The Study of Seduction (Sinful Suitors, #2)(55)

She didn’t know whether to be thrilled or terrified by Edwin’s words. She’d never guessed he could be that passionate about anything. He always seemed so calm and collected.

Well, except for that day in the library when he’d faced down Durand the first time. And at the theater, when his kisses had overwhelmed her.

She pressed her hands to her flaming cheeks. Who was Edwin? Did she even know? Was he only capable of such anger and force against the likes of Durand? Or might he unleash his temper on her, too, if she denied him her bed?

Hearing him stalk up the stairs, she hurried back into her bedchamber.

“Did you tell Edwin that you’re ready for the footman to come get the trunks?” Mama asked.

Clarissa started. “No . . . I—I remembered one more thing you and I should discuss.”

Coloring deeply, Mama gestured at the bed. “About the . . . well . . . you-know-what?”

“No, Mama, you covered that quite adequately,” she said, fighting to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

It had taken all Clarissa’s strength not to laugh bitterly at Mama’s delicate explanation of what she should expect in the marital bed.

He will touch you all over your body, and you must let him because he’s your husband. Try not to cry. Men hate that, and it quite withers them.

Clarissa would have to keep that in mind if she got desperate, though her sobs hadn’t had any effect on the Vile Seducer. Somehow she suspected that it depended on the man, as to how he would react to tears in the bedchamber.

You will grow used to what he does. At that point, her mother had blushed furiously. You will even grow to like it eventually. Though it will take a while to get past the embarrassment of it.

Well, Clarissa could certainly attest to the truth of that. But it was the pain she most remembered, not the embarrassment. The pain and the grunting and the rough handling of her body.

Her stomach began churning. Surely Edwin would be different. Please, God, let him be different.

“Are you nearly ready?” came his deep voice from the doorway.

She jumped, then forced a smile for her new husband’s benefit. “Yes. Quite ready. I was about to go tell you.”

“Good. I’d like to be on our way before sunset, if we can manage it.” He glanced at his pocket watch. “That gives you about an hour to—”

“Don’t worry, Edwin,” she quipped. “I know how you are about schedules. I shall attempt to be ready according to yours.”

He winced. “Take your time.”

“If I didn’t know how it pained you to say such a thing, I might believe you,” she said gaily.

Taking pity on him, she did her best to hurry. So the next half hour was a flurry of loading trunks and saying farewells. By the time they set off for Hertfordshire, it was still half an hour before dark. The two of them sat opposite each other, and now that they were alone together, she was nervous.

Especially since Edwin looked tired and distracted, undoubtedly unsettled by the count’s visit. Should she mention it? Would Edwin deny it if she did?

She was afraid to press him just now. Her marriage didn’t seem quite real. It still felt as if she and Edwin were just headed off to another social event.

Except that the event they were actually heading to was private, and he could do as he wished with her, marriage settlement or no. The part of the document about their consummation was hardly something that could be enforced, after all. Really just a request.

“I’ve something to tell you.” Edwin looked out the window at the bustling streets. “You’re probably wondering why I didn’t go visit Durand before we left town, to inform him of our marriage.”

She didn’t want to lie, so she said nothing as she removed her hat, which was too large for comfort even in the spacious confines of Edwin’s carriage.

“As it turns out,” he went on, “there was no need. While you were packing, he came by to talk to you. He couldn’t believe we had wed. I made it clear that we had. And then I kicked him out of Warren’s town house.”

“I see.” Thank heaven Edwin had told her about the incident. At least he wasn’t trying to shield her from everything. This marriage might eventually prove manageable after all.

Should she continue to pretend not to have known about the count’s visit? No, there were secrets enough between them already. “Actually, I wasn’t sure if I should mention it, but I did overhear the end of your . . . discussion.”

His gaze shot to her. “So you know that he made some idle threats.”

“They didn’t sound so idle to me.”

The muscles of his jaw tautened. “I can handle Durand.”

“You shouldn’t have to.” She concentrated on folding her veil about her hat. “It disturbs me that you are risking so much because of me.”

“That is what you gleaned from my discussion with Durand?”

“Of course. He’s clearly determined to make things difficult for you, and considering that all you did was step in to defend me, it hardly seems fair.”

He shook his head ruefully. “You’re remarkable, Clarissa.”

That startled her. “Are you being sarcastic?”

“Certainly not. Here you are, being dogged by that arse Durand, yet you worry over what he’ll do to me, a grown man who can take care of himself. By now most women would be weeping and wringing their hands, or worse yet, falling for his handsome appearance without seeing the unsettled mind behind it.”