Bride of a Stranger (Classic Gothics Collection) (21 page)
“What of the man I saw,” Claire asked suddenly, “a man wearing a capped greatcoat like yours?”
“What man?”
“Sitting his horse, watching the coach go off the bridge, watching me in the water.”
Justin shook his head. “Many men wear greatcoats. It could have been any passing stranger, or might it not have been a woman, Berthe, wearing a coat, perhaps one of Edouard’s, against the rain, coming to view her handiwork?”
“It might have been,” Claire agreed slowly, thinking of that figure on the horse, so indistinct in the rain and early morning gloom.
“Claire?”
She looked up at him, caught by a sternness in his voice.
“It was not I.”
“I know,” she said, and suddenly she did and was able to smile, to return his gaze without letting her own waver.
When he saw that she was telling the truth, his black eyes grew less shadowed and a hint of a smile curved his mouth before he continued. “Belle-Marie was not here at the time of the accident with the coach, so there seemed little reason to connect her with it. Because of that, I did not go and demand an answer, even when you told me of the
gris-gris
. Such a visit could be so easily misunderstood in an isolated society like the plantation where every move is watched. I did believe you were in danger, but the evidence was so insubstantial that there seemed no way to protect you, other than confining you to the house, and even that was no guarantee, was it? The last thing I wanted to do, however, was to upset you and have you demand to be taken back to New Orleans. I was afraid if I ever allowed you to leave me, you would never come back.”
Leaving that interesting declaration for the moment, Claire said, “But if you were not with Belle-Marie, where were you when you left me during the day—and sometimes at night?”
“Working. Working so that at night, when I lay down there on that hard day bed I could sleep.”
“Oh,” she said, dropping her head.
“And other times I spent roaming the grounds like a demented sentry, afraid to leave you alone and afraid to stay. You were so lovely, and so heartless.”
“Oh, no!”
“Yes!” he insisted. “Do you remember what you said to me? Do you? ‘I hope that was satisfactory!’ “
“Well, what did you expect,” she cried, goaded. “You warned me to resign myself. I thought that lacked something. I still do.”
“What did it lack?” he asked, holding out his hand. “Come and tell me.”
She wanted the closeness of his arms, and yet, he had not mentioned love. How could she go to him without it? He lay there, strong and vital against the pillows despite his injury. She could feel the attraction of the senses that he had for her, as well as the unconscious domination of his personality. There was about him a touch of the hauteur and leashed strength of the panther in the woods, as well as the black, demonic grace. She had resisted the great cat’s primitive domination of predator over prey, by her stillness and the exercise of will. It was possible that if she were resolute enough, she could resist Justin also.
For a long moment she refused the command of his outstretched hand, then, slowly, she moved toward him.
He caught a strand of her honey-gold hair that strayed across her breast. “Claire,” he whispered, and pulled her toward him until their lips merged.
“I have loved you since I saw you across that ballroom floor,” he told her when at last he released her. “It was not pity, was it, that I saw in your face that night?”
“No, no,” she murmured. “It was your scar and the look in your eyes. They hurt me so, and I wanted to do this.” She pressed her lips to the crescent that curved down his swarthy cheek.
“Don’t!”
She felt his instinctive recoil, even before he spoke.
“Why? It’s only a scar.”
“It’s the mark of a coward,” he corrected her with bitterness.
“No,” she said deliberately, tracing the curve with a gentle fingertip. “It was never that. Edouard told me it began as the mark of a captive, it was only later, when he could not break your pride, that he taunted you with the other name. But to me it will always stand for courage, the courage of one who took the blame and bore the censure of society, rather than have it fall on a helpless old man. It doesn’t matter that it was a mistake. It was real enough for ten long years.”
She could feel the tension go out of the facial muscles beneath her fingers, and she smiled. “On the other hand, it could stand for Claire, and I think I rather like having you branded with my initial. A monogrammed husband, just so other women will know to whom to return you.”
There was an unconscious plea in her gold-brown eyes, and so retribution was gentle. “Jealous jade,” he said, his arm tightening around her, “there will never be a need for it.”
At last she struggled free of his grasp. “This is not very comfortable,” she said, laughing a little.
“No,” he agreed. “Come to bed.”
“But you are in my bed.”
“So I am. Don’t forget to blow out the lamp.”
She shook her head, then slowly removed the thin dimity dressing gown with its convent embroidery, and draped it over a chair. Moving to the mirror she picked up her brush and began to brush her hair, separating each long strand.
Suddenly Justin began to laugh. “All right, I did enjoy teasing you in the morning. But you always blushed so beautifully when I caught you watching me. As now. Blow out the lamp, Claire.”
“Yes, Justin, in a moment,” she said with a promise in her smiling eyes. “In a moment.”
Since publishing her first book at age twenty-seven,
New York Times
bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over sixty-five historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres. She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her eighth-generation Louisiana heritage. Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana.
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CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
THE ITALIAN BILLIONAIRES COLLECTION
Book 1 in Jennifer’s newest contemporary romance collection,
The Tuscan’s Revenge Wedding,
was an Amazon Top 100 bestseller in 2012.
Book 2,
The Venetian’s Daring Seduction
, was an Amazon Top 100 bestseller in May, 2013.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE COLLECTION
SWEETLY CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
THE LOVE AND ADVENTURE COLLECTION
