CHAPTER6
A COURTSHIP
At the top of the stairs
“I do hope you’re not regretting anything,” David murmured as they approached Marian’s room.
She glanced over at him. “I am not. But I cannot help but think you will have second thoughts given my uncle’s ridiculous conditions,” she replied as she unlocked the door. David reached over and opened it for her.
“Other than the requirement to live in the city until you reach your majority, his conditions are to be expected,” he said, his gaze taking in the room’s decor. When he was in her bedchamber before, he hadn’t even noticed it. All he remembered was Marian.
Kissing Marian.
“A special license is to be expected?” she queried before she noticed his attention wasn’t on her. She sighed. “It’s quite ridiculous, isn’t it? All these shades of pink?” She waved a hand to indicate the cheval mirror standing in one corner. “The gold gilt?” she added with a scoff.
David merely shrugged before he turned his attention to his betrothed. “I believe the special license is meant to give your mother bragging rights.” He paused, furrowing a brow. “Is... is your mother alive?”
Marian shook her head. “She died of influenza a few years ago. Not long after my father succumbed to it,” she explained. “Which is why Uncle Richard is my guardian.”
“I am sorry for your loss,” David replied. “My father died of the flu ten years ago. A bit of a shock, really. I certainly wasn’t expecting to inherit the barony before I was twenty-three years of age.”
From the way her brows briefly crinkled, he knew she was sorting his age. “My condolences,” she said in a quiet voice. “You were explaining the importance of a special license?” she prompted after a moment.
“Ah, yes. Well, it givesyoubragging rights, I suppose,” he replied. “And us the ability for us to choose when and where we wish to exchange vows without having to wait for the banns to be read,” he added as he helped her into her coat. As a result, his fingers touched her shoulders, and for that briefest of moments, warmth and a fizzy sensation coursed through him. At first, he didn’t think she noticed, but then he heard her slight inhalation of breath and wondered if she had felt the same. When her eyes darted to his and a knowing smile lifted the corners of her lips, he was sure.
“Will it shock people, do you suppose?” she asked as she reached for a bonnet resting on top of a dresser.
His mind still on the pleasant frissons he had experienced, David was caught off-guard by the query. “What do you mean?”
Marian inhaled softly. “Isn’t it scandalous for two people to wed so quickly? Especially since... well, since we’ve only just met?” She rolled her eyes. “We haven’t even been formally introduced.”
David dipped his head. “Miss Marian Copper, may I have the honor of introducing myself?”
She grinned. “You have it, sir.”
“I am David Morgan Engleston, the sixth Baron Engleston,” he said as he bowed.
“I am very pleased to meet you, Lord Engleston,” she said as she curtsied. David took her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. When he straightened, he said, “You can call me David when we’re in private like this,” he whispered. “If you tire of calling me ‘my dearest’.”
“You can call me Marian if you tire of calling me ‘my sweet’,” she countered.
“I’ll never tire of it,” he whispered. He hesitated a moment, his gaze lowering to her lips. “May I kiss you?”
About to place the bonnet on her head, Marian lowered it and nodded. “I would like that very much. Whenever you are of a mind to do so.”
Hesitating, David finally leaned down and touched his lips to hers. When he pulled away, he inhaled deeply. “I love the scent of you,” he whispered.
Marian swallowed before she dipped her head. “Thank you. I thought it a bit of an extravagance, but my mother insisted,” she said. “She had it created for me at Floris,” she added, when David gave her a questioning glance. “When she thought I was going to have my come-out that year.”
From the way she made the comment, David realized she referred to the year her mother had died. The requirements of mourning had obviously kept Marian from having a come-out.
“Ah, then they’ll have the formula for when I buy more for you,” he said as he offered his arm. “Shall we?”
Placing her hand on his arm, Marian allowed him to lead her down the stairs. David donned his greatcoat and hat and retrieved his umbrella on the way out of the building. As Marian was climbing into his coach, he said to Carver, “The archbishop’s office in Doctors’ Commons, and do try to hurry.”
His driver blinked. “Yes, my lord.”
“Might I sit next to you?” David asked as he stepped into the coach. He practically scoffed at hearing himself. His shyness wasn’t in evidence when he was in the presence of Marian.
