“You should have . . . seen your face . . .” she gasped between giggles, “when it d-dawned on . . . you that . . . Oh, my word!”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you quite finished mocking me?”
With considerable effort, she made a stern face. “Yes, my lord. Of course, my lord. The situation is much too serious for humor, my lord.”
“Now you’re mocking me for complaining about your mocking me,” he grumbled. “Though you must admit that your mother is turning our wedding celebration into a circus performance.”
“I know,” she said soothingly. “And I know you hate it, as do I. But let this be a lesson to you. Never let guilt persuade you to give my mother free rein in anything.”
“I’ll definitely heed that advice in the future.” He stared out the window. “But that’s not what has me concerned. Aren’t you the least bit worried about Durand?”
“I always find it easier to brazen out the things that frighten me than to cower in a corner. It doesn’t always work, but I have to try. He isn’t invited to our grand dinner, and even if he shows up somehow, I can always trust you to protect me.”
His frown softened. “Yes. You can.”
Except that it was Edwin’s family secrets that needed protecting. She wished he’d say what they were, but she could hardly fault him for wanting to keep them close. He saw it as looking after his sister. One day, he’d trust his wife enough to tell her, and when he did, she would try to be as understanding as he’d been about her darkest secret.
“What good would it do Count Durand to cozy up to me now, anyway? I’m married.” She smiled softly at him. “Happily, it seems.”
That finally lightened his mood. “It does seem that way, doesn’t it?”
“You see? I never thought that could happen, and now it has. So I have complete confidence that your bluff was successful and Count Durand has been routed at last.”
He smiled. “You, sweetheart, are the eternal optimist. Even after all your troubles, you try to put a good face on things. It’s one of many things I like about you.”
Her good mood evaporated. Like. Not love.
She shouldn’t care that he’d never professed to love her, since she’d never professed to love him. But she did care. Which she didn’t want to examine too closely. “I like that my eternal optimism doesn’t drive you mad,” she said lightly.
“It does, but it’s a pleasant sort of madness.” He glanced out the window. “We’re nearly to Vauxhall, and I haven’t yet given you your present.”
“You got me another present?”
“Something very mundane.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a necklace with a silver leaf pendant with what looked like two jeweled raindrops on it. “For my whimsical wife.”
“That isn’t mundane at all. It’s quite beautiful.” Though she was rather surprised it wasn’t another automaton.
When she reached for it, he stopped her. “It has a secret.” He pressed one of the “raindrops” and the leaf pendant fell from the chain into his hands. He pressed the other and a wicked-looking blade shot out of the leaf sheath. “It’s to keep you safe if I’m not around.”
“Oh my.” She took it from him and examined it. “Show me how it works again?”
It took only a few moments of demonstration for her to master opening it and also restoring it to the sheath and the chain.
Once she had it back in its original form, he closed her fingers around it. “Wear it or put it wherever you won’t lose it. And I’ll be much less worried about you.”
A lump caught in her throat. “Thank you, I shall wear it.” Staring into his eyes, she hung it about her neck. “Close to my heart.”
He gazed into her face with such intensity that it started her pulse thundering. Then the carriage drew to a halt and the door swung open.
“It’s about time you got here!” cried her mother, leaning heavily on her cane. “Everyone is waiting for you.”
They stepped out to loud applause. Clarissa scanned the crowd, but saw no signs of Durand, thank God.
It was a good thing, because she needed all her strength for enduring the results of Mama’s extravagance. The fete began with a rousing orchestral piece and got more dramatic from there—with acrobats, dancing, massive bowls of negus, and enormous platters of suckling pig and roast game cock.
It went on for hours, ending with a pyrotechnical display that nearly rivaled those done for the king’s birthday.
Mama would either become a laughingstock in society because of it, or everyone would dismiss her eccentricities as they always did because she had such an amiable nature.
Through it all, Edwin miraculously maintained his composure. Clarissa wasn’t sure if that was to please her, or because he spent the entire affair watching the crowd for Count Durand. So she was rather relieved when one of his club members engaged him in a discussion of how the pyrotechnics had been done, and she didn’t have to worry about him so much.