Page 8 of The Marquess’s Forbidden Bride

‘Very well. A few basic rules. Even if a lady and a gentleman understand their exchanges are just amusing flirtations, if he wishes to avoid raising speculation, the man must not spend too much time in the company of any one lady. Not even me. So once we’ve had a glass of wine and a dance, you must leave me and dance with others. I’ll introduce you to some of my acquaintance and Lady Englemere will present you to other ladies of note, so you won’t be neglected.’

‘And then I can return to dance with you again?’

‘For one more dance,’ she confirmed, trying to damp down a glow of pleasure at knowing he wanted her company. ‘Two is the most a gentleman is permitted with any one single lady without causing speculation.’

‘Only two?’ The lieutenant sighed. ‘I shall have difficulty remembering that restriction. Gentlemen generally so outnumbered the ladies, even in Lisbon, to say nothing of the smaller villages near which we were billeted, that one stole as many dances as one could with the few females present.’

‘That will not be a problem here. If anything, ladies generally outnumber the gentlemen. As your acquaintance grows, you will have your pick. Though you don’t want to dance with too many. It’s considered good form on the following day to call upon all the ladies who favoured you with a dance.’

‘I should limit the number of partners, but not dance with anyone more than twice,’ he summarised. ‘Very well, but you must promise to always save two dances for me. And a stroll for a glass of wine. You are my lifeline here, you know.’

He looked so earnest, she was once again flustered, not sure how much was teasing, how much truth. ‘Colonel Wexford will be looking out for you, too, as well as Lord and Lady Englemere. And I imagine the gentlemen will want to spirit you away to introduce you to some prospective employers and try to win some blunt off you in the card room.’

They entered the refreshment room, he leaving her briefly before returning with two glasses of wine. ‘If I’m to find congenial employment, extending my acquaintance among the gentlemen will be important,’ he conceded. ‘Though unless I encounter some other former army officers, I expect to find the company of the ladies more enjoyable. Having been away from England so long, I won’t have much in common with civilian gentlemen.’

‘Englemere can bring you up to snuff on what is going on in Parliament, and Sarah will have advice on the latest doings in Society. And you mentioned you had two good friends, peers now, who will arrive in London shortly.’

He brightened at that. ‘Yes, I’m anxious to see them both again. Hart—the Duke of Fenniston—left the army to take up his post in the spring of 1813, and Rafe—the Earl of Thornthwaite—in 1814, so I’ve not seen either of them for quite some time. It will be good to renew our acquaintance.’

‘To spend time with someone with whom you can share stories of your days in the army,’ she guessed.

‘That, and to discover how they’ve adjusted to being civilians and peers.’ He laughed. ‘I can sympathise with your desire to wed a simple country gentleman. In our soldiering days, we agreed how fortunate we all were not to be burdened with the responsibilities of vast lands and high titles. How freeing it was to know that we’d be able, once the war ended, to travel and explore as we wished, with nothing to tie us down, just carefree gentlemen able to carve our own lives. At least I still have that.’

‘Speaking of avoiding wedding men of rank and fortune,’ Emma said, dropping her voice to a murmur as she recognised the gentleman who’d just entered the refreshment room. ‘Would you indulge me by letting me slip behind you? There’s a particular individual I wish to avoid.’

‘Of course,’ he said, obligingly moving forward while she scurried behind him. ‘Who excites your alarm? Should I have brought my sabre?’

‘Nothing that will require coming to blows. I’m sure I shall have to suffer his company at some point in the evening, but I would delay the experience as long as possible.’

When he glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow, Emma said with a sigh, ‘Englemere has been wonderful to all the Wellingford clan—in some cases, a bit too wonderful. Prospective suitors know that my brother-in-law, a marquess well-regarded by his peers in Parliament, enjoys family or personal associations with most of the important people in Society. He has also, I’m afraid, pledged to provide me a handsome dowry.’

‘Ah.’ The lieutenant nodded his understanding. ‘Thereby making you a very eligible maiden.’

‘Exactly,’ Emma said, once again impressed by his perceptiveness.

‘And the gentleman who just entered has been captivated by your charms?’

‘Captivated by my connections and dowry,’ she said dryly. ‘Sprung from a newer branch of an ancient family, with an estate reputedly in need of a significant infusion of cash, Lord Aldersby has decided I would make him the perfect wife. He could capitalise on Englemere’s associations and make himself comfortable with my money.’

‘It sounds like you find more than his vast lands and high birth objectionable. He seems a well-enough looking lad.’

‘Oh, he’s handsome enough—and quite vain about his looks—but thick as a post. No amount of polite discouragement dissuades him from believing that, as I am not a Diamond and not personally of high degree, I should be flattered to be sought out by a courtesy viscount who will one day be an earl. He’s not the only one looking to snare a fat dowry, but he is the most persistent.’

‘My turn to repay your kindness!’ Marsden said, giving her a conspiratorial glance. ‘At any entertainments we both attend, signal me to come rescue you from Aldersby—or any other prospective suitors you don’t favour.’

‘That would be most of them,’ she said shortly, making him laugh.

‘So there truly is no modest gentleman here who’s yet caught your fancy?’

‘No. I sincerely hope that in a month or so, after assuring Sarah she has done her best, she’ll let me return to Wellingford even before Society leaves London for the summer. Whereupon I can convince my sister Cecily I’m perfectly happy to putter about in our gardens and explore the plantings at Kew while she has her Season. I’ll still be young enough after she’s wed to make a match before Faith must be presented.’

‘That’s truly what you want to do? Putter about the Wellingford gardens and explore the plantings at Kew?’ he asked, his intent gaze seeming to say that what she wanted truly mattered to him.

‘It’s not…conventional, I know, but it is what delights me. There’s such fascination in the endless variation of flower forms and colours, in the variety of greens in foliage! So many pleasing combinations to be made of shape and hue, so much pleasant calculation involved in arranging plantings so that every season offers an agreeable display of blossom and leaf. Even in winter, grouping plants so that the colours of bark in the bare-limbed trees provide a neutral backdrop to the brilliant red of berries or the varied hues of evergreens. And—’ Stopping herself, she gave a little laugh. ‘My apologies. You see how carried away I get.’

‘You truly do have a passion for gardens.’

Having half expected an amused response, at his respectful, almost admiring tone, Emma caught her breath. ‘You…don’t find me odd, then?’