The Earl's Inconvenient Wife by Nordin Ruth Ann

Author:Nordin, Ruth Ann [Nordin, Ruth Ann]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2012-05-18T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

After breakfast, Nate wrote Perry a quick letter to let him know his ward arrived at Weston and had the letter sent to him. He went to his bedchamber where his valet helped him into his riding outfit. The entire time he was getting ready to go to the stable, he wondered if Mister Robinson was giving the stable master any grief. He fully expected him to after all the years Perry had been soft on him. He couldn’t blame Perry. Perry had a good heart, but what Mister Robinson needed was the firm hand of discipline.

As he headed out of the house, he caught sight of Claire writing at her desk in the drawing room. He paused for a moment, a slight twinge of guilt nagging him. The weeks at Weston had been long and tense. He didn’t delight in keeping her here, despite what she must think. But how was he going to get an heir unless they were under the same roof? If there was another way to do the job, he’d do it. But there was only one way she was going to conceive the heir, and he needed to figure out how in the world he was going to make it happen because as things stood right now, he was going to have to pass on his title to his cousin.

“Are you ready to go riding, my lord?” the butler asked him.

Turning to him, he nodded. “Yes, I’m ready.” With another glance at his wife, he saw that she had looked in his direction. Startled, he quickly averted his gaze and strode out the door, not sure why his heartbeat picked up. Clearing his throat, he thanked his footman, who opened the front door for him, and strode out of the house.

He headed for the stable, trying to assure himself he wasn’t heartless. Yes, he knew he had avoided Claire as much as he could, but that didn’t mean he was insensitive toward her needs. He had, after all, told her the truth: that they hadn’t consummated their marriage. Was it his fault if she refused to believe him?

He sighed. If she hadn’t gone shopping with her sister, he’d feel safe enough keeping her in London. Why couldn’t she exercise more restraint? If she honestly believed she’d consummated the marriage with him, did she assume that potentially giving him an heir meant she could be reckless with his money?

Perhaps if he limited how much she spent at the shops, then they might return to London and she could be happy again? Not that she was happy with him anyway. To her credit, she wasn’t putting on a pretense with him. She was letting him know exactly what she did and didn’t like. If nothing else, he certainly appreciated that about her.

The familiar guilty sensation returned. Could it be possible she had been telling him the truth—that she had nothing to do with the scandal that led to their marriage? If she had been a

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