“I said no such thing. I implied no such thing.”
“Of course not,” he replied, looking out the window with Henry still sleeping on his shoulder. “I beg your pardon. I did not mean to sound abrupt. In any case, that is what people are saying about us.”
“Well, then we shall just have to prove them otherwise,” Marianne shrugged. “I will not have gossip, and Canterbury tales taint what we are trying to do.”
“Good,” Lucien replied. “We shall have to pretend for an evening to genuinely like each other,” he said. “Do you think you can manage that?”
“I might’ve told you that I’m not made for the stage, but I think I can pretend for one evening,” said Marianne. The air between them had changed. It had cooled to an uncomfortable degree.
The rest of the journey was conducted in silence, and when they returned to the house, Lucien took his son up to bed while Marianne took herself up to her chamber and rang the bell for Juliet.
“Well, how was it?” Juliet asked as she helped her friend change.
“It was most bizarre. At first, he was so charming and kind that my sisters were convinced that he genuinely loved me, but then, in the carriage, we had a conversation that took an uncomfortable turn. He thought that I had implied that he might have left me with child.”
“With child?” Juliet said, crinkling her nose.
“The scandal sheets are apparently implying that this may have been the case and that is why I went into the convent and why we so quickly married.”
“Pray, are you telling me that the scandal sheets are telling a story saying that you and Lucien were lovers, he left you with child, you had to go to the convent, but then he brought you outof it to marry you after all? So you should be with child right now?” Juliet straightened up, her expression shocked.
“I do not know. I have not read the scandal sheets, but it is what he implied. In any case, he took offense after I said I am not the sort of girl who would end up in that position. He thought that I had implied that he might be the one who might leave a girl in such a condition, when I had said no such thing.” She sighed.
“You sound awfully vexed for somebody who has merely entered into an arrangement with him and nothing more.”
Juliet helped Marianne undo her hair and then brushed out her curls.
“I do not know what to make of him. One moment I think he actually likes me, and the next he acts as though I bother him.”
“That is what I heard his first wife felt like, too,” Juliet told her.
Marianne let out a groan. “Juliet, please. I do not need more details about Lucien from below stairs.”
“Very well, I shall not share any with you, but I must say that what I have heard sounds similar to what you have told me. That he can be very changeable and that his previous wife struggled with that as well.”
Could this be true? Was this why he didn’t want to talk about her? Because their marriage had been a bad one?
“Who told you this?” Marianne asked, despite having told herself that she didn’t want to know anymore.
“Her previous lady’s maid, who is now a housemaid. She has designs on the housekeeper position that Mrs. Greaves is holding very tightly onto. At any rate, she said that the previous Lady Wexford was often at her wits’ end with her husband. It is a good thing that you do not genuinely care for him. Otherwise, you might find yourself in that same position.” Juliet tipped her head to one side. “You do not care for him, correct?”
“I already told you. It is an arrangement, and it will end soon enough. Now I am very tired. I wish to go to bed and not think about this any further.”
“Very well. I shall stop harassing you about it. I simply want to make sure that you keep in mind what I have said, that you do not allow yourself to be charmed and let it ruin all of your future plans.”
“I am glad you are here,” Marianne said with a smile. Juliet had always been outspoken, and she knew that with her friend at her side, she was not going to allow her heart to lead her in a direction she didn’t want to go in. Especially if the stories Juliet had just told about the previous Lady Wexford were true.
CHAPTER 19
LUCIEN
Lord Hazelton’s townhouse rose into the orange evening sky. Lucien looked up and took a breath. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to be with Marianne. After the dinner at her aunt’s house the day before, the last thing he wanted was to be in close quarters with her, but there was nothing he could do about it. They had to show themselves, even if for no other reason than to quiet the whispers that had risen of late.
He proffered his arm and stole a glance at his wife. She looked as pretty as she had the previous evening. She wore another evening gown, primrose colored, with a white sash in her hair that shimmered every time she moved her head.
There was such simplicity to her movements, her manner, and dress. So different from Arabella. Forcing himself to stop thinking dangerous thoughts, he leaned over towards her ear.
“Remember. We must dazzle the crowds,” he whispered.
