time.”

“You're right. You had better get busy. One more thing before I go back to work. I came here to give you this.” He held out a ring. “To make our engagement official.”

The gold band slid easily onto her finger. She looked down at it; three oval sapphires sat between two smaller diamonds. It was breathtaking.

“The stones match your eyes,” he said, then averted his glance.

“I wasn't expecting this. Thank you.” She leaned up and kissed him.

“You're welcome. Are you positive you're all right?”

“Yes. He took me by surprise, but he didn't hurt me.”

“Very well. I'll come check on you later.”

Derrick left with the taste of her still on his lips. He knew he needed to tell her the truth. He hated to start a marriage on a lie. But he couldn't risk her backing out now, not after meeting her father. He was a tyrant of the worst kind, and Derrick would be damned if he allowed her to go back into that house.

So he would wait until after the ceremony, when she was safely his, and then he would tell her.

When he'd arrived and found Richard on her,
his world colored red before him. His only thought had been to get Richard's dirty hands and mouth off her. Had he not arrived when he did, there was no telling what Richard would have done to her. The thought made his breakfast turn over in his stomach. Bastard. He'd kill him if he ever touched her again.

Richard had mentioned a story. Implied that Derrick was marrying Claudia to discover the truth of some matter. Derrick had no doubt that Kennington hid a few secrets, most men of power did. It was unlikely though that Claudia knew about any of them, much less would she divulge them if she did. She would protect her father at all costs. Derrick knew that.

And there still remained the truth that Derrick sought no such hidden story. He was marrying Claudia because he'd ruined her. Besides, it was not above Richard to completely fabricate something to take the focus off something else. That something else, no doubt, was the real mystery. But none of that mattered anymore. All that mattered was Claudia's safety.

She was safe now for the time being, and soon she would be in his protection, in his home, as his wife. He certainly hadn't set out to get another wife, but fate had seen to it that he would have one.

It felt strange to be that protective toward someone, but Claudia was to be his wife. She'd bear his children. And he'd do whatever he could to keep her safe.

 

“What the devil are you doing here?” Derrick asked. Mason must have left for the day, else he'd have announced the visitor.

Richard, snide as ever, strolled into Derrick's office and took a seat before Derrick could offer or decline one. “I have a proposition for you.”

Derrick cocked one eyebrow. “Before you waste your breath, I'm not interested.”

Richard gave him a snarl of a smile. “Oh, but I believe you will be. You see, it's about your wife-to-be.”

“I thought I told you yesterday to stay the hell away from her. Clearly I should have killed you on the spot.”

Richard clicked his tongue. “And hang for killing an aristocrat? That's hardly a way to begin a marriage.”

“What the hell do you want?”

“Money, of course.” He shrugged.

“You are vile.”

“Yes, well, I also hold the secrets to the biggest political scandal this country has ever seen.”

“I doubt it. And what does that have to do with Claudia?”

“No details, Middleton, not without payment. Do you think I'm daft?”

“Yes, actually. I won't give you one penny without knowing more details. I have no reason to trust this time will be any different from the last.”

“There was a time when you trusted me.”

“Yes. And I paid dearly for that. I won't make that same mistake again.”