Big Bad Neighbor: A Single Dad Next Door Romance

by Tia Siren

  He narrowed his eyes and grinned slyly. “I think I have my eye on a lady, yes. How about you? See anyone from afar?”

  Marie blushed and moved closer to him so that she could speak in a soft voice. “I have. And I need your help.”

  “I can’t play the piano for you if that’s what you’re going to ask,” Cornelius replied with a laugh, knowing she would never have asked such a thing. She laughed with him.

  “No, no. You know better than that, Cornie. No, I want you to talk to him for me. I want to know if he’s noticed me at all back here. Or if he saw me last Season. I was dancing then.”

  “We’ll be dancing together soon. Do you want me to talk to him before then? And who is it we’re talking about anyway?” Cornelius gazed around the room, trying to guess who his young friend could be interested in.

  “Duke Phillip,” she whispered.

  He leaned closer to her and spoke out the corner of his mouth. “Did you just say Duke Phillip, my dear? Are you interested in becoming an Arlington?”

  The thought sent a chill of excitement through Marie that she tried very hard not to show. She assumed her friend noticed anyway because he chuckled deeply.

  “Aaah, so it is that way. Well, dear, I will go and have a chat with our host and steer him in your direction. How does that sound?”

  “Oh, Cornelius, you are a good friend!” Marie threw her arms around his shoulders, and he leaned over to hug her back.

  “It’s not a problem at all.”

  “And who is it that you are interested in? Point her out to me right now so I can sing your praises to her.”

  Cornelius laughed. He turned and scanned the room and then pointed to a woman in a blue silk and lace ball gown that fit her form beautifully. She had several braids intertwined through her long yellow-blond hair and a slender face with big eyes. “There she is. Lady Jane Caldwell. She is a very nice woman. I look forward to spending the rest of the Season with her, frankly.”

  “Oh do you? Well, I will certainly pray that that happens for you.” Marie gave him a big smile.

  “And I will talk to the Duke and see what he thinks about visiting the piano for a few minutes.” He scanned her from head to toe. “You do look very pretty tonight, by the way. I love your dress. It compliments your eyes well.”

  Marie blushed. “Thank you, Cornie.”

  He smiled. “If you can show the Duke that look right there, I know he will fall for you.”

  Marie giggled softly and nodded. Cornelius bowed to her and kissed her hand. “I will see you for our dance, my dear.”

  Chapter Three

  Despite the fact that he was feeling a bit dizzy already, Phillip reached out and grabbed another white wine from the server as he passed. The server stopped to allow him to take the glass and then bowed slightly, moving on through the crowd. Phillip watched him go, feeling a sour anger raging through him. He didn’t know why he ever attended or hosted these dances. They were filled with egomaniacal wenches and shrews. Every one of them.

  He felt a pang of regret and guilt. They weren’t all wenches and shrews. But there were enough there to undermine the confidence he spent weeks building up before the Season started. Every Season was the same for him. He wasn’t going to attend many more. He was beginning to tire of the whole thing.

  He saw Cornelius heading his way, an intent look in his eyes. He grumbled to himself, wondering what his young friend was going to say. Cornelius generally talked to him about politics and finances, but Phillip had a feeling that wasn’t what this conversation was going to be about. The look his friend had on his face was more joyous, mixed with a bit of sneakiness. He admitted he found himself to be very curious.

  He lifted his glass as Cornelius approached and the young man lifted his in return.

  “Good evening, Phillip. How is your evening going?”

  Phillip shook his head, relieved that his friend was there to talk to. “It’s just another ball. Just another dance to watch all these ladies spinning in circles going nowhere.”

  Cornelius shook his hand while at the same time shaking his head. “A sour puss, you are, my friend, but I understand. Are you setting your sights on anyone in the place?” He stood next to Phillip and gazed out at the crowd.

  “No. I can’t say that I am.”

  “Have you danced with Marie Downing?”

  Phillip was quiet for a moment as he scanned the women before his eyes settled on Marie, who was still standing at the piano, now accompanied by Lucinda and Jenny. They were talking about something that was making them laugh.

