Not just any man. Beneath him.
And he couldn’t do those things with her. Delacourt had always been clear at the kind of boundaries that would need to be maintained in order to keep their friendship. So if he wanted to remain close to a man he considered brother, Sebastian would have to be more careful around Marianne.
That was all there was to it.
CHAPTER 5
Marianne had started so well when she’d decided to complete at least some of Claudia’s list. Within days she’d crossed off three items:Get Drunk. Learn Naughty Words. Be Unchaperoned with a Man.
Well, she wasn’t entirely certain she could count the last one. After all, though they had been alone together in the very parlor where she now stood, Sebastian wasn’t interested in her. He liked to tease and play, but that meant nothing to him. Whatever she had thought was happening the afternoon they’d shared discussing slang together, there couldn’t have truly been heat between them. He could have anyone he wanted. She was likely seen as almost sexless to him.
She sighed and looked out the window where rain streaked down the pane and almost obliterated her view of the soggy park across the lane. In the week since that day, she had not made any progress on the list. She could practically feel herself fading back into the wallpaper like the ghost she feared she’d someday be.
At least she would be forced to get out into the world today. Finn was taking her to an afternoon tea at Lord and Lady Nettlebaum’s. Their daughter, Arabella, had come out that year and they seemed to be making a concerted effort to ensure the young lady didn’t end up in the same position Marianne was.
Briefly she wondered if that was why she was invited: as a warning. She sighed. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had used Marianne’s unmarried status to frighten their innocent debutante. Which was all the more reason to rededicate herself to the list as much as she could.
“Lord Delacourt, my lady,” Adams intoned, and then stepped away so that Finn could enter the parlor.
She forced a smile as she crossed to him. He’d been frowning as he entered the room, but his face softened as she leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Good day, Finn,” she said.
“Mari. That is a pretty color on you.”
“Thank you.” She examined his face a little closer. His expression was always hard—even as a boy he’d been very serious and difficult to read. When one managed to coax a smile from him, it felt all the better. “Are you well?” she asked.
“Of course,” he said quickly. “Come, why don’t we call for the carriage? I think we’ll be just fashionably late to this affair if we start now.”
“Oh yes, if you’re fashionably late you’ll make even more of a splash,” she teased him gently.
He took her arm and they headed to where the carriage was already waiting. It seemed Finn had arranged it even before he joined her. She said a brief farewell to Adams and then let Finn help her into the carriage. Once she had settled into place and they’d begun to move, her brother speared her with a glance.
“Why would I want to make a splash?” he asked.
She laughed. “I’m certain you’ve been invited as a potential suitor for Lady Arabella,” she said. “And you’ll be the envy of all the men when you come in looking so handsome. Oh, but let me fix your cravat.”
He leaned forward and allowed her to straighten him, but his frown deepened. “If Lady Arabella thinks I’ve any interest in her, she will be well disappointed. She’s practically a child. I could not think of her any more than I’d think of a kitten.”
She shook her head. “You’ll have to marry at some point, Phineas.”
She expected him to tease back, but his eyes narrowed and he sat back on the seat with a scowl. “I know that full-well, Marianne. I don’t need advice on that score from you.”
She flinched a little at the harshness of his statement. Finn never commented negatively on her status in life. Years ago he’d even given up encouraging her to seek suitors. He supported her and that was all, which made the comment all the sharper.
She cleared her throat slightly and decided to change the subject since this one made him so cross. “What did you do this morning before you came to collect me?”
His gaze flitted to her from the window and she could see his guilt at his previous words. He sighed. “It was a busy morning, in truth. I saw my solicitor about the Yorkshire estate.”
“Oh, how was Mr. Richards? Is his wife recovered from her illness this past winter?”
His expression softened. “Always so kind, my dearest Marianne. Indeed, she’s well. She’s in London, in fact.”
“Is she seeing the specialist you recommended?”
He nodded. “Yes, and before you ask, I’m paying the bill, just as you thought I should. I’m sure you could call on her and it would make her very happy. And after that, I went to my boxing club.”
Marianne sat up a little straighter.Find Out What Boxing is All Aboutwas on Claudia’s list and it brought Marianne right back to her duties in regards to the list.
“Oh,” she said. “You know I’ve always been interested in that.”
