Her daydream became more vivid, he might as well have been stood in front of her, touching her cheek, his hands strong yet sensitive.
“My Lady,” Dawn said, pulling her back to the present.
“Yes,” Marianne answered, hiding her face, but she saw the small smile that crossed her maid's lips and knew she had given herself away.
“Is he handsome, this Captain of yours?” she asked.
“I suppose some would think so,” Marianne said, trying to sound disinterested.
“Well, let’s get this dress fitted, and make you look your best.”
“That is not necessary. He is going to marry me whatever I look like,” Marianne said, and a wave of sadness swept over her. “Any way, the way I look is the thing least likely to put him off me. I can never be his true mate, so I doubt I will ever make him happy.”
“Come now, once he sees what a fine woman you are he will not care about anything else.”
Dawn meant well with her words, but Marianne knew they were fantasy. No man would want her over a mate of his own kind. She would always be wrong, and when he tried to consummate the marriage he would know that too.
Dawn held the dress up for her to put on, and Marianne tried to forget about everything else while the dress was altered and Dawn transformed her into a young fashionable woman. Gone was the severe knot she had worn her hair in for the last few years. Now her long auburn hair was brushed until it shone and then the loose curls were pinned on her head, while some were allowed to trail down her back.
The overall image she had when she looked at herself in the imperfect mirror was of a woman she had never seen before. This was not the girl who had once worn fine dresses or the widow who lived at Marsh Hall.
Marianne had been transformed, and the tiny little butterflies in her stomach revealed the excitement she felt. Yet her excitement was tinged with such nervousness she wondered if she would ever have the courage to leave her bed chamber looking like this.
***
She had expected Lord Villiers to come and escort her down to the hall, but instead Captain Stuart appeared at her door.
“Captain Stuart,” Marianne said stiffly when Dawn opened the door, and after a look at her mistress allowed him to enter.
In answer she was met with eyes that could not help but show his admiration for the way she looked. Even Marianne had to admit that the blue dress, with its sheer skirt over a darker blue fabric suited her perfectly. It could almost have been made for her.
The shock on the Captain's face confirmed what Dawn had told her. She looked beautiful, and despite her objections Marianne was pleased Dawn had persuaded her to keep it on. She could see it was the right thing to do, apart from the fact that she had no intention of making Captain Stuart want her; the idea of the evening was to put him off having any romantic idea about his betrothed.
“You look wonderful,” he said, lifting her ungloved hand and placing his lips on the back of it, sending shivers through her body. Then he did something even more disturbing, while Dawn was searching for some white gloves, he turned her hand over and placed a kiss in the centre of her palm.
Marianne snatched it back, shocked at the way he made her feel, tendrils of something she had never experienced before awoke, and curled around her insides, making her knees feel weak.
“I apologise, that was perhaps a little forward of me,” he said, bowing slightly.
Marianne could not find her voice to answer, unused to this close contact with another person, she simply did not know how to deal with her feelings. He looked at her, searching her face to find out if he had offended her. She ducked her head and turned from him, leaving him standing in thought.
“Here, these will have to do My Lady,” her maid said, holding a pair of gloves in her hand.
Marianne held her arm out and between them the gloves were fitted, again looking out of place. At home she hardly ever wore gloves, and when she had to they were always black. She looked at those she wore now with a little dismay, Marianne was sure there was no way she would get through a whole evening without staining them in some way.
“There, beautiful, My Lady.”
“Thank you, so much for your help, Dawn. Why don’t you go down and see if you can find something to eat, you must be tired after your journey. And tell James and Jonathan I expect them to behave.” Dawn gave her a warning look, and Marianne realised she had probably been too familiar with the girl, she simply did not know how she was supposed to behave any more, this wasn’t home. It was the lion's den.
“My Lady, will you be all right?” the young woman said, only moving her eyes towards Captain Stuart slightly, but conveying her worry.
“Yes, thank you, Dawn.”
Dawn left the room, bowing to Captain Stuart, and leaving the door open so there could be no word of impropriety between the two people left standing together.
Marianne looked at him, expecting to see some kind of censure at the way she had spoken to her maid, but there was none. Not even a hint of amusement at her faux pas, it made it difficult to hate him, she would need some spark to ignite the temper in her to be able to push him away, but it was not there.
At this moment her thoughts were invaded by the idea that if she was ever to marry again, perhaps the Captain would be the best choice. Then she glanced at the bed, and had to swallow hard to contain her panic, there was no way she could ever learn to live with having to mate with a man. No matter what she thought of him, nothing would stop her trying to avoid that part of their relationship.
“Shall we go down?” He offered her his arm and she accepted it reluctantly.
She hated the way he seemed so at ease with her, perhaps that was it, she was so used to strangers treating her differently because of her nature, the very fact she did not repel him at all was off. All her life when Marianne met someone for the first time they would react as though she had the plague.
This had been especially true when she had been married to the old Lord Marsh. It had taken him almost a month to consummate their marriage, and had taken a full six months before Mrs Draper would address her as the Lady of the house.
