“Yes. Here is a fork unless you were going to eat recklessly like we used to in the laboratory,” he teased, his eyes sparkling in mischief.
Taking the fork, she let out a laugh, remembering how famished they used to be after spending a full day looking for rocks and working in the laboratory. “I do not know what you are talking about. I have always eaten like a lady.”
Pippa began eating, savoring every bite. She had eaten nothing since before they rushed off, trying to avoid detection. They had left London at first light, their pace grueling. She knew that St. Clara wanted to reach Gretna Green and return to Town in less than a fortnight, but her exhausted body really needed a reprieve.
She sighed, trying to come to terms with the swarm of emotions his kisses had caused. Though she had vowed to herself to never trust him again, Pippa had found a new purpose for St. Clara … in her bed.
As a scientist, it was Pippa’s responsibility to know every aspect of human life, and she would know what it was finally like to be a woman.
She was willingly offering herself as his bride, kissing him, wanting him, and trusting him. She was trusting him to keep his word, and after a year of being his wife in every way imaginable, she would find her own housing, preferably with her aunt.
A year as his wife with no girlish fantasy of love? Pippa was confident she could do it. She was not the same girl he betrayed years ago, and he wasn’t her Chauncey. He was the Duke of St. Clara, yet she couldn’t help but think that the boy he once was still resided inside of him.
St. Clara rose, plucking Newton from his perch beside Pippa, causing her to startle. The cat let out a hiss of protest that St. Clara ignored as he deposited the gray feline on the bench seat he had just vacated.
He pointed a long finger at Newton. “If you hiss at me again, you’ll be walking back to London.”
A giggle escaped Pippa as Newton turned away from St. Clara and presented him with his rear end.
“Are you threatening my cat?” she asked, feeling lighter and satisfied as she took tiny bites of the food. He had always had that effect on her; he could brighten her moods with one simple gesture. It was a gift really, especially when they were younger and her moods often soured due to the loss of her parents.
“You’ve always had horrible taste in animals. Besides, it was not a threat. It was a promise.” St. Clara wrapped his hand around her waist, making her feel as if it was the most natural thing in the world—her being in his embrace.
Chewing, Pippa took her time before she turned her head toward him, leaning in slightly. “I’ll remind you that all my cats have been perfect companions for me. It is not my fault that none of them liked you.”
Their eyes locked, his twinkling. She hadn’t seen him so vibrant in years. She turned back to the plate on her lap, piercing a piece of cheese with her fork before she ate it, trying to ignore how he made her feel.
“I wanted to discuss something with you,” St. Clara said, picking up one of the folders he had carried with him into the carriage.
Opening it, he removed a piece of paper. “Do you have any idea why my father would pay your uncle five thousand pounds?”
She blinked several times, confused at the question. Her heart pounded in her chest as she recalled the day that hadplayed repeatedly in her mind since she entered Bennett House the following evening. “They had become closely acquainted while you were away on the Continent?—”
“My father loathed your uncle. He thought him a fortune hunter after your aunt’s inheritance.” He held the piece of parchment between them, showing Pippa the list of names.
Setting the empty plate down, Pippa took the paper in her hand, her gaze roaming until she found the entry. “If that is true, they most certainly became closer while you were away. Perhaps it was a loan.” Her gaze traveled to the entry date; it was days before her uncle had left for Paris with his mistress.
Days after her uncle escorted her to Bennett House to see the duke …
An icy shiver ran through her . For the hundredth time, Pippa wondered how she would live in Bennett House for a year without thinking about that horrible day.
“None of this makes any sense. My father could barely stomach the man.” He shook his head before he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, jostling slightly from the carriage’s movement.
Handing the paper back to St. Clara, Pippa struggled to understand the information she had just read. Her uncle was an avid supporter of the former duke’s, always boasting about their friendship. “When you were gone, they were often together.” Her voice trembled as she tried to conceal the despair that was threatening to reveal her true feelings.
A shadow fell over his handsome visage. Pippa knew how much he’d loved and admired his father. He did not know the veritable monster the former duke had been.
Going through the folders that laid precariously on his lap, he went through page after page until he found what he was looking for. “I also found this among my father’s papers.”
Taking the offered paper in her hand, Pippa surveyed the words. It was a detailed description of her life and background, listing information on her mother and father and their deaths.
“What is this?” she asked, horrified tears filling her eyes as she looked at the dates her parents perished.
Her mother had died suddenly of ague; she remembered caring for her at only seven years old. The day she died, Pippa held her hand, begging her to stay with them. Her father lasted exactly two years without his beloved wife before he died of heart failure. Pippa had barely survived the heartbreak of losing one parent before she was thrust into despair again.
Knowing that the late duke had believed it his privilege to pry into Pippa’s family’s history infuriated her. She had always prided herself on being reasonable no matter what happened to her. Pippa knew that her mother and father would not want her to hate anyone, but deep down in her heart, she loathed Ludlow Bennett, the late Duke of St. Clara, with every ounce of her being.
From the moment she had met the man, he had treated her like she was nothing, making constant comments on her status as an orphan. Pippa could forgive him that, but she would never forgive him for how he’d treated her the last time she had seen him at Bennett House. The pure joy she’d seen on his face as her young heart had been broken in two by a stranger.
