His Reluctant Lady by Ruth Ann Nordin Page B

writing, but
if he insisted on being as attentive as he’d been so far, then she
was going to be in a real bind. She didn’t dare tell him she wrote
gothic horror. It was bad enough he knew she wrote for the Tittletattle .
    “ Agatha?” Breaking out of
her thoughts, she turned her attention to Claire who was looking at
her, seeming concerned. “Are you feeling all right?”
    “ She’s probably still in
shock she’s marrying Christopher,” Sophie teased.
    “ He’s not as bad as my
husband makes him out to be,” Claire said. “True, he has a
mischievous streak in him, but deep down, he’s a good
gentleman.”
    “ How well do you know him?”
Catherine asked, straightening in her chair in interest.
    Claire shrugged. “I don’t know him all
that well. It’s just that when I was first married, he was one of
the few people who tried to help me.”
    “ Help you do
what?”
    By now, everyone was watching Claire in
interest.
    She cleared her throat. “If I tell you,
then it stays in this room. I don’t need my husband finding out I
told everyone about it.”
    Sophie’s eyes lit up in excitement.
“This must be good!”
    “ Sophie, show some
restraint,” Agatha admonished.
    Sophie groaned. “This is the most
interesting thing that’s happened tonight.”
    “ I don’t mind saying what
happened,” Claire said. “As long as it stays in this
room?”
    Agatha knew better than to
let another bit of gossip that involved Christopher into the Tittletattle , so she had
no problem agreeing with the others that she’d remain quiet.
Besides, a part of her was curious about Christopher and what
possible mischief he’d been up to with Claire.
    “ When I married Nate,”
Claire began, “he thought I created a situation where we were
caught in a scandalous situation.”
    “ Did you?” Agatha
asked.
    “ No, I didn’t, but it looked
that way and we married because of it. Things between Nate and I
were uncomfortable at first.”
    Agatha leaned forward in interest.
“Uncomfortable how?”
    “ We didn’t get along, at
all. In fact, we spent a lot of time apart, especially when we
arrived at his country estate. He made it a point of ignoring me
and at one point left for a few weeks.”
    “ It sounds like a good way
to start a marriage.”
    Sophie glanced at Agatha and sighed.
“No, it’s not. It’s horrible.”
    “ She got a husband with a
title and he left her alone,” Agatha said. “Did he leave you alone
because you conceived right away?”
    “ We weren’t intimate during
that time,” Claire replied.
    “ Really?” Agatha wondered
how Claire got so lucky. A husband who ignored her and didn’t come to her
bed? “What did you do to get so fortunate?”
    “ I wasn’t happy during that
time,” Claire said. “It wasn’t the kind of marriage I wanted. While
I wasn’t expecting love, I wanted to at least have an amiable
relationship with my husband.”
    “ I’m glad it didn’t take
that long for me and Ethan to get along or enjoy the bed,”
Catherine chimed in. “Lovemaking is a lot of fun.”
    “ Is it?” Sophie asked with a
hopeful smile.
    “ Oh be serious,” Agatha
replied. “There’s nothing fun about it.”
    “ That’s not true,” Catherine
argued. “I’ve enjoyed my time with Ethan immensely.”
    “ And I’ve enjoyed my time
with Nate,” Claire added. “Christopher might be an imp at times,
but he cares very much for you and will be a considerate
husband.”
    Agatha’s eyebrows furrowed. “You and
Christopher have been talking about me?”
    “ He adores you,” Claire
replied. “It’s really very sweet.”
    Though Agatha failed to see anything
sweet about being coerced into marriage, she didn’t say anything.
It was obvious Claire thought very well of Christopher, even if her
husband didn’t. There was no arguing with someone who already had
her mind made up.
    “ Tell us what happened,”
Sophie encouraged. “What did you and Christopher do after you
married