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Clarissa found Dominic standing alone, watching the swirl of dancing couples with a frown marring his handsome brow.
“My lord!” Clarissa panted dramatically. “Lilly has taken ill, she is asking for you.”
“Where is she?” Dominic scanned the ballroom.
“I escorted her to the library. Here, I will show you.” She took his arm.
Dominic followed willingly. After their arrival he had left them to meet with some contacts, and when he returned Lilly had been with her friends talking in an alcove, and then he had watched her on the dance floor before losing track of her. Lydia and Olivia were making their way to Lady Brentton’s side followed by a flock of beaus, but Lilly was nowhere to be found.
“When did she become ill?” he asked as Clarissa emphatically towed him out of the ballroom, through the main hall, and up the main stairs.
“I’m not sure when she became ill. She said she felt lightheaded and weak. Maybe her dinner was off?” Clarissa smiled sweetly before opening a door and tugging him through.
The moment Dominic stepped through he knew he was in trouble. The library was completely empty except for a hound snoring before a cheerful fire. He turned to face Clarissa and scowled as the lock clicked.
“What is going on?”
“Nothing,” she said as she dropped the door key down her bodice. “If you want it, you will have to find it.” She smiled.
“Open the door, Clarissa,” Dominic demanded.
“No.” She pouted prettily and sauntered over to a chaise to lounge seductively. “Your mind has been clouded by that tart and I’m going to change it.”
“What are you talking about, Clarissa? Where is Lilly?” He stalked toward her, his fists clenched.
“I am sure she is having a better time than I am,” Clarissa mumbled. She stood and stepped before him. “Mama and I only want to preserve the good name of Redwick. If you throw it away on that hussy—”
“Watch your tongue,” Dominic growled.
“No!” Clarissa stomped her foot. “Why is everyone always telling me what to do!” She threw her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him, but Dominic held her at bay. He unwound her arms as she struggled and huffed in indignation.
“Mama said if I just let you kiss me you wouldn’t be able to control yourself.”
“What are you talking about, Clarissa?” he said. Turning away, he strode to the door and tested the lock. It was solid, and breaking it down would cause too much noise. “We’re bloody first cousins!”
Clarissa paled. “No we’re not, Mama told me so.”
Dominic stilled. He walked back to Clarissa and pulled her nose to nose. “What do you mean
“Well...” She faltered. She was truly scared now. “I don’t think...”
“You don’t think.” Dominic sneered. “Why am I not surprised?” He let go of her and turned away. “Tell me everything, and don’t you dare lie.”
Clarissa returned to the chaise and wrung her hands. “Mama isn’t your mother’s sister, she is her first cousin.”
“What?” Dominic bellowed.
Clarissa cowered under his rage and began to cry. “It was all her idea. Your father wouldn’t marry her, he only wanted an aff-affair, and when you returned she thought I could marry you and then we could have everything.”
“You and your mother are insane. What did you think to gain by trapping me like this? Do you think me an imbecile, a lapdog to lead by the nose?”
“No.” Clarissa cried into her hands.
They both froze when they heard voices outside the door.
“I just love Shakespeare,” Lady Goodswell trilled to her cohorts. “You simply must see the painting of Romeo and Juliet Lady Carrington has acquired.”
Dominic bolted for the window. He was one story up, but at the moment he didn’t care. He would rather be crippled for life than be caught alone with Clarissa Seaver. He slid the window up, swung a leg over, and leaped. He hit the ground with a painful crunch and rolled.