Tired of sniping and bickering, Marcus let his temper be mollified and a smile of admiration broke across his features. ‘What a little spitfire you are when you’re angry...’ He chuckled softly. ‘Are you disappointed that I did not dance with you?’
Lowena looked at him incredulously, relieved to see that his black scowl had disappeared and his face had relaxed into pleasanter lines. ‘Dance with me! I could cheerfully murder you.’
‘I would come back to haunt you, Lowena,’ he threatened, a slow, roguish grin dawning across his handsome features, his silver gaze locking on hers. ‘I swear I will be a hundred times more formidable when my body has been reduced to dust. You will see me everywhere. My ghost will give you no rest.’
Having lost the battle to remain aloof, Lowena was unable to repress her answering smile, and could feel laughter bubble up in her chest. ‘That’s absolute rubbish. I don’t believe in ghosts.’
‘I’m not sure I quite believe that. Since you are clearly reluctant to let me haunt you, I shall just have to make sure that I remain alive long enough to harass you in the flesh,’ he teased. ‘Now, isn’t it about time you introduced me to your father? Before I forget myself and repeat my actions of earlier and kiss you into submission.’
Lowena bit back a smile at his quip, happy to let her anger melt because she still loved him to distraction. ‘Really, Marcus, you do confound me. Have you no mercy?’
The remnants of mirth gleaming in his eyes slowly dissolved as he laid his hand tenderly against her cheek. ‘None,’ he replied obligingly.
* * *
Lowena’s father and Deborah were located in the refreshment room. Sir Robert was expecting them.
Marcus took his proffered hand and introduced himself, watching Sir Robert’s face for a reaction. His eyes measured Marcus in a slow, exacting way that gave him every assurance that he was successfully assessing him. Then the older man smiled and nodded slightly. Seeming satisfied, he introduced him to Deborah.
Marcus bowed gallantly and told her that he was enchanted to meet her. Then he smiled into her eyes in a way that made her feel as if she’d just received an enormous compliment.
‘I am happy to make your acquaintance, Captain Carberry,’ Deborah said courteously, her piercing eyes assessing him with fascinated curiosity. ‘You and Lowena have had—how shall I put it?—a slight misunderstanding, I believe?’ Deborah looked from Lowena to Marcus with a mischievous twinkle lighting her eyes. ‘It has been resolved, I trust?’
Marcus grinned, knowing precisely to what she was referring, and had the grace to look contrite. ‘Absolutely, Lady Wesley. And I hope the misunderstanding did not cause offence, for it was unintentionally done.’
Robert chuckled. ‘I am sure it was—but I have not been so amused in a long time.’
‘I’m relieved to hear it.’
‘I have a great deal to thank you for,’ Robert said on a more serious note. ‘Had you not found Lowena that day when she was a babe, I shudder to think what might have become of her. She has told me the circumstances of her birth, and of her grandmother’s insistence that she leave her home. My only regret is that I was in Mexico at the time and did not know of Lowena’s existence until she came to Devon to look for me. I wish the maid had come forward with the truth earlier. It would have saved a lot of heartache, and Lowena and I would not have been deprived of each other all these years. However, nothing can change what has been done, so it us up to us to make the most of what we have now.’
After making polite conversation for several more minutes, Marcus turned to Lowena.
‘Come, Lowena, dance with me...’ He glanced at Sir Robert. ‘With your permission, Sir Robert?’
‘Of course you have it,’ he replied, happy that everything seemed to be resolved between his daughter and Captain Carberry.
There was no time for Lowena to react. Already Marcus was taking her hand and drawing her away from her father towards the room where couples twirled around the dance floor beneath glittering crystal chandeliers.
Lowena walked into his arms and felt his arm slide about her waist, bringing her close against the solid strength of his body. His left hand closed round her fingers and suddenly she was being whirled gently around in the arms of this man who danced with the easy grace of a man who had spent most of his adult life on a dance floor instead of a battlefield.
She should have felt overpowered, especially with almost every eye in the room focused on them, but instead, feeling Marcus’s broad shoulders beneath her gloved hand and his arm encircling her waist like a band of steel, she felt safe and protected.
‘You dance divinely,’ she complimented him softly.
‘I’m supposed to say that to you.’
‘Really?’ She frowned. ‘It would seem I have much to learn.’
‘You will find that society has rules to govern absolutely everything.’
‘It seems to me that society requires a female to be utterly useless. Independence holds a certain appeal.’
He smiled down at her. ‘There are many who would say that independence is vastly overrated and an odd notion for a woman to have.’
‘Maybe, but I would still value it—although I suppose I would be condemned by society for having such ambition.’
Gazing at her downcast face, lowering his head to hers, Marcus murmured, ‘Lift up your head and smile at me. Look as though you’ve never enjoyed a dance more.’ His eyes twinkled wickedly. ‘Feel free to flirt with me, if you like, but do not on any account look humble or meek.’
Lowena drew a shaking breath and a smile curved her lips. ‘Smiling I can do—but flirting is definitely out. Look where it got me before.’
‘How can I possibly forget?’
