Page 12 of Lady Mariel’s Scandalous Love

“Well… if I am to call you Selina, then you must address me as Dash – I cannot speak to you so familiarly, and not grant you the same licence.”

“If we are dispensing with formality, might I ask that you call me Mariel? I have quite enough of formality in London – dispensing with it here is part of the pleasure of my visit.”

Dash turned to her, and bowed again, grateful for her words – somehow, it made what he was about to attempt seem easier.

“Thank you, Mariel.”

The greetings dispensed with, they all settled into the comfortable chairs around the fireplace, just as a maid brought in the tea tray. The time that it took for tea to be poured and passed to each person gave Dash some small respite to build up his courage. He would start with the matter of language, and work up to the reasons why he cared – that should give him time to find the right words.

Once they had indulged in a little small talk, he thought the time right to begin.

“Mariel, Alex mentioned that you have rather a skill with languages – that you even speak Russian?”

She looked at him, her deep violet eyes wide and curious. He was caught by their clear depths, by the oddly vulnerable sense of seeing into her thoughts.

“I do – I am not as practised in recent years with Russian as I once was - not since my grandmother died. I also speak French, Italian and Greek, as well as a little Spanish.”

“You are very talented, obviously – but how did you come to learn Russian – it is not a language commonly found in England, after all?”

Mariel laughed, and smiled, leaving Dash feeling somehow warmer.

“I do believe that you are the first gentleman to have ever praised my knowledge, rather than being intimidated by it. I rarely speak of it to men, for they are fragile creatures at times.”

He smiled, utterly unsure of how to truly respond.

“Errr… perhaps. But I am told that I have a rather different attitude to life from that of most men of the ton.”

She nodded, as if what he had said was sensible, even though it patently wasn’t.

“But back to your question – I learnt Russian from my paternal Grandmother. She was Russian – my grandfather went to Eton with her brother, then visited them in Russia – and fell in love with her. She missed having someone to speak to in Russian, and my father had no facility for languages at all. So she taught me, when I was a tiny child, just so that I could speak with her in that language. I miss her, I admit. And as a consequence, I have made a habit of seeking out books in Russian, so that I might not completely lose my ability with the language, through lack of practice.”

Dash flicked his eyes to Alex, and then to Selina, and back to Alex – he was not at all comfortable with this – if he had to ask Mariel to help him, he would prefer to do it in private – for being alone with her would be no more scandalous than what he was going to ask, and if she reacted with horror, he would far rather not have anyone see him making a fool of himself. He turned back to Mariel.

“I see. In my travels, I have made a habit of collecting things – rather a lot of things, actually. I have many books, in many languages, but I am afraid that I cannot read all of them – I am not as talented as you, obviously.”

She gave him that open, curious look again, and he felt like squirming on his seat – this was painful, this edging around the topic.

“You are lucky – I would delight in a collection of books like that.”

“Perhaps I could… show you some of them? And get your… opinion?”

Dash looked to Alex again, feeling a little desperate. Alex grinned, and Dash suspected that he was stifling laughter, then he rose, and reached for Selina’s hand. She allowed him to pull her up, raising a querying eyebrow as she did.

“Selina, there is something I need to show you, I’ve just remembered. I am sure that Mariel can keep our guest entertained for a short while.”

Mariel looked at Dash, then at Alex and Selina. Dash was quite certain that she thought them all complete nodcocks at that point, but she smiled politely.

“Of course – you know full well that I can talk about books for hours on end, given that I spend half my days in your library!” Alex gave her a little bow, then led Selina from the room. Mariel turned that intense violet gaze back to Dash, and her eyes narrowed. Before he could conceive of what to say next, she spoke. “I know that there is something unusual about what you collect, and I know that you needing someone who speaks Russian is part of it – so, please tell me. I don’t like playing games, and I am not easily shocked.”

Dash almost fell off the chair in his surprise at her words. He was beginning to see, perhaps, why Alex thought she might actually be suitable for helping him. Her attitude, although blunt and alarmingly candid, was also refreshing. He swallowed his nervousness. Best to simply tell her – about the books, at least. He was not sure that he had the courage to mention the other parts of his collection to her… yet. She was simply waiting, studying him, and he suspected that a cascade of his emotions had shown on his face.

“Perhaps I am more easily shocked than you, in some matters. You are remarkably well informed, Mariel.”

“Not well enough! Please, tell me what you collect, that requires such secrecy.”

He laughed at her expression, and shook his head.

“Very well. The books that I collect are all related to a topic which most would regard as far too scandalous to even be mentioned to a gently reared young lady. A topic mostly the preserve of men, and even then, discussed generally discreetly. I hesitate to name it, outright…”