“Perhaps I am,” he said with a sigh of regret. “But I’m not a monster. I’ve seen what kind of consequences your request can bring. So I need to know that you’ll be taken care of if I do as you ask.”
She swallowed hard. “What I’m about to tell you, you must never tell my father.”
He let out a harsh laugh. “As if I’d run to your father with anything that transpires between us!”
“Of course you wouldn’t,” Marion said, more to herself than to him. “I don’t know why I worried.”
He smiled and motioned to one of the dusty chairs. She nodded as he lifted the drop cloth away, sitting down as if she were weary.
“My father and mother didn’t suit.” She stared at her hands. “He is… well, you’ve met him, you know what he’s like. Brash, loud, uncouth and often unkind. My mother, on the other hand…”
She paused with a soft smile that made Noah’s chest clench. He wished he could keep that smile on her face always. He hated seeing her filled with fear. “Your mother?”
“Ingrid was her name,” Marion sighed. “I know that and little else. She died when I was only eight years old. But what I remember of her was gentle, very kind. She feared my father, and he loathed her for all her best qualities. When she died, he didn’t mourn for her.”
“But you did,” Noah said. “And still do.”
Marion allowed herself a look at him. She hadn’t spoken much about her mother to anyone, the subject was simply too painful. Yet Noah seemed to understand her heart.
“Very much.” She nodded. “For a long while I was cut off completely from the life she’d lead, from the person she’d been. My father forbade her name to be spoken in his house, so I couldn’t even garner any information from the servants. I had all but given up when I found a packet of letters in my father’s office.”
Noah smiled at the thought of Marion, the little girl spy, searching her father’s desk. “Quite the little snoop, were we?”
She laughed despite the pain in her eyes. “Yes. Finding information about her was my obsession and I’d stop at nothing to find out the truth. The letters were a boon to me, the first information I’d found about her in years.”
“How long had you been looking?”
“A few years,” she sighed. “I was fourteen when I found the correspondence. The letters were from my mother’s sisters. They were addressed to me mostly, though a few begged my father to allow me contact with them. I stole them from their hiding place and devoured them all in a two-day period, then put them back so he wouldn’t miss them.”
Noah looked at her again. He was just beginning to understand what a lonely existence this lovely young woman had experienced. All the love in her life had faded with her mother’s death, leaving behind an uncertain future guaranteed by the ugly man who she called father.
“What are their names?” he asked, hoping to keep her in whatever state of happiness the subject brought her.
She smiled. “Lavinia and Hester. Hester is the one who tells me the most about my Mama. Lavinia writes far less, but she’s always very kind to me. They’re unmarried and live in a little cottage by the sea that was provided for them in my Grandfather’s will. He’d made his fortune in shipping, so they seem to live comfortably.”
Noah barely resisted the urge to touch her cheek. “And why didn’t your father allow you contact with these women?”
Again Marion’s face grew sad. “He doesn’t want me to have anything to do with my mother. He doesn’t even know I correspond with my aunts. I enlisted our cook’s help in getting the letters in and out. I’m fortunate to be able to communicate with them at all.”
“But how will this provide for your future if I…” he paused as a quick picture of Marion across his bed flashed into his head. “If I do as you ask?”
“My aunts have told me many times that if I could escape my father they would provide for me, but I’ve never been able to do so.” She took a sidelong glance at Noah. “But if I were ruined he would have nothing to gain by keeping me with him. I could escape to my aunts and be free of his schemes.”
“Are you sure he’d release you?” From the sound of her description, Marion’s father might keep her just out of spite.
“He would be so angry if I was ruined.” Her voice grew soft and her eyes lit up with just a twinge of fear. “I would ruin all his plans, but I think he’d be more than pleased to send me away. The idea of me rotting away on the streets would probably appeal to him.”
Noah gritted his teeth. He was going to have to work very hard at making Walter Hawthorne’s life hell after Marion was safely away from him.
