Claire jumped at the sound of Nicholas’ voice, having assumed he was asleep. She was about to apologize for waking him when he started bombarding her with questions and accusations. A sharp anger flickered within, and she was thankful for the distance and darkness between them to hide her shock. She walked over in her underclothing to see he had made room for her in the bed, but made no move to fill it.

[i]“I do not want you wandering outside after dark without a chaperone. Take one of your maids and our carriage if you must, but I need to know where you are going. It doesn’t feel very nice to be left here in this bed, helplessly worrying if my wife will make it back home. Tell me where you’ve been and who you are with.”[/i]

A demand. What was more, a demand for something she had made a point to give him before she left! Claire bit the inside of her cheek, taking longer than necessary to respond. If she didn’t, she just knew a very unlady like tone would come from her, and all her work at being pleasant to a man she disliked this morning would be a waste. Besides, did she really want to argue at this time of night? From an outsider’s point of view, that being of one that didn’t know she had ended a life tonight, she had done nothing wrong. She was in the right on this, not him.

“I [i]did[/i] tell you where I was going before I left in [i]our[/i] carriage this afternoon, [i]and[/i] whom I was going out with. You seemed awake at the time, but I suppose you’ve forgotten,” she said, unable to look at Nicholas. Claire didn’t think she could meet his gaze and keep a straight, much less apologetic look. “I invited Lucy Hawthorne over for tea. Remember? But before I could even take a sip she starts crying that her husband has been taken to prison. Traitor to the country, or some nonsense if what she said is true. At any rate, I couldn’t just do nothing and I knew if I used father’s name I could get her a visit with him. So that’s what I did.”

Claire started busying her hands by taking the pins out of her hair, letting those golden locks, now in waves, fall past her shoulders. “I just wanted to do what was right, it wasn’t exactly a trip I would label as fun, Nicholas. And you can call me what you like for using my family name in such a manner, but I informed you of my whereabouts beforehand and was with Lucy the entire time. We went straight to Newgate prison, left, I let her off at her house, and I came straight back. If my being gone [i]bothers[/i] you then you can rest easy tomorrow because I’m staying in all day.” Her hand gripped the bottom bedpost where she stood, her eyes trailing over the bed. Her voice sounded so cold, so empty, so…done with him by the time she finished her explication. So much for the comfort of his body against hers.

Why did it bother her so much that he was cross with her? It wasn’t just the annoyance of someone demanding something from her, it was more than that. There was disappointment. Why did she keep letting him in just enough to hurt her? Claire sighed, shaking her head before going to the closet and shutting the door whether he spoke to her or not. His bride would not come out until she had put on her nightgown, and even then went to the couch by the balcony doors to sleep. It was humiliating to be the one sleeping on the blue cushions while he got the large, plush bed with its layers of blankets, but it was better than the alternative. And sleeping outside the bedroom would cause talk, just as they’d decided in the first place.

“Do you need anything else, Nicholas? It has been a very, very long day and tomorrow I will be busy planning our first ballroom party as a couple. You did marry me for my name, I thought it appropriate as soon as you’re well to meet some potential clients.” That should shut him up. She had business to do at the little get-together, but honestly did hope he found business during it. Work seemed to be his first love, it was only appropriate she help it grow.