  “The piano player?”

  Cornelius was a bit discouraged by Phillip’s plain description of Marie but pressed on. “Yes, that’s her. She doesn’t always play the piano.” He looked at Phillip. “Though I admit that’s where she usually is.”

  “I hadn’t thought of her. She doesn’t dance or open herself up to dancing.”

  “She would. She just hasn’t been asked by the right man.”

  “I doubt very much I am that man,” Phillip said.

  “You sell yourself short, my friend. You should ask her for a place on her dance card. It’s very open. So far, she only has one spot slotted. And that’s with me.”

  “Why don’t you dance with her then?”

  Cornelius laughed. “Oh, I plan to. We are great friends. But I am interested in Lady Caldwell. It concerns me that you are not having a good time. I thought I would suggest a change in your routine.”

  “Your concern means a great deal to me.” Phillip looked at his friend with amusement.

  “Does it?” Cornelius smiled at him.

  “I am thinking about the piano player’s sister. Jenny. I find she is the only one who shows proper respect for me.”

  Cornelius’ smile faltered. Marie would be hurt to hear that the Duke was planning to choose her younger sister over her. She felt her prospects were limited. Jenny’s were not. Cornelius suppressed a sigh. “Do you plan to move forward with Jenny?” He asked hesitantly. “I know that Marie would also treat you with respect. You should dance with her, at least once.”

  Phillip looked at him closely. “She is a dear friend of yours, and you are encouraging me to dance with her? Don’t you know what a bastard I am?”

  Cornelius laughed suddenly. “My friend! You are no such thing. You have many fine qualities.”

  Phillip’s mood was lifted, and he felt much more spirited since his friend came over. “You are being polite,” he said.

  “I have no need to be polite to you, Phillip. We are already friends, and I’m not a lady for you to court!”

  They laughed together.

  “I will consider a dance with her,” Phillip said finally.

  “That is wonderful. I’m sure she will be delighted.”

  “Perhaps you will set it up for me? Find out when she is available?”

  “I think it is more whether or not you are available, Phillip. You are the host. Is your schedule already full?”

  Phillip pondered it for a moment. “I suppose it is for the night. And your Marie will need to be playing the piano anyway. I do believe she will be singing shortly as well. She does have a beautiful voice.”

  “She does.” Cornelius nodded in agreement.

  “I will have to dance with her next time. If she comes out from behind the piano.”

  “We will just have to make sure she does.”

  Phillip watched the three sisters, thinking that they were all very beautiful women. He could, by rights, have his choice. But he wasn’t about to imprison himself to a life of misery by choosing a woman for her looks. He desired respect and love. Not position and outer beauty. Many of the women he danced with were charming. But he could see through the fake behavior to what was underneath. They wanted to be a Duchess. That was clear to see. They didn’t care how he felt about them. And that was if they didn’t turn away in disgust because of the way he looked. He knew his facial scar made him look angry most of the time. But there was noth
ing he could do about that.

  Marie laughed, looked over and caught his eye. They gazed at each other for a moment before both of them moved their eyes away. He wondered what she thought when she looked at him.

  Most likely the same thing the rest of them thought. Something unpleasant.

  But her eyes had lingered a little longer than the other women who looked at him. And there was something about her smile. It hadn’t slipped when he caught her eye.

  He wondered…

  A few days later, the door to Marie’s room burst open, and Jenny came running through, sobbing, her hands covering her face. Marie stood up from her place at the desk and ran to her.

  “Jenny! What’s happened? What’s wrong?” Marie grabbed her sister and took her to her bed beside the desk, sitting on the edge with her arms still wrapped around her. She began to rock her and smooth her hair back from her forehead.

  “Oh, Marie, it’s horrible! It’s horrible!”

  “Sshhh. Tell me what’s wrong, my dear?”

  She looked over when Lucinda and Caroline came through the open door, both shaking their heads and looking tragic.

