Page 20 of The Marquess’s Forbidden Bride

‘Let me begin your rose tour, then.’

Seemingly recovered, she walked him past bushes still adorned only with green leaves, others with buds showing colour, sometimes halting beside one already broken into bloom, describing the variety and pulling the blooming cane up so he might sniff at the different scents.

‘My aunt’s garden contains many of these.’

‘Like your future garden will?’

Her bright look dimmed a bit. ‘If I am fortunate enough to have one.’

‘Surely you can persuade that as-yet-unidentified husband to approve at least a small garden.’

‘Oh, the indignity of being female!’ she burst out. ‘Why must I have to endure having a husband approve my having a garden or having any say in its size or composition? When it may well be my dowry that funds our household? Oh, how I wish I might keep those funds and remain independent, purchasing and managing a property of my own!’

‘Though I’ve never much considered the matter, I can see how it must chafe to have so little control over your fortune,’ Charles admitted. ‘But if you never wed, would you not miss having children? One or two, not a cricket team, of course. I thought all ladies wanted babes of their own. Certainly my adoptive mother did, to the point of taking in a child of unknown heritage so that she might have one to love and nurture.’

She shrugged. ‘With my mother a virtual invalid after her last child’s birth, I’ve already helped Sarah “love and nurture” my three youngest siblings. Leaving me with perhaps less desire for children of my own than most females. Fortunately, I’m not at my last prayers, so I have some years yet to decide if having a child is worth the sacrifice of my independence and the risks of childbirth. That handsome dowry that attracts so many unwelcome suitors this Season will ensure I’ll continue to be considered eligible for some years.’

‘Marriage offers other…inducements not permitted single females, however independent,’ he pointed out, recalling her ardent response to his kiss.

She sighed. ‘Passion, you mean. Alas, a female can’t indulge in pleasure without worrying about the consequences, as a man can.’

He shook his head, once again surprised, though her frankness amused as much as it startled him. ‘Would you indulge in pleasure, if there were no consequences?’

Stopping short, she looked up at him. She might be herself innocent, but with married sisters and having grown up in the country, the knowledge in that level gaze said she was not ignorant of the intimacies possible between male and female. ‘Perhaps. Though despite my enthusiasm about sealing bargains, I must never forget that for a female, there are consequences for succumbing to passion—and without her wedding lines, she alone will suffer them.’

As his mother had? he thought, his smile fading.

Seeing his sober expression, she clapped a hand to her lips. ‘Oh, dear! I haven’t embarrassed you, have I? I’m afraid I can be dreadfully frank at times. I usually control the urge when in company, but I suppose I feel so…easy with you, I relaxed my guard and spoke freely. I do apologise if it made you uncomfortable.’

Distressed he might be, but not by her frankness. Thinking of his mother’s fate just reinforced the importance of keeping his desire well-restrained, that he might never threaten her reputation. ‘I’m glad you feel easy enough to speak your mind. I certainly have to you! I hope you will always do so. Even if I find your thoughts and opinions…unexpected.’

‘Shocking, you mean,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Rest easy, I shall be on my best behaviour for the rest of the walk. Come, let me show you the apple-scented sweet-briar, and then we will resume our stroll to the Great Pagoda. There are some interesting ruins to view on the way.’

Unexpected opinions indeed! A female reluctant to marry, an innocent who was tempted to experience passion but wisely wary of succumbing to it… He followed her, once again trying to settle down the chaotic mix of desires and emotions she’d stirred.

He’d certainly be willing to tutor so eager a student in the delights of passion! Though to claim that privilege would require marriage, a leap neither of them were ready to take now.

He must marry someday, once he sorted out who he was and felt comfortable fulfilling the duties of his new station. With the former heir to Richland waiting in the wings, he had no need for a brace of sons. He already felt some wordless bond to this woman to whom he’d confessed his deepest anxieties. A woman who knew and appreciated him for who he was now, a simple lieutenant, not the rich, socially prominent marquess he must become, a man who would be flattered and courted for those attributes alone. Adding those qualities to the strong sensual response she evoked in him…

He simply couldn’t make any commitments…yet. But dare he hope that the unusual, level-headed, outspoken Miss Emma Wellingford might still be free by the time he’d conquered all his demons and was truly ready to wed?

Chapter Seven

As she walked with Lieutenant Marsden along the rose beds, Emma silently scolded herself. As she’d told Marsden, she felt so easy with him, she’d forgotten to impose the restraint on her tongue she normally maintained in Society. She had made him uncomfortable, however much he protested to the contrary.

She must be more circumspect. She truly liked him and wanted to continue their friendship. She mustn’t show herself as so outlandish and unfeminine—though she knew she was—that he would want to terminate the association.

Perhaps it was the vulnerability he had trusted her enough to reveal that had led her to be so unguarded in turn. That sharing of confidences had created a bond of empathy he surely felt as strongly as she did.

No other man, save her neighbour, had ever looked indulgently on her passion for gardening—and in truth, Hugh regarded her more as a grubby scamp than a woman. The lieutenant had been actually approving, she marvelled, seeming to respect her love and admire her knowledge. He’d encouraged her not to lose hope of finding a husband who would be equally indulgent and approving. He’d even almost taken in stride her shocking admission about wishing she might experience passion.

For someone who had to mask her true thoughts while mingling in Society, the opportunity to spend time with a man with whom she could speak freely was too intoxicating to risk losing. She valued the ability to simply be herself with him even more than the protection he promised to lend her in Society.

Then there was that ever-present, intriguing, tempting sizzle of attraction. For a moment, she relived that kiss, the memory making her heart beat faster and fomenting a melting sensation deep within her. She’d been curious, yes, anticipated enjoying his touch, but oh, my! Never had she expected the exquisite rush of feeling that had made her forget time and place!

Though still a little shocked at her response, now that she’d tasted passion, she better appreciated the irresistible force that had led her aunt to disregard prudence and yield herself to the man she loved.

But Aunt Felicia’s story was a cautionary tale. There was no safe way to remain unwed and enjoy a passionate liaison, even if she were somehow to become independent, in possession of a property of her own. Nor, the lieutenant being a gentleman of honour, was it likely he would agree to conduct an illicit affair with an unmarried maiden.