Page 24 of The Marquess’s Forbidden Bride

‘That I would never believe. If you were looking forward to my company, I can only be flattered,’ he replied, delighted that she’d evidently been as impatient to see him again as he was to see her.

A bit shaken by the intensity of that delight, he pushed away that disturbing realisation and focused instead on the simple anticipation of spending time with someone with whom he could be himself without pretence, as he was with Rafe or Hart.

‘Shall we?’ he said, offering his arm.

A little tingle zinged through him when she laid her fingers on his sleeve. No harm in acknowledging the attraction, he reassured himself; reining in desire would be easy enough here, in this crowded ballroom.

A fact that made the less sensible part of him yearn for the sunlit warmth of a rose-scented garden…

‘You’re not mobbed by sycophants, so I see the news is not out yet,’ Miss Wellingford observed, recalling his attention.

‘No, praise Heaven!’ he replied with a shudder. ‘Nothing official has been announced. Lady Richland has retired to the country, where she will wait until the news has been made public before returning.’

‘Absenting herself to get used to the idea?’

‘I suppose,’ he said as he obtained two glasses of punch, then led her to a shadowy alcove. ‘I saw Lady Richland after my private consultation with Lord George at Stratton House, where the solicitor broke the news. When she informed me she would be leaving town, I told her that, as I don’t intend to reside at the London townhouse, she may return to stay there for as long as she likes.’

‘She ought to appreciate that. You could have flung her out on her ear if you wanted.’

‘True, it turns out the settlements don’t guarantee her use of the townhouse once the heir inherits.’

‘So she had better employ her time in the country reconciling herself to your status and treat you hereafter with the respect you are due. Or else.’

He grinned. ‘Nothing so vulgar as a threat was mentioned.’

‘Of course not. Too indelicate!’ she said with a matching grin. ‘How did it go with Lord George?’

‘Surprisingly well, especially considering he is the person who has lost the most by my unexpected appearance. In fact, he didn’t seem overly concerned about his loss of status.’

Charles laughed. ‘It appears that he’s somewhat of a dilettante. Once I assured him the estate would continue providing him an income that allowed him to live in the manner to which he is accustomed, he became positively cheerful. He vowed he was not at all disappointed to be relieved of the burden of managing the estate. A relief I could understand when he detailed all the duties, now handled by trustees, that will be mine. Not just managing property, which I’m prepared for, but the rest! After taking my seat in the Lords, I’ll be expected to recommend who should stand for Parliament. I must get to know the nearby landowners, squires and magistrates. Consult with the Justices of the Peace about the quarter sessions, advise in disputes about wages, food supplies, roads, bridges, the local prison and parish workhouses…it makes one wish to flee back to the Peninsula!’

She chuckled, as he’d meant her to. ‘I should think that having served as an army officer, you’d be proficient at managing disputes and seeing about food, supplies, roads and bridges. Prisons, too, although probably not a workhouse.’

‘True, although the commissariat handled most of the supply issues and engineers the roads and bridges. I just had to make sure my men received their share of provisions and that the roads and bridges—when there were any—would support the horses. And yes, settle disputes.’

‘There you have it. You’re entirely prepared! It must be a relief to discover at least one member of the Stratton family—and the one most entitled to resent you—seemed to take the news in stride.’

‘That was a blessing. Especially as his sister continues to be a different story. She and Lady Richland joined us for tea after my talk with Lord George. While her brother treated me with respect, even expressing admiration for my army career, she continued to scowl like a spoiled child deprived of her sugar cake. The fact that Lord George did not appear aggrieved on his own behalf only seemed to increase her animosity. Her continual delivery of slighting remarks strained my patience to its limits, I must admit. In the end, I announced my gratitude for their “hospitality”, told them duties called me elsewhere and left.’

‘A strategic retreat?’

‘Wiser that than a frontal assault, which might have happened if I stayed to finish tea and finally lost my temper.’

She sighed. ‘There are a few I wish I might defeat by a frontal assault.’

‘The lovesick Lord Aldersby?’ he teased.

She uttered an exasperated huff. ‘He’s so self-important and thick as a post! He called yesterday while I was in the garden. Though I’d told the butler we were not receiving, when Glendenning tried to escort him out, he spied me there and hurried over. It was as comical as it was annoying, actually, with him attempting to pay me compliments in between uttering disapproving remarks about my unladylike appearance, with my hands covered in dirt, my hem soiled and smudges on my cheek.’

Charles grinned, imagining how adorable she must have looked, her cheeks flushed and her bright eyes lit with irritation. ‘I wish I could have seen it!’

‘I finally had to escape into the house, telling him he was correct and I must make myself presentable. Then I hid out in my chamber until he finally left. Thank heavens he is punctilious about observing the rules of politeness and knew he could linger for no more than half an hour! By the time he left, though, it was too late for me to return to my gardening before I had to assist Sarah, which was maddening. I only hope he doesn’t appear at the ball tonight. I’m still angry and would be hard-pressed to be civil.’

‘You don’t think your “unladylike appearance” discouraged him?’ Charles asked, highly entertained.

‘I should be so lucky! No, my appearance might be unladylike, but my dowry is still quite presentable. Having such a high opinion of himself, he believes he is most worthy of getting his hands on it. If he ever did—which he will not while I still breathe!—I expect he would try to banish his “unladylike” wife to the country to breed while he enjoyed the gentlemen’s clubs of London—with my blunt.’

‘He really does mistake his lady if thinks he could stow you away like a parcel.’