  “Wait till you hear, Marie. Oh my goodness!” Lucinda came straight over to the bed and sat on the opposite side of Jenny, facing her sister to comfort her like Marie. “It’s going to be okay, Jenny. It really will! Somehow it will change. Something has to change! Oh, my! Oh, my!” Lucinda was still shaking her head. She looked up at Marie.

  “Will you tell me what’s happened?” Marie asked softly.

  “Oh, that brute Duke Arlington has asked papa for Jenny’s hand in marriage and plans to begin courting her! They are to meet for a carriage ride and dinner tomorrow afternoon!”

  Marie felt her heart fall into her stomach, and she was sure she became quite pale. “Phillip? I mean, Phillip Arlington? Duke Arlington?” She didn’t know why she kept repeating his name. She couldn’t seem to get it out correctly.

  Lucinda narrowed her eyes. “Yes. You know, the ugly one with the scar.”

  “He isn’t ugly, for goodness sake!” Marie said defensively.

  Lucinda’s eyes went from narrow to wide open. She stared at Marie, still patting Jenny’s back. She didn’t say anything, and Marie was glad.

  Marie turned her attention to Jenny. She leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Jenny, my dear, this is tragic news. What…what about Jonathan?”

  Jenny lifted her head up, dropping her hands angrily in her lap and turned raging eyes to Marie, who pulled away a little in surprise. “Yes!” She snapped. “What about Jonathan! What about my Jonathan! What about me! What about what I want! I won’t do it! I won’t do it!” She stuffed one hand in her mouth and screamed into it.

  “Calm yourself, sister,” Marie said, soothingly, moving back in to hug her sister and whisper in her ear. “I must beg you to calm yourself and think logically for a moment. We can figure something out. I promise you we can.”

  Jenny’s anger abated enough for her to wrap one arm around Marie and push her face into her sister’s shoulder.

  “Oh, Marie, I don’t see how. Papa has already given his consent.”

  “Phi..Duke Arlington could change his mind. You never know.”

  “He’s not going to do that.” Madeline had appeared in the doorway and was leaning against it, one hand on her hip. “He’s determined. I’m glad it wasn’t me he picked, ugly old hound dog. I wouldn’t want to do it either. I’d throw such a fit!”

  Marie held in her anger, wincing when Madeline called him an ugly hound dog. She was seething inside but kept her eyes on Jenny. She shook her head and put one hand under Jenny’s chin when she looked toward Madeline, turning it back so that Jenny was looking at her again. “Listen to me, Jenny. We will figure something out. I know you don’t want to marry the Duke and you don’t think there’s a way out, but we’ll figure one out! I will think about it all night until I come up with a plan. Okay?”

  “Why are you so invested?” Madeline asked suspiciously, coming in the room and staring hard at Marie. “What do you care whether Jenny marries the Duke? It would make her a Duchess! She would be wealthier and have a much higher station. Is that it? Are you jealous because she will be a Duchess and you won’t be?”

  “No, of course not! I would never think that!” Marie was struggling to hold on to her fury. She wanted to slap her sister.

  “Then you must be in love with the Duke!” Madeline spat out the words as if they could never be true. Marie sputtered but could not come up with a response. Madeline stopped advancing suddenly and narrowed her eyes. “That’s it, isn’t it? Isn’t it, Marie? Fess up, sister! You love the ugly old hound dog, don’t you?”

  Marie balled up her fists and stood up to face Madeline. “Will you please stop calling him that! He’s…he’s not ugly! It’s a scar, that’s all! It won’t be passed on to his children, should he ever have any. Why do you have to be so nasty, Madeline? What has the Duke ever done to you?”

  Madeline stood her ground, not backing off from her little sister. “He’s never done anything to me, and I’ve never done anything to him. He’s an old coot who can’t find a proper lady.”

  “Well, he certainly didn’t pick you to be his Duchess!” Marie cried out.

  “Nor you!” Madeline responded.

  “Oh!” Marie turned her back to her sister and sat next to Jenny again, taking her little sister’s face in her hands.

  “You will not worry, Jenny. I will hatch a plan. We will figure something out, I promise!”

