Jane laughed. ‘Enough, my dear, you will never eat all that.’
Three days passed and Marianne was now able to stay up without fatigue. Her intention was to join the family for dinner that night. She was delighted both John and Jane, their status raised by recent events, had been invited to join them.
She stared intently at her appearance in the full-length mirror. ‘I still look hagged, Jane. My face is too thin and my bosom is half the size it used to be.’ She held out the bodice of her evening dress to make her point. ‘This is far too loose for me.’
‘Well, so it might be but you still look lovely. There is no point having it altered, you will soon fill it out again now you’re better.’ Jane was dressed in her first evening gown of heavy, dark-blue silk brocade and a jaunty matching egret feather in her hair. ‘I’m not sure I should be joining you for dinner— we will be out of place.’
‘Nonsense, Jane. Anyway, if you don’t go then neither shall I. How are you liking your new accommodation?’
‘Not much, my dear. We preferred the cosy cottage we occupied on our previous visit.’
John was waiting outside for them. He was dressed in a black evening coat with square front and tails, his grey waistcoat and snowy shirt straining over his chest. ‘You look smart, my love,’ he said proudly to his wife.
There was the patter of girlish feet and Emily appeared around the corner. ‘Oh, Marianne, you look beautiful. I’m so very happy you’re well enough to come down at last. Mama has opened the grand dining-room for the occasion and we are to have two courses and dozens of removes.’
The two girls drifted down the stairs as though nothing had changed between them. Over a happy, lively dinner the coming ball at Bromley Hall was much discussed.
‘Will you be well enough, my dear Marianne, it is only three days away?’
‘I’m sure I shall, Mama. I wouldn’t miss Charles and Arabella’s betrothal for the world.’ Her smile faded as she considered her own invidious position. She had never been betrothed nor had a ball of any sort. She was a wife without a husband. The longer Theo stayed away the more she worried.
The table was suddenly too much for her. She wanted to be alone in her room. She put down her cutlery and stood up. Instantly the men jumped to their feet.
‘I am so sorry but I feel a little unwell. I must return to my rooms.’ Without waiting for an answer she hurried out leaving a worried silence behind.
The day of the ball arrived and there had still been no word from Theo. He wasn’t going to come for her. He would leave her here where she was cosseted and loved until the dust had settled, the scandal was forgotten and then he would ask for an annulment. She didn’t blame him. Why should he wish to remain tied to a girl with her reputation? He was an aristocrat, a member of the ton with his own massive estates somewhere in Berkshire. Even her fortune was not enough to remove the taint.
Sadly she fingered her ball gown, a sumptuous arrangement of white silk and silver gauze with sparkles sprinkled across the skirt like fairy dust. She wished she didn’t have to go, but she had promised and everyone would be so disappointed if she stayed away.
‘You look like a princess in that gown, Marianne. And now your hair has grown your curls frame your face to perfection.’
‘Thank you, Emily. I wish I felt like a princess, I feel more like Cinderella tonight.’
Emily in white also, her dark hair piled high and diamante sparkling around the neckline, glided along beside her, her normal ebullience subdued by the elegance of her first ball gown.
The two carriages from Frating Hall travelled smoothly down the drive.
‘Good heavens! The potholes have gone.’
‘Yes, my dear Marianne, all thanks to your generosity,’ Lady Grierson said. ‘We will never forget how you continued to support us even though we had turned our backs on you.’
‘I don’t wish to speak of it. You are my family, of course I supported you.’
The Grierson party had been invited to come early to attend a celebration dinner so it was still full sunlight as they drove along the lanes. How strange to be so elaborately dressed when outside the village people they passed were still in working garb, their day not yet ended.
They were greeted by a small army of liveried footman and maidservants with crisp white aprons. Lord and Lady Hawksmith and Lady Arabella were waiting in the hall.