‘I know the rules of society and I broke them all like a shameless wanton when I—when I...’ Her voice trailed away. She was too embarrassed to go on.
‘And who is to know that but you and I?’ he murmured, his voice surprisingly gentle. ‘I will not look too far afield for explanations, but what happened between us happened because we were attracted to each other. I wanted you, and I know it was what you wanted.’
The sudden glamour of his lazy smile was almost as effective as his admission. She flushed hotly. ‘I—I think our emotions were running high that night—and before that on the night you kissed me. It wasn’t all your fault. In hindsight you had merely offered to walk me to the cottage, and instead of letting you do just that like a stupid girl I told you that I loved you. What happened after that was mutual, not seduction—even though I felt seduced at the time.’
And afterwards she remembered how she’d felt unbearably sad, knowing nothing could possibly come of it.
‘I refuse to regret or apologise for what happened,’ he said. ‘We wanted each other. It was as simple as that. I admit that the blame is entirely mine. You were innocent and totally inexperienced. I treated you very badly and I’m not proud of myself. By my actions I have wronged you. I fully admit that and hold myself accountable. Now, try to relax and enjoy the dance.’
‘I am relaxed.’
‘Your body tells me something different.’
‘I think, Marcus, that my body is my own affair.’ She was acutely aware of his hand against the small of her back, and she had a sudden impulse to shy away.
‘I well remember what your body looks like, Lowena.’ His eyelids were lowered over his eyes as he looked down at her upturned face, gently flushed a delicate pink by his remark. ‘I remember everything about it—every curve, every hollow and every inviting, secret place.’
He grinned at the shock that registered in her eyes and spun her round more vigorously than the dance required.’
Lowena’s attempt to chastise him for his forward remark failed when she saw the sparkling humour in his eyes. A smile curved her lips. ‘You’re enjoyin
g this, aren’t you?’
‘Every minute,’ he admitted shamelessly. ‘After all, you did leave me high and dry when you left Tregarrick, and you made a fool of me by letting me believe your father was your lover. I must take my revenge where I can.’
His voice was deceptively soft, and Lowena suddenly felt a stirring of unease. She considered ending the dance prematurely, but the intensity of his gaze, devouring her with a ravenous hunger, was enough to keep her trapped in his arms.
Reading her mind, he said, ‘Do you want to leave me, Lowena?’
As they twirled about the floor Lowena felt her heart begin to beat heavily. She knew she should not let him hold her so close, but she did not try to pull back. It was almost as if she were under some sort of spell. His lips were hovering just above her own. She looked into his eyes, and in the silver-grey depths she saw something relentless and challenging. She felt a quivering inside, but it was not fear.
‘No.’
His gaze lingered on her face. ‘You know, Lowena, you could have such power if you only knew how to wield it.’
She frowned, curious as to what he meant. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘If a woman goes about it the right way, she can twist a man around her finger. Some women know this instinctively. You, Lowena, do not.’
Marcus’s eyes continued to hold hers. She tried to appear calm and in control, while melting inside. ‘I think you are playing a game with me, and I’m not sure now to play.’
‘You are right. I am playing a game with you and I do not intend to let you win. But,’ he said slowly, his eyes lingering on her mouth, ‘I can teach you how to play.’
‘You forget that you have already tried that.’
‘To my satisfaction.’
Knowing that he was referring to the night she had surrendered herself completely to him, she said, ‘You have just admitted to playing a game with me and said that you do not intend to let me win. What, then, do you want from me?’
Marcus wasn’t smiling now. His face had taken on a serious expression. And in the moment that followed, with her heart beating wildly, Lowena felt again that wild surge of excitement and anticipation.
‘I want you to be my wife. Marry me, Lowena.’
His voice had become low and soft in her ears, and Lowena had to delve deeply into her reserve of will to dispel the slow numbing of her senses. Their surroundings disappeared into a haze. She was completely stunned by what he had said, but somehow she carried on dancing.
Unable to work out where his proposal had come from, she was amazed that her voice sounded so calm and controlled. ‘Goodness! You really are full of surprises. Why, Marcus? Why do you want to marry me now? You didn’t want to marry me before I left your family’s employ. Why now? Am I expected to be flattered by this?’
‘Not at all. Since you left Tregarrick you have been forever in my thoughts—plaguing me, torturing me. Dear Lord, Lowena! You sorely test my restraint. Don’t you know how much of a temptation you are to me?’
Her mind reeling with the shock of what he was saying, Lowena could only stare at him as a torrent of emotions overwhelmed her.
‘I want you, Lowena,’ he murmured. ‘I want you to be my wife.’
Understanding dawned with his meaningful gaze. Despite the other dancers and the sound of the music, it was as if a deafening silence engulfed them. Lowena stared at him in confused shock as she understood the truth of what he was asking of her.
‘I want to marry you,’ he repeated, watching her closely.
She raised her eyes to his and what he saw in their innermost depths—a confusion of doubt, pain and a little fear—almost took his breath.
‘I cannot believe that you want this. I have certainly not encouraged it.’
