“Girl?” he inquired.
Penny’s lips curved wryly, and she shook her head.
“Poor Harteford,” he said ruefully.
“PoorLady Harteford. She’s entirely outnumbered.” His wife smiled at him.
At that moment, they walked into a patch of sun, the glow illuminating her. Diamonds of ice clung to her dark lashes. The ermine lining of her hood was no match for the downy perfection of her skin, the richness of her red coat setting off her vivid coloring.
God, but her beauty affected him, its impact as visceral as a fist in the gut. It had been this way from the start, and despite everything, he knew it would be this way until his dying breath.
Devil take it.
Tamping down the crazed urge to pull her into his arms, he cleared his throat, said gruffly, “Who else is coming?”
“I invited Carlisle as you requested. Both he and his brother Mr. Murray gave affirmative replies.” A furrow formed between her brows. “Carlisle’s not usually one for parties. I’m rather surprised that he agreed to come.”
Marcus wasn’t surprised. During his stay with his friend, it had become clear that there was only one way out of Carlisle’s financial dilemma. As the viscount had cynically put it, “I’ve got a title to sell off, and I’ll look for the highest bidder. It’s a business arrangement pure and simple. As long as that’s made clear, no reason marriage should interfere with my life.”
The man had a lot to learn.
“Carlisle’s turning over a new leaf,” he said noncommittally. “Who else?”
“The Ashleys. Lady Cora most definitely and her husband possibly.”
Marcus didn’t miss the edge to his wife’s tone. For some reason, she’d never liked the Countess of Ashley, in spite of the fact thatshehad been the one to lure Marcus away from the other—not that he’d needed much luring. One look at Penny had blinded him to other women. In the past, he’d secretly found his wife’s possessiveness amusing and not a little arousing, but now it struck an unpleasant chord in him.
What didshehave to be jealous about? He’d never carried on in secret with Cora or with anyone. He’d kept his vows, been honest and fully disclosing for the whole of his marriage—unlike his wife who’d lied about her past, about her other men.
Just like that, peace fled him. His shoulders bunched, his blood pumping hotly.
“Papa! Over here!” Jamie’s voice penetrated his angry haze. His eldest son was waving at him, standing by the far edge of the park. “I think I’ve found a burrow of some sort. But I can’t be sure what kind of animal made it.”
Marcus drew a breath, glad for the interruption. “I’ll be right there, son,” he called. To Pandora, he said curtly, “I’ll go see what he’s found.”
“Of course.”
The hurt returned to her eyes, but he couldn’t do a damn about it. Better to walk away than to let loose what was roiling inside him. He strode toward Jamie, fuming that the worst thing she’d done wasn’t just betraying his trust. No, it was that she’d made him doubthimself.
He’d always been a man who’d known his own mind. Hell, he’d commanded an entire battalion, made snap decisions that had affected the lives of countless others, and never faltered. Never wavered. Since Pandora’s revelations, however, his thoughts had been like a teeter-totter, going back and forth with galling ambivalence. His mood could shift wildly from one moment to the next, so much so that he thought he might be going mad.
He barely knew himself, and he hated it.
Shaking off his dour thoughts, he approached Jamie. “Now where’s this burrow?”
“Right here, Papa.” Jamie pointed excitedly at a hole in the snow by the base of a tree. “I think it may be a rabbit or possum—”
“Get down from there right this instant, Owen!”
Penny’s urgent words made Marcus spin around. His heart rammed into his chest as he saw his youngest son balancing on the branch of an oak tree, some fifteen feet off the ground.
“But Mama I can walk just like Madame Magnifique,” the boy sang, taking a step on the icy ledge. “Look at me—”
His words ended in a shriek as he lost his balance, tumbling, his arms flailing.
Marcus was already racing over, but Penny got there first, her arms outstretched. Their son plowed into her, and she took his full weight, falling backward with a thud. Her head hit the icy ground with a heart-halting crack.
He reached them the next second. With practiced swiftness learned on the battlefield, he ascertained that Owen was stunned but unharmed. He lifted the boy off Penny and parked him at his side, barking, “Stay here and don’t move.”
