She considered donning her gloves, but this wasn’t a formal outing. They’d have no reason to touch. With a calming breath, she lifted the lamp from her desk and walked out of her room.
It was very quiet, most of the lights in the household doused by now. She was almost to the morning room where doors would lead her into the garden when she heard—
“My lady, may I be of service?”
She swung around and smiled at the butler. “No, thank you, Jeffers. I’m having difficulty sleeping. I’m simply going to take a walk in the garden.”
“Alone?”
“Yes, it’s our garden. I should be quite safe.”
“Would you like me to have a footman accompany you?”
“No, thank you. I welcome the solitude. As a matter of fact, please see to it that none of the servants disturb me.”
He bowed slightly. “As you wish.”
She headed to the morning room. Once there, she took a moment to gather her resolve as closely around her as her cloak and stepped out through the doors into the garden.
When they had parties, they lit the lanterns that lined the walk, but she didn’t see the need for that much trouble or that much light, yet as she wandered along the path she began to second-guess her decision. She hadn’t realized how very dark it was among the hedgerows and the flowers and the ivy-covered trestles, how very ominous, how very—
“Lady Catherine.”
With a little squeak, she jerked around. How had she not seen him standing there? He seemed to emerge from the night shadows like the prince of darkness himself.
“You startled me, sir.” Then she cursed herself for speaking before her heart had returned to a normal beat. Her voice sounded like the warbling tones her brother had exhibited when he was on the cusp of manhood.
“My apologies,” Claybourne said.
“Your tone lacks any contrition. I daresay you did it on purpose.”
“Perhaps. I wasn’t certain you’d meet me.”
“Your missive indicated you had a ‘need.’ Unlike you, I’m not one to generally ignore those in need.”
“Indeed.”
His voice had grown husky and she wondered if she’d inadvertently sent him a message she’d not meant to send. She was upset by his calm and her lack of it. She took a deep breath and asked tartly, “What was it that you needed, my lord?”
“Let’s walk, shall we?”
“Not beyond the garden.”
“Certainly not. But farther away from prying eyes and ears.”
He began walking without waiting for her. She hurried to catch up. “I’ve instructed my servants not to disturb us.”
He came to an abrupt halt, and she nearly bashed her nose into his shoulder when he turned to face her. He was so incredibly tall and broad. His mere presence made her heart gallop.
“You told your servants you were meeting me here?” he asked, his voice laced with incredulity.
“No, of course not. I misspoke. I told them not to disturb me. As far as they’re concerned I’m having difficulty sleeping.”
“Is that common for you? To have difficulty sleeping?”
He actually sounded curious, as though he had a care for her.
“No, not usually,” she said. Unless she was thinking of him, then it was nigh on impossible.
“I daresay you will.”
Whatever did he mean by that?
He began walking again, and against her better judgment she fell into step beside him. She was grateful she’d brought the lamp. While it didn’t provide an abundance of light, it did provide enough that she could see him clearly.
“I wish to speak with you about your…proposition,” Claybourne said with as much emotion as a lump of coal.
“I didn’t think you were interested.” She didn’t quite trust him. He’d rebuffed her offer and made her feel quite silly in making it.
“I wasn’t.”
“But now you are.”
“You sound annoyed. Have you found someone else to do your bidding?”
Oh, she wished she had. She wished she could turn on her heel and walk away. He unsettled her. She thought of his warm fingers trailing over the pulse at her throat, making it jump. She remembered his hot mouth devouring hers…
“No, I’ve not found someone else.”
“Have you taken care of the matter?”
“No.”
“Then perhaps we can strike a bargain. There is a young lady who I wish very much to make my wife.”
Catherine stumbled to a stop, schooling her features not to reveal how the shock of those words had struck her as a blow. What did she care if he took a wife? She didn’t. She absolutely did not care, and yet, she couldn’t deny the disappointment. She’d spent so many years dreaming of him, although not by choice. He simply invaded her dreams as though he belonged there.