“We should start by my leaving Toppleton Square right now.” He turned back to her. His eyes were dark as they moved over her body. At his quick perusal, blood rushed hot to Marion’s face.
“Why?” she asked, suddenly desperate to have him stay.
He smoothed his crisp linen shirt with an uncomfortable shuffle of his feet. Marion realized she was throwing herself at him. Her actions obviously made the Marquis uncomfortable.
“I don’t want Lucas to find me here and become suspicious. Feeding his jealousy too early might only result in him demanding to marry you sooner.”
The blood drained from her face as she rose to her feet. “Do you think he would do that?”
Her mind spun horrible images of Josiah Lucas holding her the way Noah just had, touching her. It was all she could do not to let out a cry of dismay at the thought.
“Marion.” Noah closed the gap he’d made between them earlier. He took her hand and raised her cold fingers to his heart. “I would never let anything happen to you. If I got even a hint you were in danger, I’d come for you.”
She nodded slowly as she extracted her fingers from his hand before she couldn’t help but throw herself into his arms.
“I believe you,” she said as she turned away from him. She heard his quiet sigh behind her.
“Very well. I’ll contact you in a few days with more information. Until then, be careful.”
She nodded. “I’ll try.”
Standing silently for a moment, she contemplated if she should say something more. Perhaps she should tell him the whole truth about Lucas’s plans for her, especially if he was promising to protect her.
“Noah…”
She turned, but to her surprise he was gone. He had slipped away in total silence, leaving her alone in the garden with only her thoughts and memories.
Chapter Eight
Marion took a quick glance up and down the hallway, but found it empty. With a grin, she slipped inside Josiah’s study and tapped the door shut behind her. The past few days had afforded her little chance to search Toppleton Square for the evidence Noah had asked her to find. Her father and Lucas kept her busy with long card games, boring carriage rides, and unbearable picnics.
The time with the two men was tedious. It took all of her self-control to play the innocent while her father tried to convince her of Lucas’s good points.
Their host, himself, was insufferable. He made overtures of friendship toward her even while his beady, gray eyes devoured her body whenever he thought she wasn’t looking. She always was.
It motivated her all the more to find some evidence of Lucas’s crimes and get out of Toppleton Square. Only Noah hadn’t yet met with her to tell her what it was she should look for, except for his vague reference to something ‘incriminating’.
“Some help he is,” she muttered to herself.
Her muscles tensed as the image of him kissing her returned to her mind. She’d relived the moments they shared too many times to count. Each time she felt an equal mix of desire to kiss him again and guilt that she’d let things go so far to begin with. Noah was practically engaged. He wasn’t someone she could ever have a future with.
With a shake of her head, Marion looked around the room for anything that might implicate Lucas in the death of his wife. The large portrait on the wall caught her attention as she paused before it.
The picture had obviously cost a good deal of money, for the quality was excellent. But more than that caught Marion’s eye. The girl in the picture was so young.
“Just like me,” she whispered as she rubbed her arms. The room suddenly felt cold.
But that was ridiculous. She looked nothing like Georgina Lucas. The other young woman was much taller and fuller-figured, with a sadness in her eyes that made Marion want to weep. Perhaps it was a life with Josiah Lucas that made the girl seem so forlorn.
“Miss Marion, what are you doing in my private office?”
Marion jumped straight up in the air with a little scream as she turned to find Josiah Lucas glowering at her from the door. At her outburst he smiled as if amused and came two steps into the room.
“Oh, you gave me a fright, Mr. Lucas. I was so focused on the painting I didn’t hear you enter.” She covered her heart in the hopes she could slow its wild beating.
“Very amusing,” Lucas said. “But it doesn’t answer my question. Why are you here? I thought you were reading in your chambers.”
Marion gave him the friendliest smile she could muster. “Yes, I was reading. I was reading a very sad poem about youth taken too soon. It made me think about your poor late wife and I came downstairs to look at the painting.”
