Page 13 of The Marquess’s Forbidden Bride

Lady Englemere sent her husband a quick, troubled glance, her expression clearing so swiftly that had Charles not been watching her, he wouldn’t have noticed. Before he could speculate what that covert glance had meant, a knock at the door was followed by the entry of the butler.

‘Lady Englemere, the other guests are arriving. Shall I escort them here, or have them wait in the Green Salon?’

Lady Englemere looked over to his aunt. ‘Have you anything more you’d wish to say in confidence?’

‘No, your ladyship. That is quite all.’

‘Then you may have the guests join us. We’ll be going into dinner shortly.’

‘Would you like me to disclose the news of the change tonight, or delay?’ Lord Englemere asked Charles.

‘Might it seem ungrateful, putting off the gentlemen who have been kind enough to consider offering me employment?’

‘The timing of conveying the news could be…flexible. We could later say that though your aunt had informed us of the change, you preferred to say nothing until you reviewed the official documentation. Which you have not, have you?’

‘No,’ Charles confirmed. ‘Then yes, if the gentlemen would not later believe me to have been deceptive, I’d prefer to remain “Lieutenant Marsden”. At least for one more night.’

‘As you wish,’ Englemere said.

At that moment, the butler ushered in several gentlemen, and the matter of his inheritance was dropped.

The meal was as nerve-wracking as Charles expected. Seated near his host, with prospective employers on either side and Miss Wellingford too far away for conversation, he had to evade giving exact answers to questions about the sort of position he sought and when he might wish to begin it. Englemere assisted when he could by answering for him or deflecting the more pressing inquiries.

To his relief, when the ladies rose to leave, Englemere announced that as Charles’s situation could not be settled until after he resigned his commission, the gentlemen would go through with them. That comment putting to an end any further inquiries, he was still profoundly grateful to follow the ladies into the parlour.

He was also anxious to finally talk with Miss Wellingford and discover her reaction to all the revelations of the evening.

Chapter Five

Emma, too, was hoping to exchange a few private words with the lieutenant.

Though she must now think of him as Marquess of Richland, mustn’t she? A momentary sense of vertigo rippled over her at the sudden and drastic nature of the change. Then she smiled, recalling Marsden describing how he’d felt upon learning of his two friends’ unexpected inheritances—shock and disbelief mingled with happiness for their good fortune, all tinged with anxiety about how it might affect their relationship going forward. Which was exactly what she felt now, she thought ruefully.

And the lieutenant—how was he adjusting, now that he’d had a few more hours to absorb the news? Excitement, wonder at learning about his past overlaid with a sense of disbelief? Inner turmoil at having his place in world upended, everything he’d known and planned for his future suddenly disrupted?

Concern, curiosity, a sense of anticipation—and a deep, constant simmer of attraction—filled her as she watched the gentlemen file into the drawing room. She sensed before she saw Lieutenant Marsden moving toward her. To her relief, she noted that Sarah, having served Miss Carlbrooke her tea, was taking a seat beside her on the sofa, evidently about to engage her in conversation. Freed from the obligation to see that their only other female guest was not neglected, she could seize a moment to chat with the lieutenant.

‘Did you escape dinner without having to answer too many questions?’ she asked as he halted beside her, his nearness sharpening her senses.

‘Yes, thanks to his lordship. He kept the guests content without them ever suspecting, I believe, that they were being put off.’

‘They probably thought Englemere didn’t wish to make any commitments to ensure that each gentleman competing for your services would make you his very best offer.’

‘Maybe I ought to take the best offer,’ he said ruefully. ‘It’s much easier to imagine myself as secretary to an earl or a viscount than as… Marquess of Richland.’

‘You’ve not taken it all in yet?’ Emma asked.

He shook his head. ‘Sometimes it feels like I’m in dream, floating lazily down the little river through the woods at Harding Glen. Then suddenly, I’m swept over rapids I never knew existed and caught in a whirlpool, tossed this way and that, not sure where I’ll end up. Looking for a stout branch to cling to.’

‘Count on clinging to us. Englemere will support you among the gentlemen and in Parliament, while Sarah and I will continue to ease you into Society.’ Realising how that sounded, she laughed. ‘Though once your new status is known, you’ll hardly need us. Every ton matron with a marriageable daughter, niece, sister or friend will be clamouring for an introduction!’

He shuddered. ‘Then I’ll need you more than ever! Like Englemere with your dowry, I shall go from pleasant nonentity to matrimonial target as soon as the news gets out.’

‘I fear you are correct.’

‘Then I can count on you to continue your…selective introductions?’

‘As long as you continue attending on me.’ She looked up appraisingly. ‘Having a handsome swain to discourage unwanted attentions was helpful. Having that swain be a marquess is even better! If it seems I’m being pursued by someone of such high degree, perhaps even Lord Aldersby will give up his pursuit.’