“Why hasn’t he tried to make a match for you earlier?” he asked. “After all, you’re very beautiful. I’m sure other men have been interested in your hand.”
Marion blushed. This man who had probably been with a hundred far more lovely women called her beautiful. Suddenly she wished he would touch her hand again, or that she was brave enough to take his.
She gave a shake of her head to clear her foggy mind. “I’m not certain why he hasn’t made a match with me before. He’s never encouraged me to court. In fact, he’s always discouraged it. I believe he liked having a free servant and hostess. But I know why he’s selling me now.”
“Why?” Noah leaned forward as if this piece of information was very important to him.
“When I overheard him making his… arrangement with Mr. Lucas, they said it would settle a debt.”
Noah nodded. “I thought as much. Cads.”
He said the damnation with such heat that Marion jumped. The man with the flashing blue eyes and dangerous look wasn’t the same one who’d teased her as they walked through the rolling hills of Woodbury. He seemed much darker now.
“Will you help me?” she asked.
He shook his head as if he’d forgotten her existence for a brief moment. “I’m not certain.” He looked her up and down as if sizing her up. “What would I gain from this arrangement?”
Noah could name several benefits from pretending to ruin Marion. At least he’d get a few kisses from the deal, and that should have been enough. But there was something more. The chance to free her was just as powerful a draw as any physical one.
She blinked at him, stunned. “I don’t understand.”
“I mean, if I’m to help you, I would expect repayment in some way.” He smiled. “You said it yourself, I’m a rake. I’m not a respectable man.”
Her surprise turned to humor as she realized he was teasing her. “Isn’t helping a lady enough repayment?”
Noah paused. Looking at Marion with her dark eyes focused on him, her slender hands resting so close to his own and smelling her intoxicating fragrance, he could almost believe helping a lady would be more than enough. But his promise to Lord Golding gave him pause. If he thwarted Josiah Lucas’s plans, Noah would certainly lose any chance he had of proving whether or not Georgina Ross had been murdered.
Then he thought of the vow he’d made to Charlotte Ives, and his pause became greater. He’d sworn he wouldn’t behave in a way that would embarrass her once she was his Marchioness. And publicly ruining an innocent… a very beautiful innocent… even if it weren’t real, would certainly embarrass Charlotte. He was torn.
But perhaps there was a way.
“I’ll have to consider it,” he said.
Her face fell. “But I thought…”
“I just don’t know, Marion. You don’t know what you’re asking of me.” With a frown, he rose to his feet. “Give me a day or two to think it over and I’ll return to you with my answer.” He couldn’t bear to look at her disappointed face. “Goodnight.”
“Ye-Yes. Goodnight, my lord.”
Marion watched him go, trying to hold back tears of disappointment until he was gone. She’d been so certain Noah would be her salvation, but he’d suddenly turned much colder, as if she’d asked him to do something that tried on his soul.
But Noah was a rogue, well known for hi
s behavior with women. How could pretending to ruin her harm him in any way? Unless…
Her mind flitted back to Lucas’s mention of Noah’s fiancée in London. Noah seemed loath to talk about the young woman. Perhaps she was the reason he couldn’t pretend to ruin her. Perhaps his days as a rake were over now that he’d found love.
Choking back a sob, Marion hurried back to her room. She could only hope the friendship she’d forged with Noah over the short time she’d known him would be enough for him to help her. If not, she was on her own and her chances for escape were very small indeed.
Chapter Six
Noah paced his office like a tiger in a cage. The ice in the tumbler in his hand tinkled against the crystal as he spun on his heel. Since the previous night when Marion asked for his help, he’d been unable to think of anything but her. Yet he couldn’t do as she asked, or at least, not without a great deal of consideration.
Consideration he’d been unable to achieve while she stood only a few feet away. Her presence made rational thought completely impossible. He needed time alone to reflect on what she’d asked.