  Jenny’s eyes were wide and filled with tears. Marie thought how pretty she was even with her red eyes and nose. Jenny’s voice shook a little when she said, “Do you really have feelings for Duke Phillip, Marie? Because I would feel even worse if I had to marry him, knowing that you wanted him from the start.”

  Marie shook her head and pulled Jenny into another hug. “Don’t you worry about me, sister. I will figure something out where we will all be happy.”

  She ignored Madeline, who snorted behind her in a very unladylike fashion.

  Chapter Four

  When Marie woke up the next morning, she shot out of bed and had her robe around her shoulders in mere moments. She rushed out of her door, down the hall and into Jenny’s room, where her sister was sleeping soundly in her large pink canopy bed. Marie tossed back the curtain and sat on the edge of the bed, shaking Jenny awake gently.

  “Jenny. Jenny, wake up, I think I know what to do! Jenny, wake up!”

  Her sister opened her eyes to slits and then wider. “Marie? Oh! What is it? Have you thought of a plan? Oh, thank goodness.” In only a few moments, Jenny went from lying in her bed asleep, to sitting up and then falling back onto her pillow in relief. She picked up the pillow next to her own and hugged it to her, sitting up again. “Tell me what you’ve thought of, Marie.”

  “I’m going to talk to Papa.”

  Jenny looked crestfallen. “That’s your plan? But the Duke…”

  “Wait for me to finish.” Marie smiled at her, and Jenny pressed her lips together with a small grin. “I’m going to talk to Papa because he was previously unaware of my feelings for the Duke. I’m sure if he knows that I would be a better choice than you for marriage; he will approach the Duke about it. I also thought that perhaps you could feign illness today and not go on the carriage ride with him. Instead, Papa will ask if it would be all right if I went along. The Duke has not spoken to me since the beginning of the Season…”

  “Because you’re always playing that piano.”

  Marie blushed as she went on. “Yes, I know that, Jenny.” She giggled a little. “Regardless, I believe that if Papa mentions me as a possible substitute, Phillip will take him seriously. You know how much in high regard he holds Papa.”

  “Yes, I do. Oh Marie, do you think it will work? Do you think Papa will play along?”

  Marie nodded vigorously. “I know he will. He is always striving to do what will make us happy. And this way, we need not tell him about
Jonathan quite yet.”

  “Oh, that would be wonderful, Marie. I thought I was going to have to run away and get married to Jonathan elsewhere, leaving everything behind. I don’t even know if Jon would do that, considering how much work he’s put into restoring his father’s farm.”

  “Yes, that wouldn’t be a good thing.” Marie scolded her lightly. “I want to be there for your wedding, don’t you ever forget that. Even if you went away to marry, I expect to be given notice so that I might buy a train ticket to wherever you are. But that won’t happen now. All will be well; you’ll see. I’m going to talk to Papa now. I know that Phillip was supposed to retrieve you at half past noon. Is that right?”

  Jenny just nodded.

  “Well, I will get ready. You stay in bed. I will bring you breakfast, and we will say that you aren’t feeling well.”

  “I wasn’t feeling well until now.” Jenny smiled at her. Marie pulled her into a hug.

  “I told you I would think of something.”

  “Well, it helps that you have feelings for Duke Arlington,” Jenny said. “Love motivates us to do strange and crazy things, doesn’t it, Marie?”

  Marie nodded and gave her a soft grin. “It sure does, Jenny.”

  Marie dressed as quickly as she was able. She hurried downstairs and sent a servant to fetch Cornelius. She wanted to know if she should expect a brutal response from the man before she ventured off in a carriage with him.

  The servant came back with Cornelius in tow. When her friend saw her dressed for a carriage ride, his eyes opened wide. “Marie! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you quite so…”

  “Quite so what, Cornie?” Marie was anxious not to look out of sorts. She looked down at her mahogany colored gown. She had allowed Jenny to put her hair into long intertwined braids that wrapped around her head. There were loose strands circling her cheeks and touching her chin.

  She blew one away absentmindedly and gave him a wide-eyed look. “Cornie?”

  He shook his head as if to get his senses back together. “You look radiant, Marie. I’ve never seen you so beautiful!”