‘Unconsciously you have encouraged it every time we have been together. Have you any objections to me as a husband?’
Lowena looked directly into his face just above her own, feeling herself respond to the dark intimacy in his voice. His expression was gentle, understanding—soft as she had not seen it for a long time. And there, plain for her to see, was the sincerity of his words.
‘No, it is simply that your proposal has taken me by surprise. I may no longer be a servant—indeed, my elevation into the world of the gentry makes me altogether more desirable in the marriage mart, I realise that—but inside I am still the same person.’
What she said was true, and Marcus realised how his proposal must seem to her. But he also knew that after finding her again, even had she still been a servant, it made no difference. He would still want her to be his wife.
However, instinct and experience told Marcus that she might not be as eager to fall into his arms as he had thought. Still, it was nothing that a little tender persuasion couldn’t solve, and he was prepared to use it to further his cause if logic and honesty weren’t enough to persuade her.
‘You are not just any woman, Lowena, and I cannot tell you the devastation I felt when you didn’t return to Tregarrick. I have given marriage to you a great deal of thought—even before I came to London. Servant or princess—it makes no difference to the way I feel about you. So what do you say? What is your answer?’
The strains of the music died away and as they left the dance floor Marcus took her arm.
‘Will you at least think about it?’
All Lowena’s past experiences with this man rose up to overwhelm her. What he was asking of her was something she had always dreamed of—never, ever believing it would happen. Heaven help her, it was all she had ever wanted—and now it had.
But she could not forget that he had cast her out, leading her to believe he had no place for her in his heart or in his home. And now her circumstances had changed he had changed his mind. Like a fool, she still wanted him, and he knew how she felt—had she not told him that she loved him? She damned herself for doing so. But despite his supreme confidence that he could have it all his way, she would not let him.
Pausing as he returned her to her father, she looked up at him. He was looking at her intently and his magnetic gaze stirred her painfully ‘Your proposal has taken me unawares, Marcus. You must give me time. This is your game, not mine.’
‘It is a game we can both play, Lowena. In a strange kind of way we are engaged in a power struggle, you and I. Do you not see the power you could have over me?’
‘How? By becoming your wife?’
When he opened his mouth to speak, she looked away.
‘I don’t want to have power over you, Marcus. That is not my way. The games you play are played by your rules, not mine, so in my book that makes me the winner.’
‘Dear Lord, Lowena, you are the most stubborn female I have ever come across. My behaviour was disgraceful when I asked you to leave Tregarrick, but I am prepared to atone for that. I ask you to be my wife. I am offering you my name and all I possess.’
‘Yes, and I thank you—with all my heart. But please give me time to think about it.’
His features softened and his eyes warmed. He was amazed how easily she could touch him—to the core of his being, to his very essence—without even trying. ‘You must forgive my haste, but the past weeks without you have not taught me any degree of restraint. You can have no idea how much I have missed you.’
‘And I you, Marcus.’
He wanted to take hope from her short reply. He wanted to infuse the words with both meaning and promise. But if he was to win her then he must be patient.
‘Now, please excuse me,’ she murmured. ‘I will return to my father. Goodbye, Marcus.’
* * *
The following morning Lowena was alone in the garden, reliving the night just past and unable to believe that Marcus had asked her to be his wife. Why had she not accepted his proposal right away? Why had she hesitated? Was it because deep ins
ide her heart she could not forgive him for sending her away from Tregarrick?
She had said nothing to her father and Deborah about what had transpired on the dance floor, and after bidding them goodnight she had headed directly to her room with a fixed smile on her face. Dismissing her maid, she had stared blindly out of her window. The energy she had forced into her parting from Marcus and into her easy conversation about the ball with her father and Deborah had vanished.
Now, covering her face with her hands, she faced the truth that physically she was no more immune to Marcus now than she had been when she had worked for his family. She could not withstand his smile, his touch, his kiss—the kiss that twisted her insides into knots; that made her burn; that wreaked havoc on her heart, her body and her soul.
Unlike many men of his background he was a private man—and, she suspected, careful in his friendships. And then there was Isabel—a woman he couldn’t bring himself to speak of. What Lowena did know was that she had hurt him very badly, inflicting emotional injuries on him that no woman should.
Lowena felt a lump of constricting sorrow in her chest. When she thought deeply about it she realised how he must have suffered when Isabel had married Edward, and how difficult his decision to ask her, Lowena, to marry him, must have been. And what a blow to his pride when she had not accepted him outright.
She had gone through a great deal of deliberation and heart-searching since last night. She could hardly believe how deep her feelings were running, and the sudden joy coursing through her body melted the very core of her being. She loved Marcus, and that perfect certainty filled her heart and stilled any anxiety she might otherwise have had. The feeling was so strong there was no room for anything else.
She suspected that he was thinking of returning early to Cornwall. On that thought, and impatient to see him and tell him how she felt, she ordered the carriage.
* * *
On reaching the Mallory house, Lowena was relieved to find that Juliet, Simon and Lady Alice had taken the children to the park. She was pleased when she was told that Marcus was at home.
The Foundling Bride Page 21