Free Betrayed by Catherine Lloyd Page B

time.”
    Strachan’s eyes flicked from Clara to Branson
and then back again. He smiled slyly, seeing his advantage. “It did not take
much urging on my part to persuade the lady to tell me everything about you. I
know all about your villainous deceit.”
    “Do you?” His eyes raked Clara’s body with a
lazy grin. “Are you confident our mutual friend confessed to everything ? It is my understanding she
held something back from you.”
    “Please,” she said weak from the effort of
restraining a tempest, “Captain Strachan, I’ll be along shortly. Kindly make my
excuses to my brother.”
    “No, I will not leave you here with him.”
    “I beg your pardon?” Branson’s eyes grew hard and
cold. His tone was low and even. This was Branson Hamilton at his most
dangerous.
    Clara’s flesh lifted in goose bumps. Every word
Strachan spoke brought Branson closer to losing his temper and revealing her
secret. How he would enjoy tearing her down!
    Her eyes filled with hot, angry tears. “I am not
a child, Captain. I will speak to my cousin and then rejoin the party. I beg
you, return to your fiancée before she feels your absence.”
    Strachan opened his mouth to argue but Branson
cut him off. “I have outstayed my welcome. My cousin enjoys your company above
all else, sir. I have got what I came for in any case. Clara knows what she
must do and if she fails, I’ll call on you, Captain, and fill you in on our
secrets. Your servant, sir.”
    Branson nodded his head in a brief bow and left
the solarium without another word.
    “Good God, I did not expect the fool to give in
so easily,” Strachan said with a scoff.
    “Branson Hamilton is not a fool, William. He
knows precisely what he is doing. At best, this is a ceasefire. I reckon he has
not given up anything.” She sighed and moved toward the door. “Shall we rejoin
the party?”
    He caught her by the arm. “Not yet. We’ve not
had a moment alone since I brought you to Petherham .
I was hoping for an opportunity to speak to you. Did you tell your father?”
    “I did. He does not accept it and asks me to
persuade Branson to change his mind. I feel I have no choice.”
    “Of course you do,” he said earnestly. “You know
my feelings, Clara. Dearest, you could become my—”
    “No, you must not say the words! You’re engaged
to Miss Delisle and therefore not free to offer me your hand. I could not be
happy with you at the expense of another’s unhappiness.”
    “You are so good, so kind.” Strachan leaned
in, touching her cheek with his gloved hand. “I must regretfully agree with
you, though it does me good to hear we are of the same mind in this. I must
marry Miss Delisle, without question. I was hoping you would consent to be my
mistress and make me the happiest man in England.”
    Clara was genuinely taken aback. For a full
minute she could not frame a response—at least, none that would come from a
lady’s lips. A dockworker’s curse threatened to spill forth.
    “If I have given you any cause to misapprehend
my friendship, I am sorry—”
    “Friendship! We have progressed beyond
friendship. I was given to think you would entertain a more enticing offer.”
    “You thought wrong. Forgive me, Captain. I
have nothing more to say.”
    The syllables were all there and easily
expressed but Strachan seemed not to hear.
    “You spread your legs for Branson. He
intimated you would do the same for me. What was that all about—that you prefer
my company to his—if not to suggest you were willing to be my mistress?”
    Clara gazed at him in cold wonder. “You
will have to ask Mr. Hamilton that question. I haven’t the faintest idea what
was going on his mind with that remark and I have no interest. I will tell you, however, that it is
taking every ounce of my patience to tolerate your company at the moment.” She
extricated herself from Strachan’s grip and pushed past him to the door.
    “Clara!”
    She whirled about furiously. “You have made
your