The Viscount’s Darling Adventure by Maggie Dallen

12

The carriage ride home was silent. Not that Clarissa was still dazed. In fact, the longer the quiet stretched the more infuriated she became.

What had just happened?

“Clarissa,” Darius began after several minutes had passed.

She turned to him, her mouth pressing into a firm line. “Not yet.”

“Not yet, what?” he said, attempting to draw his brow into a severe line, likely meant to intimidate.

Intimidation might be the last emotion she was currently experiencing.

“I once read a journal about volcanoes,” she murmured through tight lips. “For a while on the surface they look completely normal. Except tiny cracks and fissures start oozing lava until the entire top of the mountain explodes, gushing magma and burning everything in its path.” She leaned forward, her hands clasping in her lap.

Darius crossed his arms in a posture of strength, but his glower faltered and she knew she’d made an impression. “I’m not following any of this.”

Tabetha cleared her throat. “Clarissa is angry.”

“I should be angry,” Darius said pointing a thumb in his own direction. “That dinner—”

“That dinner was important to me,” Clarissa erupted in such a way she hoped did volcanoes proud. Her voice echoed off the walls. “And I’m fairly certain you did more harm than good.”

Darius glared. “How do you figure that?”

“You dragged us out before anyone could even say goodbye.”

His eyes narrowed, his temper clearly matching hers. “That’s because you disappeared with that—that—”

Clarissa winced at that. She was guilty, but no one could confirm that fact. “I left to compose myself. I was attempting to be socially appropriate.”

“And that just happened to be at the same moment the viscount was gone?” He leaned forward. “What was really happening, Clarissa?”

Her chin notched. She should have known the conversation had to start here. “I…” She swallowed a lump. If she were a volcano, she’d cooled considerably as she faced telling her the family the truth. A truth she’d barely acknowledged to herself. But one that was necessary in light of her brother’s announcement and her own future happiness. “I’ve fallen in love.”

The color drained from Darius’s face.

Mariah gasped as Tabetha reached for Clarissa’s hand. “Oh, Clarissa,” Tabetha said. Was Tabetha happy for her or worried? Likely both.

“It’s true. And if I’m not mistaken, he loves me too.” Her jaw clenched as she straightened her shoulders, preparing for the onslaught of words. But silence was her only answer. “Isn’t anyone going to say anything?”

Darius cleared his throat. “I was right to book that trip.”

“Trip?” She heard her voice crack on the word. She cleared her throat, attempting to calm her nerves. “Where? When? Why?”

“Europe. A tour in three days’ time. Because you’ve always wanted to go, and because...” A muscle in his cheek twitched. “Whatever you’ve started here isn’t going to end well.”

Darius exchanged a meaningful glance with Evelyn, and Clarissa felt a stab of betrayal. How long had they suspected? And did they truly believe they could solve matters with a trip?

She gave her head a shake, swallowing down a surge of bitter emotion. There were so many questions, but one glimpse of the stubborn set of Darius’s jaw was enough to know that he was dead set on sending her away.

Her mouth opened as she attempted to form words that would penetrate her brother’s thick hide. She took several gulps of cleansing air. “Listen very closely. How could you possibly know how it was going to end when you wouldn’t even exchange a few sentences with the man?”

Darius had the decency to wince.

“And I’ll tell you something else,” she continued. “Other than attending that dinner, you didn’t do a single thing I asked. You didn’t explain anything or attempt to get to know them in any way.”

Darius scrubbed his face. “They are the one family that I can’t abide—”

“I’m not choosing my future based on what you can abide.” Her voice was likely far louder than necessary. “He’s titled, wealthy, kind, and when he looks at me…” She stopped. “He’s appropriate in every way. And what’s more…” Her hands clenched and unclenched as she carefully attempted to collect her thoughts. “We share an affection that does not happen often.”

Mariah reached for her other hand. “I’m happy for you.”

“Well, I am not celebrating,” Darius snapped. His voice was so harsh that a tense silence followed.

Clarissa struggled to keep her voice level as her sisters and Evelyn watched her and Darius face off. “And so, just because you do not care for his family, you would send me away from the man I love?”

Darius threw his hands up. “This was not meant to be a punishment, Clarissa. This was meant to be a gift. You wanted adventure. I’ve given you what you wished. We should both be happy.”

Clarissa shook her head, frustration tightening her chest. “You of all people should understand, Darius.” She squeezed her sisters’ hands. “Love is the greatest adventure of them all. I thought that marriage would limit my opportunities and stifle my personality, but it turns out with the right person...” Her heart began to thud in her chest as she considered it. “The right person accepts you for who you are and encourages you to be even better.”

“Oh, Darius,” Evelyn said, wrapping her arm about her husband. “We’ve made a terrible mistake.”

“Why?” he asked, his head dropped into his hands.

“My father didn’t approve of our match either. You were not the sort of man he wanted me to marry. But he was wrong, my love.”

Darius shook his head as it dropped even lower. “And so am I.”

Relief flooded through Clarissa, and it seemed as though everyone in the carriage was able to breathe again as the tension cleared. Mariah rested her head against Clarissa’s shoulder as Tabetha squeezed her and whispered in her ear. “You’re right, Clarissa. When it’s real, there’s nothing greater.”

Clarissa’s eyes stung with tears as she nodded. She hoped what she had was as real as what Tabetha and Darius had found.

