“Is that so?”
“Quite,” Marcus grumbled. He wished Guthrie would go back downstairs, return to his guests, and leave him alone.
“Then why is she looking at you instead of at him?”
Marcus nearly leapt from his seat in his haste to see if what Guthrie said was true. Sure enough, Lady Louise wasn’t watching the rest of the guests. She was gazing upward, directly toward the spot where he sat.
Reaching out, Marcus gripped the balcony railing to steady himself for fear he might do something truly deranged, like leap down and pull Lady Louise straight into his arms. Where she belonged.
No. It wasn’t possible. He shook his head. “I heard her proclaim her love for Mr. Fairbanks.”
“Perhaps you heard something else,” Guthrie said while Marcus returned his gaze to Lady Louise.
She was still looking straight at him, only now her companions had seen and started to raise their gazes as well. Marcus drew back, pressing himself against the sofa’s backrest to escape their notice - to stop them from knowing who Lady Louise had been looking at - to save her reputation.
“I should go,” he said. Coming here had been a mistake.
“In my experience,” Guthrie went on, “one should take care with basing opinions on what one overhears in passing. More often than not, the context is missing.”
“I don’t see how one can misconstrue a clearly spoken declaration of love.”
“You’d be surprised.”
God, how he wanted to believe him, to hope there might be a chance for him to live happily ever after with the woman of his dreams. It was a dangerous wish to have though, for it threatened to destroy him - to tear his heart and soul to pieces - if he pursued her with all he had and then failed.
But…
Perhaps she was worth it?
No. There was no perhaps about it. When it came to Lady Louise, she was definitely worth it.
“Can you arrange a meeting between the two of us so we may speak in private?” Marcus had no clue where this idea came from, he just knew he needed to see her alone. He glanced back toward her and frowned. Nigel was approaching her now, prompting every muscle in Marcus’s body to draw tight with futile possessiveness.
“Of course. I’ll make arrangements right awa—”
“Wait.” Marcus caught Guthrie’s arm and held him back while he watched Nigel lead Lady Louise toward the center of the room. Only, the next set had yet to begin. So what on earth was he playing at?
“Damn,” Guthrie muttered at the exact same moment when Marcus realized Nigel’s intent.
His heart plummeted with the weight of a cannonball.
All he could do now was watch in horror as Nigel drew attention by clinking his glass with a spoon. “Ladies and gentlemen. As you may or may not be aware, I have had the honor of spending the last two weeks in the company of a remarkable woman. I realize this isn’t a great deal of time. Some of you may find it hard to believe that a man who has been unattached for as long as I would become engaged with such haste. But the truth of it is, I can think of no other lady more suited to being my wife.”
Dear God.
Marcus gripped the edge of his seat while staring down at the spectacle unfolding before him. It was much like watching a carriage crash. Lady Louise glanced up at him once more, her stark expression a perfect match for someone who desperately sought a lifeline while drowning.
But what could he do without making things worse?
“Lady Louise,” Nigel said as he turned to her, forcing her gaze back to his as he clasped her hand. “Would you do me the great honor of marrying me?”
Say no. Please say no.
How could she, though, with the whole world watching?
“Blast him,” Marcus muttered even as Lady Louise’s silence filled him with hope.
“I...um…” Her voice was weak, wavering with uncertainty rather than with the delight he would have imagined she’d show if she were in love with Nigel.