‘Welcome to you all on this auspicious occasion. And welcome especially to you, dear Lady Rickham. We were so happy to hear that you are fully recovered.’ Lady Hawksmith looked pointedly behind Marianne. ‘The duke is not accompanying you tonight?’
Marianne curtsied and smiled, relieved she and Emily were obliged to move in order for the next group of guests to be greeted so she didn’t have to reply.
Dinner was elaborate and interminable and they did not rise from the table until guests were starting to arrive for the ball itself. Lady Grierson had secured a group of spindly gilt chairs close to the dais on which the band played. Emily was bristling with anticipation.
‘They are having waltzes, is that not daring? You could waltz if you wished to, Marianne, you’re a married woman and so it’s permitted for you to do so.’
‘I shall not be dancing tonight; I shall sit and watch with Mama.’
The ball was about to start. The musicians were tuning up. Arabella was standing beside Charles resplendent in a white ball dress that reminded Marianne strongly of the tissue paper that had spilled from the boxes of her new gowns. As Charles could not dance the first dance with his betrothed Lord Hawksmith would lead her out instead. A ripple of excitement ran round the room. The orchestra were playing a waltz.
Marianne’s eyes filled as she listened to the music and saw Charles kiss Arabella’s hand before passing it to her father. She sensed a movement beside her and looked up. Her heart flipped over. Theo, magnificent in evening rig, bowed low, and extended his arm.
‘Will you dance with me, my darling?’
She put her fingers in his and he raised her from her seat. She floated into his arms and he gathered her close; so close she could feel his heat - feel his heart pounding in his chest. The music started and he guided her round the floor his eyes never leaving hers.
‘I would have come before, sweetheart, but first you were too ill and then I had unfinished business to attend to.’
Her lips parted and the love in her eyes consumed him. ‘You are here now. I don’t care about the past.’
‘Are you well? You have lost weight- you look as ethereal as a fairy.’
‘And so have you. And you look like Prince Charming.’
He almost tripped over his feet. ‘Do I by God? Then you are most definitely my princess.’
He held her so tight they were touching from chest to thigh which did not go unnoticed by the occupants of the little gilt chairs. Theo rested his chin on her curls and closed his eyes.
‘Are you enjoying your first ball, my love?’
‘I would be happy anywhere you are, Theo. I love you so much it hurts.’
Theo stopped. A second ripple of anticipation ran round the spectators. ‘If that is the case I would rather be anywhere but here. I want to be alone with you, finish what we started all those weeks ago.’
She gazed up at him, her face transparent, her answer written clearly there. He grasped her hand and they ran, laughing at people’s shocked expressions, from the floor and headed for the exit.
‘My carriage is outside. I told it to wait.’
Theo lifted her easily into the coach and before the vehicle was moving he had pulled her on to his lap. She tilted her head to meet his eager lips and as his mouth covered hers they were lost to everything but the joy of their reunion.
When the carriage arrived at Bentley Hall he didn’t wait for the steps but jumped out, then reaching back he snatched her up.
‘I should really be carrying you over my threshold, not yours.’
She giggled. ‘I care little whose it is as long as
you take me inside.’ She rested her head against his shoulder. Then he felt her stiffen slightly and pull away. He continued to his bedchamber where he set her down on her feet.
‘What is it, little one? Are you not ready to become my wife?’
Her eyes dropped, and she flushed. ‘I am… I am still a maiden, Theo. I wanted you to know.’
He crushed her to his heart. ‘It would make no difference to me if you were not. But I will not hurt you tonight, I promise you. My darling, you are my life, my love, my very breath…’
She reached up and tugged at his cravat. ‘Do you intend to stand there talking all night, my darling, or are you going to show me just how much you love me?’
If you enjoyed The Duke’s Deception by Fenella J Miller then you might like to try her other Regency books.
The Duke’s Challenge
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To Marry a Duke
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Bride for a Duke
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The Duke’s Reform
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Barbara’s War
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Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Other Books
The Duke's Deception Page 20