Her breath caught as she thought of Leo, of the way he’d held her and the passion in his kiss. It had to be real. She had to believe that.

Darius lifted his head to meet her gaze. “I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”

She gave him a small smile. “Thank you for saying that.”

His elbows came to his knees, and he clasped his hands together. “So, what do we do now?”

She bit her lip as she thought of how horrid this evening had ended. Aside from that kiss, nothing at all had gone right. His family had been just as stubborn as hers. But right now, it wasn’t their families she cared about. All that mattered was that Leo knew she wasn’t going anywhere.

Not without him.

But to tell him that...she had to see him again. She straightened in her seat as wallowing gave way to strategizing. “We attend the next event,” she said. “Can you believe it? Me wanting to go to a ball.”

“And then?” Mariah asked.

Clarissa’s smile wavered. “And I find out for certain if everything I believe is true.”

“And the trip?” Darius asked.

“Don’t cancel it yet. If I’m wrong…”

But she said a silent prayer. Please don’t be wrong.

Darius gave her a single nod. “When we get home, we’ll look at our stack of invitations, pick one, and I will personally make certain that the Viscount of Ware knows we’ll be in attendance.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

Darius smiled then. “You can thank Evelyn. She’s right. Not too long ago, we were on the other side of a similar situation and, Clarissa...you know I only want you to be happy.”

Her heart swelled as she nodded.

That was all she wanted too. Now, she just had to make sure Leo was as certain about their future together as she was.

* * *

Three dayslater as she stood at the Cranston ball, she was far less certain. Not about her feelings, of course. But three days without a word from Leo and she was beginning to doubt all the emotions she’d thought she’d seen in his eyes.

And now, as the crush of partygoers pressed into their corner, Clarissa struggled to see...anything. She lifted up on her tiptoes, straining to see over the heads of a wall of people.

“Where is he?” she whispered more to herself than anyone else.

But Mariah answered. “He’ll be here.”

She looked at her sister, finally turning away from the crowd. “How do you know?”

“Because you are an excellent judge of character,” her sister said with a soft smile.

Clarissa appreciated her sister’s words. She really did. “But so are you, and you didn’t like him.” She wasn’t certain why she’d said that. On the carriage ride home from dinner, she’d been so certain of her feelings and his. But as the last few days had crept by and she’d neither seen nor heard from him, she’d started to worry.

What if she’d misunderstood? Besides the kiss, he hadn’t actually said anything. Perhaps he didn’t feel as strongly as she did. And then there was his family. What if they’d convinced him that a match with a Rutland just wasn’t worth the trouble?

Mariah shrugged. “I have to confess that I didn’t really know him. I made assumptions based on other family members and a very incomplete conversation. But I pride myself on objectively observing, and I did exactly that at that dinner party you orchestrated.” Her sister slipped an arm about her shoulders.

“What did you see?” Clarissa twisted her hands together, hating the insecurity that now pulled down her shoulders and created a pulsing ache in her chest.

Mariah gave her a gentle squeeze. “A man who cares for you very deeply.”

Those words made Clarissa feel lighter. Her shoulders lifted, as did her heart, and then her head as she scanned the crowd one more time.

He had to be here, and he had to be looking for her too, didn’t he?

Darius had sent him a missive saying that they’d attend. And even if they hadn’t discussed their future yet, Leo had implied...no, he’d clearly said he wanted to talk.

Her breath caught when she finally spotted him. Tall, broad, and perfectly straight, Leo stood in the middle of the room. Her heart gave a lurch in her chest.

He was here.

He’d come after all.

Mariah’s arm fell away, and Clarissa took a half step toward him before she stopped.

Something was wrong.

Because his gaze wasn’t searching the room for hers. It was trained on one person, and she watched as he bowed, disappearing for a moment from view. And when he came up again, she realized that he had a woman on his arm.

For a moment, she thought it might be his cousin, Miss Ainsworth, but as brunette curls bobbed next to him on their way to the dance floor, she realized the truth. He was dancing with another woman.

Her throat closed, and she swallowed several times to clear it. He wasn’t looking for her? He hadn’t come to talk?

Her Rutland temper began to thrum in her veins, but she pushed those feelings back down. Surely there was a logical explanation?

She started to make her way through the crowd, not even listening as Mariah called her name. With the crush, it took forever, and when the song ended, he moved, and she lost sight of him.

When she found him again, she saw he’d made his way to the floor with a new partner.

Heat pulsed through her and she took several deep breaths.

He hadn’t come to talk. He’s come to humiliate her. That much was achingly clear. If he’d wished to send a message, she’d received it.

Her fists clenching at her sides, she had a wild moment where she wished to go confront him. Tell him exactly what she thought of his behavior, his kiss, and his family. But she took several cleansing breaths. She’d not give him, or his aunt, the satisfaction of proving them right about the Rutlands.

Instead, chin held high, she tossed him one last glare and started back toward her family. She couldn’t stay. It was too painful.

She’d come here to express her feelings, and one way or the other, she’d received her answer.

Her family had been right all along. There was no future for her and the Viscount of Ware.

Tears sprang into the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away, her spine stiffening. She’d leave with her head high, and then she’d take that trip her family had so generously offered.

What madness had possessed her that she’d ever imagined her future lay with an Ainsworth?