But a night of brooding left him with no new solutions. He had no idea how to assist her, yet still stay true to his case and keep his vow to his future bride.
Well, he had one idea, but it was dangerous.
While Marion had told her story about finding her aunt’s letters, a vision of her as a little girl spy had made him smile. Now it made him think. She was quick-witted and graceful, two qualities essential to a good spy. His own sister had demonstrated both, and Audrey had been a successful agent for the crown. Could Marion do the same?
If so, she might help him find the evidence he needed to prove Lucas was a killer. Instead of ruining her, Noah could free her from her father’s debts by arresting the man who held them. And even if it turned out Lucas was innocent of murder, Noah could easily buy Marion’s freedom. He was sure Walter Hawthorne could be persuaded to let his daughter go. For the right price.
Neither option would require Noah to ‘spoil’ her publicly, He wouldn’t have to kiss her or touch her to make their deception look real. Because if he started down that path with Marion, he wouldn’t want to go back.
Working alongside her would be difficult enough. They would have to meet in secret to exchange information and were bound to get into confined situations. But being pressed up against Marion Hawthorne in order to solve a murder wasn’t the same as humiliating Charlotte with some country tart.
Was it?
“Noah, there you are.”
He turned to find his mother at his door. Normally Tabitha Jordan kept to herself during the day, tending to her gardens or her charitable works. She didn’t often seek out Noah’s company, or anyone else’s for that matter. Since his father’s death, she’d been reclusive, though Noah told himself it was natural for her to mourn. He could do nothing to ease her pain while his own was still so great.
“Good afternoon, Mother,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see you until tea time.”
She arched one dark eyebrow with a smile. “But my dear, it is tea time.”
Noah flipped his pocket watch from his waistcoat. He hadn’t realized the hour had grown so late. “By God, Mother, you’re right. I’m sorry you were forced to seek me out.”
He offered her his arm and led her to that salon where their tea would be served. It was the same room where he’d shared tea with Marion, her father and Lucas a few days before. Marion had sat across from him, her eyes sparkling with mirth when he said something amusing…
“You seem distracted, Noah,” his mother said as she smoothed her skirts and motioned for the maid to pour their tea. “Is anything wrong?”
He forced his focus back to his mother. “No, I’m sorry. I was just thinking about my tea with Mr. Lucas a few days ago.”
Her cheeks darkened with distress. “Yes, I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it down. The idea of facing a group of strangers was a bit overwhelming that afternoon.”
With a sad smile, Noah touched her hand. “I realize this is still difficult for you, Mama.”
She nodded. “I don’t know why. I did plenty of things without your father’s presence while he was alive. I hosted teas and ran charity guilds. But now that he’s gone, doing anything without him seems…”
“Wrong?” Noah finished for her.
She nodded as their eyes met in sad understanding. “Wrong.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way. I know he’d want you to continue with the things that give you pleasure,” he said, thinking about what his father would want for him. To fill his shoes, and Noah was doing his damndest to try. Whether or not he was a success was another issue.
“Perhaps in time that will get easier,” his mother said with a sigh. Then she seemed to push aside her sadness. “It wasn’t only Mr. Lucas who had tea here, was it?”
“No, a Mr. Walter Hawthorne and his daughter, Miss Marion also attended. They aren’t from Woodbury, but are visiting Mr. Lucas.” He paused to appear indifferent. “Lucas has lived in the shire for over ten years hasn’t he?”
His mother nodded as she sipped her tea. “Yes, since he took over Toppleton Square from Squire Green. The poor man lost everything in some kind of gambling problem. Why do you ask?”
“What kind of man do you take him to be?”
His mother knew most of the people who lived in his father’s shire… his shire. He doubted she had any useful information, but something was better than nothing.
“I haven’t had many occasions to talk with him personally.” His mother’s voice grew cold. “But he’s always been pleasant enough when I have.”
Noah cocked an eyebrow at her tone. “Mother?”