Lucas frowned. “How did you know there was a painting of Georgina in this room? I don’t think you’ve ever been here before.”
Marion winced. Of course she had been eavesdropping when she noticed the second portrait. Lucas didn’t know she’d seen it. She grasped for a believable explanation.
“The door was open as I passed and I noticed it from the hallway. I was drawn in by how beautiful it was.”
“Yes.” He looked up at the portrait with distant eyes, as if recalling old memories. “The picture is lovely. But then, as you can see, my wife was a very beautiful woman. It would be difficult not to paint a flattering image of her.”
Now that her heart wasn’t fluttering with fear, Marion was becoming immersed in the game of cat and mouse. “I hope you don’t mind talking about her.”
Lucas shrugged one shoulder.
“What was she like?” She sidled a bit closer to her host.
His eyes darted over to her. “Why do you ask?”
“No particular reason.” Marion accentuated her remark with a tilt of her head. “Only that she and I were close in age. It makes me wonder if we had anything else in common.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed, but with a grunt he nodded. “Yes, I’m sure you did. Georgina was also from a family of wealth but not title. She was a little younger than you are when we married, just twenty.”
“Hmm.”
Marion wondered how he knew her age, but of course, her father would have told the older man. Just like a piece of stock at auction, she was sure her attributes had been discussed in detail from age to the health of her teeth. It made her so angry she wanted to swear.
Instead, she smiled in encouragement. The best way to keep her father and Lucas from taking what they wanted was to assist Noah.
Josiah stole another look at her from the corner of his eye. “Like you, she had dark hair and brown eyes. I was pleased to discover your coloring was similar to hers.”
“Th-thank you, Mr. Lucas.” With a demure glance down at her slippered feet, she broke their stare.
Until that moment she hadn’t realized what a delicate game she was playing. In order to help Noah, she had to make Lucas believe she was interested in him. In order to protect herself, she had to make sure he thought she was disinterested in him so he wouldn’t force her father to give her to him earlier than planned. It was a thin tightrope she walked. One that could spill her over at any time.
“You’re welcome, my dear.” The older man smiled at her with gleaming eyes. “I must say again your presence here is most welcome. Since her death-” He glanced up at the picture with a forlorn glance Marion assumed was meant to gain her sympathy. “I’ve been so lonely.”
“I can imagine.” To put more distance between herself and Lucas, she stepped closer to the picture. “May I ask how your wife died?”
She glanced over her shoulder in enough time to see the small smile that passed over Lucas’s face and the glimmer in his eyes at her question.
“It was an accident.” His face returned to the mask of sorrow. “Georgina fell down the stone stairs in the foyer.”
With a swallow of fear, Marion thought of the staircase. It was very high and the stairs had sharp edges.
“How terrible,” she whispered as her hand stole up to her throat.
“Yes
,” Lucas said with a nod before he lifted his eyes back up to his late wife’s painted image. “Terrible.”
The flat, emotionless tone of his voice made Marion glance at him again. Was he so troubled by Georgina’s passing that he was numb? Or maybe he just didn’t care.
A question that plagued her more sent a shiver down her spine. Was the man before her capable of pushing his young wife to her death? Even though she didn’t like him or his vile plans, she wasn’t sure if he could have committed such an awful crime.
“We’ve spoken of the sadness of the past for far too long.” Lucas’s face cleared as if they’d been talking about something commonplace. “I’d much rather consider the future.”
Marion blanched as his eyes moved over her. “Yes.”
“I’ve just accepted an invitation from Lord Woodbury and the Dowager Marchioness Lady Woodbury to picnic on their estate tomorrow afternoon if the weather is pleasant.”
“Oh, that sounds divine,” she burst out as her whole attitude lightened.
Lucas pinched his lips together with displeasure at her immediate response. With a grimace, Marion inwardly cursed her too quick expression of pleasure.