Over time things had changed so much, and now everyone at Marsh Hall was at ease with her, but never strangers. Marianne found herself needing to know why he was not put off by her, yet hating to engage him in conversation.
“The King will be pleased to see you have agreed to come out of mourning.”
“I don’t much care what the King thinks.”
“I have heard that, I cannot work out if you are very brave or very stupid.”
They were at the bottom of the stairs, and only had to cross the large open passageway to reach the great hall where sounds of musical instruments being played drifted out. Marianne was suddenly nervous, it had been so long since she had danced, and mixed with people who were not servants. She had nothing entertaining to say, unless people asked her opinions on pigs.
Captain Stuart seemed attuned to her mood, and he patted her hand to comfort her. She looked at him with eyes filled with terror. Her strong façade was cracking, and a tremor passed through her body. All she wanted to do at this moment was to find Jonathan and James and ask them to take her home. However, that was impossible.
“It must seem strange here after all the time you’ve been away.” He had stopped, allowing her to compose herself before they went in.
“Yes,” she answered, wondering how much he knew about her, and her life at Marsh Hall.
“I understand perfectly. I have spent so much of my time away it seems like a foreign land when I return.”
“Has the army always been your life?” she asked, trying to focus on anything but the other people going into the hall. So many people.
“Yes, it was either the army or a life of highway robbery.”
She looked up quickly, he wasn’t joking, or if he was he was very good a keeping his face completely straight.
“Are you teasing me?” she asked.
&nbs
p; “No. My father led a very colourful life. I have lived on the outskirts of society all my life, so I can assure you I understand how you feel.”
“Do you like the Court, Captain Stuart?”
He leaned forward, speaking so that only she could hear. “I can think of no other place I would rather not be. The battlefield is easier to navigate than a hall full of backstabbing courtiers.”
She stood speechless, never had she expected this, her mind turned over the events of the day and how she had thought he must enjoy the company of the King, why else would he be given a title and lands. “I don’t understand.” The words slipped out. “I’m sorry; it’s none of my business.”
“Isn't it?” he said, standing straight now like the officer he was. “Do you forget that this time tomorrow we will be man and wife?”
She sighed, his words breaking her mood, but she decided there would be no other time to appeal to him. “Is there nothing I can say to you to make you change your mind about marrying me, Captain Stuart?”
His body stiffened, and she knew instantly she had offended him. “Am I not good enough for you, Lady Marsh?”
She should have been happy, she had done what she had hoped, alienated him. If she pushed further she could perhaps put him off her, make him think she was a stuck up young woman. Yet her heart wouldn’t let her, for the first time she acknowledged that she was attracted to him, as a woman should be attracted to a man. However, Marianne had never understood why a woman would ever be so in love to lie with a man night after night.
He started to walk towards the hall, his body tense, like that of a soldier going into battle. Marianne could not let this pass; she had to put it right. Halting she pressed her hand over the hard muscles of his arm, another thrill that she could not recognise as desire passing through her.
“That was rude of me, Captain Stuart. It has nothing to do with you, or your background. Please understand that only three days ago I was a relatively carefree woman, and now I feel like a horse about to be traded away. Do you understand how powerless that makes me feel?”
He turned to her, and his face softened. “I am a soldier of the King's army, and if there is one thing a soldier understands it is how his life can be traded.”
He stepped forward again, and she followed, still glad she had hold of his arm, feeling the strength of him, and taking comfort from the way both men and women looked at him with disdainful respect, and more than a little fear. Marianne had the impression the man on her arm was far more dangerous than she had thought.
Not a danger to her, but to all the people in the hall. this was a man who knew too much, and now she knew why she was been given to him, he was being paid off, and sent far away. Marsh Hall was the perfect place to send someone if you never wanted them seen again. Her next question was whether that was why she had been sent there to marry the old Lord. To get her out of the way, but of whom?
They made their way forward to be presented to the King; Marianne looked around the room for any sight of Lord Villiers, her concern mounting. However, as the crowd milling around the King dispersed she saw him standing with his old friend. They looked as though their differences had been settled, and Marianne tried to work out if this had been the Kings idea or Lord Villiers.
“Ah, the happy couple,” the King said.
Perhaps someone who did not know him too well would have taken his comment as genuine, but to Marianne, it rang false. Perhaps now the pieces were beginning to fall into place, and she felt afraid. Would she ever make it back to Marsh Hall, or would they meet with some accident on the way home? Her fear now spread to the lives of her servants who had accompanied her.
Looking at Lord Villiers she saw he wore the mask of a man who was trying to be something he was not. Marianne's heart filled with gratitude, he had come here to protect her, as he always had when they were children and the King's temper got out of hand. If only she could have loved him, she could have been under his protection now. Yet she did not want to have to depend on anyone for her safety, she wanted to be free.