“I don’t like the man,” she admitted. “He married that poor young woman, Georgina I believe her name was. The girl seemed miserable. She died not long ago.”
Noah nodded. “So you don’t think their marriage was a happy one?”
“No.” Tabitha’s answer was quick and firm. “Her parents made the match without any thought for her happiness. He was far too old for her.”
He shivered. Marion would face a similar fate if he couldn’t find a way to help her.
“Noah?”
He glanced up. “Hmm?”
His mother set her teacup down and leaned over to look at him. “Why are you really here in Woodbury?”
With a start, Noah stood. He hadn’t realized his mother found his visit odd, though perhaps he should have. He hadn’t come to Woodbury since his father’s death. He’d certainly never asked in-depth questions about the inhabitants of the shire. It seemed sacrilegious, like he was dancing on his father’s grave.
“I’m… I’m only here to take up the duties I’ve neglected for so long,” he said. “It’s time for me to behave responsibly, to take the mantle of the Marquis of Woodbury and put it around my neck.” He had a sudden vision of a noose slowly strangling him and amended his statement. “Er, around my shoulders.”
Tabitha folded her arms with an incredulous smirk. “Somehow I doubt that. Tell me, are you on a case?”
Noah coughed. “What are you talking about?”
Though he assumed his parents might have guessed about his duties in the War Department over the years, neither one had ever confronted him about the life he lead. It was a subject they all avoided, for both their sakes.
She folded her arms. “Don’t pretend as if I don’t know what you and Audrey were up to all those years. If you’re here to catch some spy, at least I have a right-”
“No spies, Mother. I promise you that,” he interrupted as he took her hands. “I’m here because I’ve neglected Woodbury too long. And you.” He saw the lingering doubt in her eyes.
She pursed her lips. “If you’re truly here to take up your duties, I’d be happy to arrange for a party in your honor. You’d have the opportunity to meet the country folk and local gentry, as well as do whatever other activities you’re trying to keep from me.”
&
nbsp; Noah laughed at her saucy expression, but was touched by her offer. She loathed a crowd now, it troubled her to be surrounded by people without his father beside her. In life she hadn’t depended on the man for support, but in death she longed for what she’d taken for granted. So did Noah.
“We could even invite the Ives family,” his mother continued with a sidelong glance at him. “It’s been some time since I saw Lady Charlotte.”
The thought of Charlotte coming into his case and his home left him uneasy. The last person he wanted to see was the woman he planned to marry when Marion filled his every thought.
“No, no parties right now.” He waved off her suggestion. “If you’d like to host a small event, perhaps we could have a picnic with a few selected families from the shire. There will be plenty of time for parties and balls later.”
“Later when you make your offer for Charlotte?”
Noah stiffened at this second mention of his future bride. How he’d tried to keep her from his mind, her and his blasted promise. It was impossible.
“When I return to London at the end of the month I intend to speak with her father,” he admitted.
Tabitha sighed. “Well, I’m pleased with your choice, of course. There’s nothing unpleasant about the young woman. But as I look into your eyes, I wonder if this is the right decision for you?”
“Why would you say that?” Noah’s tone was sharper than he’d intended it to be. His mother’s concerns were valid. Plus, there was that twinge of guilt he felt. He’d been trying his best to forget the other woman existed, let alone that he planned to marry her.
“Although I encouraged her to match for other reasons, Audrey found love. And she’s never been so happy or content,” his mother said. Her eyes grew sad when she continued, “But Ginny did as she was told and matched with a man who could bring her the security I thought was so important. She’s miserable and blames us… me for her lot in life. I don’t want another one of my children to make that same mistake.”
Noah thought briefly of his youngest sister, Ginny. Before his father’s death, his mother had been much more driven to marry her children to mates who would move them forward in Society. Ginny had obeyed, and now was truly miserable with a man who didn’t love her.
The Temptation of a Gentleman Page 5