Gerald and the paper. The notice will be published in the next issue.”
They were dismissed. Killory turned his chair away from them and looked out of the wide window lining the back of his study, his drink in hand.
Damon took her arm and led her to the door. Though Damon began to walk towards the foyer, Claire grasped his hand and led him in the other direction, pulling him though a small archway into a demure sitting room.
“You are sure you wish to marry me?” Claire asked, looking up at him with worry.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You are having second thoughts?”
She shook her head almost violently. “No. Not at all. I just do not want you to regret it later.”
Damon wrapped his arms around her as she rested against his chest. “Why would I regret marrying you?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled, but Damon sensed she did.
“My rose, tell me what worries you.”
“D-do you love me, Damon, or is it only desire you feel for me?”
Damon closed his eyes for a moment before he nuzzled into the softness of her hair.
“The love I hold for you, my rose, is so great that I worry I will perish if I am not with you.”
She gasped and pulled back to look at him, tears again in her eyes.
“Why must you cry? It pains me so to see you this way.”
“I love you too, Damon. More than anything. You make me feel beautiful and cherished. I have never felt like that before.”
Damon moved his hands to her face as he held her gaze. “You are beautiful and most definitely cherished. You are mine. Know it, and know every day how much I love you. In fact,” he said with a devilish smile, “let me show you.” He held her close, his lips claiming hers with hungry need.
Also available from Total-E-Bound Publishing:
Lady Lovett’s Little Dilemma
Beverley Oakley
Excerpt
Chapter One
“The Earl of Lovett has taken a mistress ?”
The breathy shock of pretty newlywed Mrs Rupert Browne sliced through the buzz of conversation, lancing its unsuspecting target three feet away and causing a deaf colonel to solicitously ask the Duchess if she required a glass of water.
Still choking on her champagne, Cressida, Lady Lovett, strained to hear the response of her cousin, Catherine, who had obviously disseminated this latest shocking on dit , smilingly assuring deaf Colonel Horvitt she was quite all right, as if her happiness were not suddenly hanging by a gossamer thread.
She strained to hear more.
“ Surely not? ” gasped the generally well-intentioned but oblivious Mrs Browne to Cousin Catherine’s whispered reply. “But the Earl made a love match. Mama told me he scandalised society by marrying a nobody.”
Cressida had to use two hands to keep her champagne coupe steady. The indignity of being described as a ‘nobody’ was nothing compared with the pain of hearing her husband’s amours—real or otherwise—discussed in the middle of a ballroom. She forced her trembling mouth into her best attempt at a smile as the Colonel leant forward and wagged his finger at her, his stentorian tone precluding further eavesdropping. “Your husband ruffled more than a few feathers with his speech in the House of Lords last night, Lady Lovett.”
Cressida had once giggled with her ferociously forceful cousin Catherine that the Colonel used his deafness as an excuse to peer down the cleavage of every pretty lady he addressed. She was in no mood for giggling now. Clearly, Cousin Catherine was disclosing details about the state of Cressida’s marriage of which Cressida, apparently, was the last to know. She straightened and pushed her shoulders back, suddenly self-conscious of appearing the sagging, lacking creature the several hundred guests crowded into Lady Belton’s newly renovated ballroom must imagine her, if they were already privy to what she was hearing for the first time. Before her last sip of champagne she’d considered herself happily married. It was all she
They were dismissed. Killory turned his chair away from them and looked out of the wide window lining the back of his study, his drink in hand.
Damon took her arm and led her to the door. Though Damon began to walk towards the foyer, Claire grasped his hand and led him in the other direction, pulling him though a small archway into a demure sitting room.
“You are sure you wish to marry me?” Claire asked, looking up at him with worry.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You are having second thoughts?”
She shook her head almost violently. “No. Not at all. I just do not want you to regret it later.”
Damon wrapped his arms around her as she rested against his chest. “Why would I regret marrying you?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled, but Damon sensed she did.
“My rose, tell me what worries you.”
“D-do you love me, Damon, or is it only desire you feel for me?”
Damon closed his eyes for a moment before he nuzzled into the softness of her hair.
“The love I hold for you, my rose, is so great that I worry I will perish if I am not with you.”
She gasped and pulled back to look at him, tears again in her eyes.
“Why must you cry? It pains me so to see you this way.”
“I love you too, Damon. More than anything. You make me feel beautiful and cherished. I have never felt like that before.”
Damon moved his hands to her face as he held her gaze. “You are beautiful and most definitely cherished. You are mine. Know it, and know every day how much I love you. In fact,” he said with a devilish smile, “let me show you.” He held her close, his lips claiming hers with hungry need.
Also available from Total-E-Bound Publishing:
Lady Lovett’s Little Dilemma
Beverley Oakley
Excerpt
Chapter One
“The Earl of Lovett has taken a mistress ?”
The breathy shock of pretty newlywed Mrs Rupert Browne sliced through the buzz of conversation, lancing its unsuspecting target three feet away and causing a deaf colonel to solicitously ask the Duchess if she required a glass of water.
Still choking on her champagne, Cressida, Lady Lovett, strained to hear the response of her cousin, Catherine, who had obviously disseminated this latest shocking on dit , smilingly assuring deaf Colonel Horvitt she was quite all right, as if her happiness were not suddenly hanging by a gossamer thread.
She strained to hear more.
“ Surely not? ” gasped the generally well-intentioned but oblivious Mrs Browne to Cousin Catherine’s whispered reply. “But the Earl made a love match. Mama told me he scandalised society by marrying a nobody.”
Cressida had to use two hands to keep her champagne coupe steady. The indignity of being described as a ‘nobody’ was nothing compared with the pain of hearing her husband’s amours—real or otherwise—discussed in the middle of a ballroom. She forced her trembling mouth into her best attempt at a smile as the Colonel leant forward and wagged his finger at her, his stentorian tone precluding further eavesdropping. “Your husband ruffled more than a few feathers with his speech in the House of Lords last night, Lady Lovett.”
Cressida had once giggled with her ferociously forceful cousin Catherine that the Colonel used his deafness as an excuse to peer down the cleavage of every pretty lady he addressed. She was in no mood for giggling now. Clearly, Cousin Catherine was disclosing details about the state of Cressida’s marriage of which Cressida, apparently, was the last to know. She straightened and pushed her shoulders back, suddenly self-conscious of appearing the sagging, lacking creature the several hundred guests crowded into Lady Belton’s newly renovated ballroom must imagine her, if they were already privy to what she was hearing for the first time. Before her last sip of champagne she’d considered herself happily married. It was all she
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