Maybe I should marry Olivia?
The difficulty was that Olivia had been haunting his thoughts for the last week. He felt his pulse beat faster, and a strange connection between them whenever they met. It was almost as though there were a fine web of gossamer thread spun around them.
It felt right though, and every time he left, he knew he wanted to return and see more of Olivia. He wanted to lose himself in her mesmerizing blue eyes and gaze at her face for hours. He trembled, though no one noticed, as he felt the thrill throughout his body when she was close to him.
He realized he was in the middle of trying to sort out his own feelings, his emotional and physical reactions, to this wonderfulyoung lady. It is very possible he would even have considered marrying her. He just was not ready for that today.
He was angry too, angry that Lady Cressida could manipulate lives to such an extent that he and Olivia could be forced into marriage.
If this crisis had not happened, then I would have called on Olivia after the ball. In effect we’ve been prevented from getting to know each other by this scandalmongering.
“Your Lordship?” came the Earl of Riversmead’s voice.
“I’m sorry,” he responded., “I was lost in my own thoughts. This is heavy information and a life changing proposition. I’ll be honest with you, you’ve taken me by surprise. I can’t say yes or no this evening.”
“But…”
“No, wait, your Lordship, I’m not saying ‘no’ to your plan. I admit I feel trapped and coerced into this by the scandalmonger. Whatever happens I’m determined that she will get her comeuppance.
“I have to consider this plan and I need time for that. I hardly know your niece. I like her, but I had not yet thought to offer for her hand in marriage.”
Even as he spoke the words, he knew that he was not being honest with himself. He’d known Olivia, his Cendrillon, since that strange meeting in the forest glade. He did not need to share that with her irascible uncle though.
I should be allowed to have some control over my own life. He smiled at the earl and offered to refill his glass with fine Madeira wine.
“Stay for supper,” suggested Marcus to the Earl of Riversmead. “We have much to discuss, and I want to know everything that Rawlings’ men have uncovered.” He stood and went to the door, calling to Mr. Farthing to set an extra place at the table in the dining room.
As they ate together Marcus found he rather took to the very individual Earl of Riversmead. He knew, from what Jocelyn had shared with Colin, that her great uncle was prone to bouts of temper and watched every penny in the household expenses. The word miser had come up more than once and Marcus could believe it.
Yet at the ball he had stepped out with his great niece in fine style, even though it was clearly outside of his comfort zone. He had to admire the man.
They talked about the renovations at Silverton while eating white soup and moved on to roast pheasant with creamed celery.
“I do apologize, I told the cook to prepare a lighter meal this evening, so there is limited choice.”
“It’s a pleasure to have good, fine country food,” replied the earl, clearly enjoying his dinner.
Marcus signaled his footman to bring in beef pot pies. He noticed the earl’s eyes light up, and knew he’d made the right decision asking him to stay and take supper.
“Tell Rawlings that I’ll provide money and men to further his investigations. Let’s give him whatever he needs.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’m meeting him tomorrow at 11 o’clock. Would you like to join me?”
“Absolutely. I’ll be there.”
As the dishes were cleared, and sweet wine poured to accompany a light lemon syllabub, the earl took conversation back to his plan for a marriage.
As soon as he mentioned the need for a match, Marcus felt his stomach tighten. He knew that his reluctance was due to feeling forced into a marriage by an unscrupulous young woman.There was also a feeling of excitement at the possibility of seeing Oliviaagain. He hadn’t seen Olivia for a week, and he knew he needed to see her face again soon.
He needed time to think and let the gossip recede. At this moment it was a simmering cauldron of vicious rumors.
“I need to think about this, Your Lordship. It’s all very sudden. However, I’m not ruling this out, but I do need time to think. I have a proposal.”
“I’m listening,” said the earl, sipping his wine and sitting back to hear Marcus’ proposal.
“I’ll ask my parents to invite Lady Olivia and Lady Jocelyn to stay at Belvedere Abbey. I suggest we arrange this very soon. I don’t feel I’ve had a chance to get to know Lady Olivia, and let’s be honest, marriage is a big step, and I’m sure Lady Olivia would value time to get to know me, and my family, too.
The earl looked at him and nodded. “Very well. Invite my niece and great niece to stay at Belvedere. I’ll assume that, unless there are specific reasons for you not to, which come up during this visit, you will make an offer for Olivia. It’s clear that these rumors are false, but that unfortunately many people still believe them.”
