She cleared her throat. “I think it’s a lovely idea,” she said. “The garden is so beautiful I told you how much I enjoyed our stroll there. And if that beauty extended further down the grounds, that would only be for the good, if you ask me.”
“Why don’t you help me choose what kinds of flowers we ought to have?” Norman said. “You and I can spend some time together talking about that during this visit.”
She beamed. “I’d love to help with that.”
The line had blurred, he realized. He actually wouldn’t mind her help with the garden expansion. She had seemed so enamored of the flowers when she’d seen them earlier—that much was the truth. And he knew nothing about flowers. It would be good to have someone to advise him.
“Well,” Aunt Tabitha said, her voice shrewd and calculating, “you two certainly seem to be getting along swimmingly already. I believe you may be right, Lord Crownway. I think this marriage is going to be a perfect match for both of them.”
But her eyes were narrowed, and Norman knew that she, at least, was not as entirely fooled as the Earl was. She knew therewas something suspicious about the way he was acting, even if she hadn’t yet managed to put her finger on exactly what it was.
She’s teasing us.
Well, perhaps they deserved a little teasing, given what they were trying to get away with here. He didn’t mind. He just hoped that Aunt Tabitha didn’t go so far as to make it clear to Lord Crownway that something wasn’t right.I might have to speak to her before this is all over.I might have to give her some sort of explanation for what I’m doing and why, just so she’s willing to accept that it’s for the best and stop trying to destabilize things.
Maybe. Maybe he would do that.
But for now, he would make an effort to enjoy his picnic. After all, it was a fine day, and there was no reason not to have a pleasant time.
He slung his arm around Susan’s shoulders and raised his eyebrows at his aunt and cousin, daring them to say something.
Michael’s eyes were as wide as saucers, but he didn’t speak, and for the rest of the afternoon, the families managed to enjoy themselves together.
But Norman couldn’t help feeling as if this was the calm before a gathering storm.
CHAPTER 5
“Sue, you look beautiful,” Marina breathed.
Susan smiled at her reflection in the looking glass. Now that she and the Duke had made their plan, now that she knew she wasn’t going to have to go through with the marriage, it was much easier to enjoy the little moments. She could appreciate this pale blue gown that had been purchased specially for the occasion, which she had never worn before and hadn’t been passed down to her from her elder sister. She ran her hands over her skirts. “Do you really think so?” she asked.
“Oh, yes,” Marina assured her. “I can’t wait for the Duke to see you. You’re going to take his breath away! And you’re going to impress everyone else at the party, too. Everyone is going to be thrilled to meet the new Duchess of Heathmare, and you look exactly the part.”
Susan nodded, but her pulse was fluttering. It was daunting, knowing that she was going to be going down and facing all oftheton. She and Norman had barely had a chance to practice their story on their own families. How was everyone else going to react? Would they be able to sell their story successfully?
There’s no point in worrying about it. After all, what is anyone going to do, accuse us of fabricating our engagement? This is one of those times when the truth is so strange that people will be more likely to believe the lie.
At least, she’d have to hope for that. Things had been going so well thus far, and Susan was beginning to have real hope that she would escape this situation, having gotten everything she wanted. If she could keep her father convinced that she and the Duke were on their way to marriage, she would be able to get Marina married to Gilbert. And once that was done, it wouldn’t matter if Father discovered that she had been deceiving him. He would be angry, but she didn’t care. Marina was the only thing that mattered.
Marina took Susan’s hand. “You’re really falling in love with him,” she enthused. “I can tell by the way the two of you are around each other. I thought you were going to be unhappy here, and I didn’t know if I would be able to make my peace with the fact that you were marrying the Duke. It was so awful to think that you might be stuck in a situation you didn’t like because of me. But if you’re in love with him… no, don’t say anything. I know it isn’t loveyet. I know that. But it will happen. I believe in it. And when it does, you’re going to be so happy.”
Susan hadn’t been going to argue. She liked that her sister believed she was falling in love with the Duke. It meant thatMarina would move on with her life, and that she wouldn’t be caught up in feeling guilty about what Susan was doing here. And when she learned the truth, she wouldn’t feel betrayed. She would be proud of Susan for having come up with a way to escape her fate. She would be pleased.
At least, Susan hoped she would.
The manor was crowded with guests, most of whom Susan didn’t know. Because she had been so averse to the idea of marriage for so long, she hadn’t bothered to take the time to get to know the gentlemen of theton.
Now she was aware that she was a curiosity. People were staring at her. They were watching her every move.
“They’re jealous,” her father whispered in her ear. “The gentlemen see how lovely you look and wish they had gotten to know you. And as for the ladies, they know that you’re going to be Duchess of Heathmare, and they wish they had gotten the chance. You and I have been very clever, Susan, to make this arrangement quickly. You should be grateful that I was able to anticipate that His Grace would want to marry quickly!”
Susan forced herself to smile at her father. “I’m very grateful,” she said. “Thank you, Father.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “You had reservations about all this when we first arrived,” he said. “But you seem to have changed your tune very quickly.”
“Yes,” Susan said, widening her eyes in an attempt to look innocent. Her heart raced. Was Father about to figure it out? “Once I got here, I realized that you had been right all along! I should have listened to you instead of arguing. I should have realized that you knew what was best. And to think—I’m going to be a duchess. It’s the perfect outcome, and you were wonderful to have thought of it and made all the arrangements for me. I’m just sorry I wasn’t more appreciative.”
She held her breath, wondering whether she might have overdone it—but Father looked mollified. “At least you’re able to admit it,” he said. “I worried that you might hold yourself apart from the man who is to be your husband out of stubbornness—that you might ruin this for no good reason.”
