A Terrible Misunderstanding (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 6)

“My father isn’t here.”

“Where is he?”

“London.”

“It’s Atticus Potter, isn’t it?” Niall demanded, making it clear he could put a stop to her lies quite quickly if she didn’t.

“Yes. Do you know him?” Clara asked warily.

Deep in the back of her mind his mention of London rang hollowly. She began to suspect she had been right to think he was one of the Star Elite.

“No. I have heard he lives here, that’s all,” Niall replied sharply.

Clara waved a hand to the house. “Would you like to come in and meet my aunt?”

“What, so you can tell your aunt where we are going to live when we are married?” Niall snapped sarcastically. “No thank you. I have just about had enough of being embroiled in your sordid little shenanigans.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Clara cried.

“Well, you should have thought about what you were doing before you set out all alone. A woman like you should know not to go out without a chaperone. Just what were you thinking? Or do you not think? Do you not stop to consider anybody else?” Niall challenged.

“Of course I do,” Clara cried.

“Really? Well, you haven’t stopped to consider me. I have helped you yet got repaid be being lied about and dragged into a fictitious engagement. Now, because I stupidly helped a foolish female walking about unchaperoned, I am supposed to sacrifice my freedom and never return to Serpentine.”

“You don’t have to sacrifice anything,” Clara snapped, deeply upset that he should find marriage to her so objectionable.

Niall huffed. “As long as I don’t ever return to Serpentine or the surrounding area just in case the locals see me and discover you have lied about my death? Great, so I have been a saviour, married, settled with children, and have now died all within the space of an hour.”

He shook his head, more than a little stunned that she could create a fictitious story with such ease. He could only be grateful that he wasn’t engaged to her or God only knew what lies she would tell him.

“Take a word of advice from me, if you can ever manage to persuade someone to take you on, try not to forge a relationship with the poor bastard based on a pack of lies.”

“I wasn’t aware that I was trying to forge a relationship with you,” Clara retorted, carefully ignoring the hurt that coursed through her.

Niall sucked in a deep breath to steady himself. In all his life he had never met anybody who had the ability to irritate him and knock him out of his usual calm, unflappable self with such ease. Clara Potter had the uncanny ability to make him want to tear at his hair within minutes of meeting her.

“I shall fix it,” Clara assured him, although had no idea how because her friends would be discussing her engagement for several weeks to come.

It was horrible. Niall was horrible.

No, he isn’t. He just objects to you lying about him.

“I am sorry,” she whispered contritely. “I don’t know why I did that. It isn’t something I usually do.”

But Niall wasn’t prepared to allow her off the hook so easily. “You cannot just conscript a man into being your sodding fiancé like he is joining the Army. It isn’t fair on any man to create such a web of fabricated nonsense. I know a village like this might be short on eligible suitors, but I thought I was doing a good deed riding to your rescue. I should have damned well left you to Erasmus.”

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Clara was, by now, struggling to contain her tears. She stared at Niall who, in just a few short minutes, had covered her with an icy scorn that seared her soul. Now, she felt incredibly foolish, and so miserable that she struggled to stop her chin from wobbling.

Niall knew he was being far too harsh on her, and regretted every word he had just said, but it was too late to take them back. From the look on her face, Clara Potter was deeply upset, but he hoped she was if only to stop her from doing something so foolish as to walk about at night alone. The thought of any man taking advantage of her was enough to send him out of his mind and make him want to start punching.

I am here to do a job. Keeping her safe is part of that job, and if that means warning her off being so bloody reckless with her own safety then that is what I am here to do. Whether she is upset or not does not concern me.

“Let’s get you home. Overnight, I suggest you give some serious thought to what you are going to tell your friends. I do expect you to tell the truth because I am not going to stay away from Serpentine just to support your lies,” he growled. “I have every intention of coming back to this area whenever I see fit. Do you understand?”

Thankfully, they didn’t need to walk any further than through the gate and up the narrow garden path that led to Clara’s front door, but that distance was covered in a stony silence that was fraught with tension. At the door, Clara turned to look at him with sad eyes.