“Shall we?” He held out his hand, palm up.
I hesitated. Was thistoofamiliar? Friends walked through gardens together, did they not? I slowly placed my hand in his. He weaved it through the crook of his arm and pushed open the stable house doors.
Rays of sunshine fell happily upon us. A gentle breeze brought sweet, floral scents, and a hint of warm, spiced oranges. We stepped around the stable house and together took in the view.
The grounds were beautiful. The gardens were at the back of the house, down a western walking path that led through a little gate. Marlow pointed out a patch of purple flowers. “I would not recommend smelling those.”
Those were the ones from Hyde Park! “Awful things!” I shook my head. “Nothing so lovely should smell so terrible.”
Marlow laughed. We walked several paces in silence, and I couldn’t help but look back to the house. What would Maggie say, seeing us together like this? We were within view. A gardener worked within sight. But, still, I had an inkling Her Grace would not be pleased, especially after the talk in Town.
“You’re quiet,” Marlow said. “What are you thinking?”
“I am worrying about that gardener over there.” I said itplayfully, but Marlow’s brows furrowed. “And wondering who else might be watching us.”
Marlow tsked. “Why do you care so much about what other people might think?”
I frowned at him, and he frowned back. Only he could ask that question, because only he would struggle to understand.
“I do not care what theythink, Marlow. I care what they say. And how it looks unfavorably on me. Without Society’s good favor, I am uninvited, forgotten, whispered about. Alone. It is not a good feeling.”
He looked ahead and took a few solemn breaths. “What you seek is not worth all that worry, I assure you.”
“Says a man who could not lose favor if he tried.” I gave him a sideways glance. We walked under a trellis of pink roses, sweet-smelling and full. I looked up and touched a few velvety petals as we passed underneath.
“These people, they are—” He stopped himself, then lowered his voice. “They are like caricatures. They pretend. They exaggerate. Indeed, I may have their favor, but their company?” He looked at me with something akin to sorrow. “I can tell you how it feels to have the full attention of theton. To have their favor, their invitations, their calling cards tossed on my tray by the dozens. It islonely, Georgiana. Lonelier, perhaps, that having no one at all.”
I loosened my hold on his arm and faced him, measuring his expression only to find him sincere. Lonely? This man? I could hardly believe it. He, whose heart was pure gold. A fierce protector of all he loved. A man who fulfilled his duty to the letter, who worked above and beyond what was necessary,who cared for his family regardless of whether or not they cared about him.
We stopped at a fork in the path. One way led toward the house. The other, toward a lovely green gazebo.
“That cannot be true. You are beloved. Indeed, in Society’s eyes, you can do no wrong.”
“Precisely,” he said with fervor. “And yet they do not know me at all. They have no idea the mistakes I’ve made. How hard I’ve worked. How I would trade it all and then some just to have one more day with my father alive and well.” He swallowed hard, and I wanted so badly to pull him into an embrace as he had embraced me. “I am a fraud, Georgiana, if you want the truth. I make decisions that are far above me, and I hope for the best. But I am no one special. Just a boy born first in line to a man who happened to be a duke.”
I reached out and took his hand. “You do not give yourself enough grace.”
Our fingers laced together, and Marlow’s eyes softened. “Nor do you.”
“You have your cousins. Your family.”
He looked down and nodded. “Sometimes I wonder if they come round only out of obligation.”
“No.” I shook my head firmly. “No, they love you. I can see it in their faces. They’d do anything for you.”
“And your brother?” He squeezed my hand and tugged me toward the gazebo. “He loves you very much.”
I looked over my shoulder toward his tall, quiet house where not a soul was in sight, and leaned in closer. “I miss home,” I admitted. “I miss the countryside. Peter says I should try harder to befriend the girls there, but they look at me withdisdain, and I cannot bear it. And now, I am a burden to him. He has a new wife, a baby coming—”
“You could never be a burden.” Marlow shook his head. “And if anyone makes you feel that way, they are not worthy of your affection.” He led me up the few steps to the center of the gazebo, surrounded by flowers and buzzing bees. “And I do not mean to discount your feelings”—he gave me a sheepish look—“but perhaps if you stoppedencouragingthese rumors, and instead—”
I huffed an annoyed breath, and he laughed.
“—spoke more seriously and showed them all the type of person you truly are ...”
I pursed my lips at him. “You think I am foolhardy, is that it?”
He froze his expression. He drew in a silent breath, then parted his lips and tilted his head. “I—no ... this feels like a trick.”