Chapter Five
As they approached the King, Captain Stuart tensed at her side. Not something that was visible in his expression, but Marianne felt it in his grip on her arm as she presented herself to the King.
“Your Majesty,” Marianne said, curtsying, something she discovered she was out of practice at. Only the strong possessive grip of her future husband kept her from tilting forward too far.
As she rose back to stand before the King she could not help feel a sense of despair at the look he gave her. Perhaps when she had seen him last she had been too young, too inexperienced in the ways of men to see what now was barely hidden. It was as though he hated her, his eyes flamed, with the deep of amber of his feline blood, and she feared what unsettling thoughts were growing in his mind.
Her Captain had seen it too, but his years of experience, of keeping his thoughts to himself, even when given orders that were a death sentence, made him keep his demeanour that of a loyal soldier, greeting his King.
“Your Majesty,” he said, bowing very stiffly.
The King glanced at the couple, before breaking out into a smile that was as false as the Captain's was. “Captain Stuart. I am pleased you have been able to persuade your soon to be bride to wear something more befitting to a young woman. Perhaps I have given you a gift of more worth than I imagined.”
His eyes took in the cut of the dress and the way it flattered her figure, while still being demure. Marianne had the distinct impression the King would have gladly seen her standing before him naked. A tremor passed through her body, but this did not leave her with the same feeling that she had when Captain Stuart touched her. This feeling she knew well, it was fear.
“Indeed, perhaps you have, Sire. But then I imagine the time it will take me to tame her might take the shine off her other attributes.”
Marianne bristled, and opened her mouth to reply, but he squeezed her arm sharply. Marianne swallowed her retort, only just managing to stop herself from crying out with pain. Lord Villiers moved at the Kings side, and leaned forward to slap Captain Stuart on the shoulder, and they both laughed, the King joined them and the tension broke.
“Marianne, you look delightful.” Lord Villiers took her hand and kissed it, but his lips evoked no searing passion in her body.
As she lifted her eyes to his she saw a look there that confirmed her fears, and thankfully, they moved aside so the King could greet his next guests. Still she could feel the gaze of the Monarch on her back, boring into her, but she refused to turn around and confirm her suspicions.
Beside her, Captain Stuart released his pent up tension, Marianne imagined what it would be to see a match set to his tinder. An explosion of power, capable of what? What hold did he have over the King that had granted him the richness of Marsh Hall along with such isolation from the court?
Marianne herself did not have the control to let her mood go the way he had. Although pondering the depths of his power and strength, she could not allow him to speak to her in such a way without censure. To do so would leave herself open to this treatment for the rest of her life, and this was something she could not bear.
“Shall we dance?” he asked.
The music was a tune she knew, but it had been so long since she had danced she did not want to risk making a complete idiot of herself. She stood insure, feeling like a child in a room full of grown ups, not for the last time she pined for the solitude of home.
He took her silence for something more, and moved close to her to pull her into his arms to join the other couples dancing. She tried to step away from him but he was too strong.
“Please, I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t? Have my words to the King angered you too much?”
Marianne's temper caught hold of her tongue. “Is this the way you intend to tame me? By forcing me to do something I have no desire for?”
He laughed, a deep throaty sound that had a disarming effect on
her. How could she be cross with a man who made her feel this way? A flash of anger lit up her mind, this was the way he would control her, with his touch and his voice, so subtle, and yet so powerful. She hated the hold he had on her, because she did not understand it.
“I could tame you in many ways, but I like a woman who is not afraid to speak her mind. I have spent too long in the presence of men who order others around as if they were nothing but toys in the nursery. I do not want to live like that.”
“But your words to the King.”
“Were simply words, I do not know what has passed between you and the King, but he looks at you with a passion I would only expect in lovers. If you have lain in his bed in the past I accept that, but know under no circumstances will I allow it once you are my wife.”
“In his bed!” she exclaimed, managing to keep her voice to a low hiss, but it still attracted glances from those around them.
“Yes, come now, you were a wife to the old Lord Marsh for two years, no doubt you would have grown lonely and missed the company of a man in your bed. It is well known the King has many mistresses. I am sure I am not the only one to presume this.”
She paled at his words; there was nothing further from the truth. Marianne had missed her husband, yes, but not in the bedroom. Never in the bedroom.
“I am sorry to disappoint you, Captain Stuart. But I have never sought the company of any man.”
His eyes narrowed, searching her for any hint of a lie. Seeming content with what he saw his arm relaxed around her.
“Then I apologise for my words. It seems that you are different from most women I have met.”
“Of course I am different. If I were not then the King would not be able to treat me like a horse he can trade.”
“That was not what I meant,” he insisted, and she believed him.
“No, perhaps it was not,” she conceded.
“Is that how people usually treat you? I heard the way you spoke to your maid. Do they not treat you with respect at Marsh Hall?” His voice held an edge to it, and Marianne pictured this man going into battle for her and taming her servants, teaching them to respect her. It was something she needed to quash now, the last thing she needed was her servants been bullied by this man when he became their lord and master.
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