“You know, my dear,” Josiah said. “Lord Woodbury is practically engaged to a very respectable young lady who is the daughter of a titled gentleman in London.”
“Yes.” It took effort to keep the jealousy from her voice. “I’ve discussed Lady Charlotte with Lord Woodbury. It sounds like a good match for him and I wish them much happiness together.”
Her mouth filled with the bitterness of her lie. She did want happiness for Noah, and if this Lady Charlotte brought it to him, she wished them joy. Still, the thought of Noah kissing the other woman set Marion’s teeth on edge.
Lucas offered his arm. With hesitation she took it and allowed him to lead her to the hallway. He glanced at her.
“It does sound as though they make a perfect match. You never know when you’ll find a perfect match, Miss Marion. You shouldn’t limit your choices.”
She took one last glance at the picture behind her as they left the room. The artist had painted the portrait so Georgina’s eyes seemed to follow a person wherever they went. Now she wondered if the dead woman’s eyes were pleading for her help.
“I expect you are right, Mr. Lucas,” she said as she turned away from Georgina’s painted gaze with a shudder. “You never know what the future will bring in life or in matters of the heart.”
* * *
Noah nodded to one of his guests before he stepped away to lean over the terrace railing. Down below he saw the gilded gate of his estate open and Josiah Lucas’s carriage roll inside. His heart pounded a bit faster at the sight of it. No matter how many times Noah tried to convince himself his excitement had to do with his duty alone, he acknowledged Marion had some part in it. He’d spent the past few days running over their encounter again and again in his mind. When had he last lost control like that with a woman?
Or had he ever?
“You seem distracted, Noah,” his mother said as she came to stand beside him and lay a hand on his arm.
“No, Mother.” He smiled down at her. “Only watching our last guests arrive.”
Tabitha leaned over the rail with interest as the carriage door opened. Lucas and Hawthorne stepped out, then Lucas turned back to offer Marion assistance. Noah’s pulse jumped as she appeared from the vehicle dressed in a pink gown with little sprigs of green throughout it. The color accentuated the peachy warmth of her skin and reminded him of her taste.
“Oh my, is that the famous Miss Marion?” his mother asked.
Noah winced. It was a reminder of his slip of the tongue before. “Yes, though I wouldn’t call her famous. We’ve spoken of her twice, haven’t we?”
He said a silent prayer that he appeared bored.
“Well, she’s breathtaking.” Tabitha patted his arm before she turned back to the small crowd behind them. He could see the trepidation in her eyes as she took in the group.
He put an arm around her small shoulders. “Does it trouble you to have so many visitors?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m sure I’ll remember my talent as hostess. I’m only a bit rusty now.”
The sadness in her voice cut Noah like a knife. He’d tried to convince her that she didn’t have to trouble herself with the picnic, but she insisted that she play hostess at his side.
He would have said something more, but the veranda doors opened and Basil stepped into the doorway with a stiff bow. “Lords and Ladies, Mr. Josiah Lucas, Mr. Walter Hawthorne, Miss Marion Hawthorne.”
“Well, introduce me then.” His mother took his arm and led him over to the three latecomers.
“Ah, Lord Woodbury,” Lucas said with a bow as they neared the small group. “And Lady Woodbury, how nice to see you about. We’re so sorry we’re a bit late.”
Walter Hawthorne cast a greedy glance around him. “You know how a young gel can be. My Marion takes hours getting ready and slowed us considerably.”
Marion’s face darkened a shade as she muttered, “Wasn’t me who took hours to get into his corsets.”
Tabitha coughed at his side, though Noah couldn’t be sure if his mother was covering a laugh. For his part, Noah concealed his smile with a bow for his guests.
“We’re glad you’re here. Now the festivities can truly begin. Let me present my mother to our new friends, as she’s not yet acquainted with the Hawthornes.
“Mother, this is Mr. Walter Hawthorne, a business associate of Mr. Lucas’s. And this is his daughter, Miss Marion.” He motioned to his guests.
