Her mother hadn’t mentioned the outing before now. Maybe she forgot.
“Actually, I was hoping Lady Beaumont would accompany me to Tattersall’s tomorrow.” He turned his attention to her. “Would that be of interest to you?”
“Tattersall’s?” Excitement filled her. While her family had bought horses from them, none of them had ever visited. She’d never expected to see the premiere horse auction house in person. “I would very much enjoy such a venture.”
Her mother frowned. “I suppose we can speak to your father about attending.”
Amelia patted her hand before responding. “Mariel needs no chaperone. Her reputation is beyond reproach, and she is a widow after all.”
She couldn’t allow her sister to assume so much. “That may be true, but Tattersall’s would require a chaperone.”
“Truly?” Amelia looked past her to direct the question to their mother.
“Yes, truly.”
She shrugged one delicate shoulder. “Then Andrew and I will attend with you. Father would find it a bore. That is, if that is acceptable to you, Lord Blackmore?”
He gave her sister a kind grin. “I’d be happy to have any of Lady Beaumont’s family attend.”
“Then it’s settled. I will bring my sketch pad. So many beautiful animals in one place is an opportunity not to be passed by.”
Surprised but pleased by her younger sister’s offer, she gave her a genuine smile. “While you sketch, I can view those for sale.”
Her mother interjected. “Mariel, certainly you don’t wish to purchase yet another horse, do you?”
Marcus responded first. “I believe she’ll need to purchase more than one if she wishes to breed a certain temperament.”
“Breed?” Her mother’s head snapped toward her. “What’s this about breeding horses?”
Drat it. She should have never mentioned Joanna’s idea. “It was something I discussed with Joanna before Lord Blackmore called on me to renew our betrothal.”
Her mother looked to Marcus. “And you are accepting of this?”
Marcus grinned, looking like he did before he’d headed to war. “Accepting? I would encourage it. Lady Beaumont has exquisite taste in horses and is the best horsewoman I know. I believe she could breed the calmest horse or the fastest.”
Heat filled her cheeks at his praise. As her mother opened her mouth to ask more questions, she turned her attention to Marcus. “Do you look for a new mount then, my lord?”
“I do. Though I do not need a fast horse. I’d prefer one that has been through the war.”
That was an interesting requirement for a horse. “Do you not own one such a horse?”
“I do, but I would like another. Once having been through the chaos of war, a mount worth its mettle will hardly notice the busy streets of London.”
She found it puzzling that he would compare war to the London roads, but he was far more knowledgeable on that score. Her mother turned the conversation to an upcoming ball.
As Marcus conversed politely with her mother and sister, she couldn’t help wishing that the farce they perpetuated could be real. He appeared more relaxed and more of his old expressions came out, making it seem as if he’d never gone, but not quite. Often times she noticed a stiffening in his jaw around certain subjects and when he wished to change the subject, his shoulders straightened as if expecting resistance.
But the most significant change in him was how he covertly scanned the room as if expecting someone to leap out at them from the shadows. Surely that couldn’t be it, but it seemed like that was what he was about. If only she could know what he’d experienced while away from her.
As he answered a question her mother put to him, the parlor doors opened and Lady Dowling walked in. The woman was of an age with her mother, but appeared far older and lived upon gossip. Her daughter was currently one of Joanna’s students and the opposite of her parent, preferring books to people.
“Lady Dowling.” Her mother rose to take the woman’s hands.
Marcus stood and offered his chair.
The woman turned toward him after greeting her mother. “Why Lord Blackmore, what a pleasant surprise to find you here at Lady Wakefield’s. I had not heard that you had arrived in Town. Are you here for the season?”
“I am. It is a pleasure to see you again. It has been many years, I believe.”