“Mr. Hawthorne,” his mother said, disregarding Hawthorne with a sharp nod of her head. She stared at Marion for a short moment. “And Miss Marion, how nice it is to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Marion blushed as she curtsied. “I thank you, Lady Woodbury. I’ve heard much about you as well, and I’m so happy to finally make your acquaintance.”
Noah smiled as his mother’s face opened up. She liked Marion, not that he would have expected less. His mother was an excellent judge of character. But somehow he felt relief the young woman had lived up to her scrutiny. He wanted Tabitha to like the lady he’d agreed to protect.
“Miss Marion, perhaps you’ll take a turn around the terrace with me before we go down to the lawn for our picnic?” Tabitha tilted her head with a smile. “I’d be happy to introduce you to some of our other guests.”
Marion nodded though she stole a quick glance toward Noah. She wanted to be alone with him and tell him everything she’d learned in her discussion with Lucas. But there was no way to refuse Lady Woodbury’s kind offer. Especially when the woman in question seemed to need to introduce her. She’d caught a glimmer of fear in the older lady’s eye and sympathized. For a woman like the Dowager Marchioness, life without her husband had to be an adjustment on many levels.
“Of course, my lady,” she said. “I’d be pleased to meet your guests.”
Noah smiled as Marion took his mother’s arm and the two strolled away. The look she tossed him over her shoulder told him she’d rather be with him, but his mother would never guess that. And perhaps having a stranger to dote on would relieve Tabitha’s own worries. Already she seemed more at ease, smoothly introducing Marion to a boring Earl and his ugly Countess.
“Lord Woodbury,” Lucas said beside him, his tone as soft as a snake’s.
Noah immediately turned his attention back to the men beside him with a smile. It was time to turn on the spy in him. “My apologies, gentlemen, for not being more attentive.”
Lucas returned his smile, but the expression was thin and tight. “I’m sure you must be worried about your mother. After all, people have begun to talk since she’s not been out in Society much in the months since your father’s death.”
The blood drained from Noah’s face as he clenched his fists. How he hated the idea that his mother was the topic of any kind of gossip. Her mourning had been deep, but her lov
e for his father was great. She only needed more time before she’d be back to her old self. No one, especially not a blackguard like Josiah Lucas, had the right to question her actions.
“If people talk then they obviously lack the intelligence to find a more interesting topic,” Noah hissed, barely reining in his anger. The last thing he needed was to destroy his own investigation and perhaps put Marion’s life in danger by losing control.
“Of course, I don’t believe the rumors.” Lucas placed a hand on his breast as he took a drink from one of the servers. “But it’s difficult not to hear the whispers.”
Walter Hawthorne looked from one man to the other nervously. If Noah hadn’t been so angry, he would have found Hawthorne’s predicament amusing. After all, he was indebted to Lucas, but obviously strove to impress Noah. Now that the two men were at odds, Hawthorne couldn’t decide where his allegiance should lie.
Noah refused to stoop to Lucas’s level by asking him what the rumors about Tabitha were. He already knew. Friends had told him some of the crueler members of the ton said his mother had lost her mind.
The echo of Tabitha’s laughter floated over the crowd and he spun around to face her. He hadn’t heard that sound for months, yet there she stood, laughing as Marion grinned and nodded her head. A surge of pleasure shot through him at the sight. Marion’s presence was a good influence on his lonely mother.
“Lords and Ladies, you may proceed to the South lawn for sustenance when it pleases you,” Basil said from the terrace as he motioned to the stairway with a short nod.
One by one, the guests trailed past Noah and meandered their way toward the South lawn for their picnic luncheon. Finally Marion and Tabitha reached the men.
“Mama.” Noah took her hands and kissed both her cheeks. “Seeing you laugh is a gift.”
Tabitha smiled. “Marion was telling me the most amusing story of how her pencils were eaten by the horse of a perfectly dreadful man.”
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