Another wave of anxiety rocked her before she faced the mirror again and gave herself an appraising glance. She looked the part of a Marchioness in her fashionable gown with its high waist and expensive silk fabric. No detail had been ignored, from the soft edging on the navy ribbon below her breasts to the delicate brocade along the thin skirt. Sally had twisted and curled and piled her hair until it crowned her head in a shimmering, chestnut mass.
Yes, she looked the part. But could she truly play it?
The door behind her opened and Sally entered. “Lady Berenger says it’s time to go. Lord Woodbury and his mother are downstairs waiting for you.”
Marion nodded wordlessly before she turned. “Is my mother downstairs, as well?”
“Yes. Waiting to see you off.”
She bent her head slightly. “I wish she could come, too, but I understand why Lady Woodbury doesn’t wish for too many questions about me all at once.”
Sally nodded. “You look absolutely beautiful, miss. Lord Woodbury will be knocked from his stallion the moment he sees you come down the stairs.”
Marion’s mouth quirked into a half smile at Sally’s colorful description. She hoped her maid was right. The only thing she wanted was to look and feel right for Noah. She wanted him to look at her the way he had when he came into her room and made love to her. If she could kindle that flash of desire in his eyes, she would consider the evening a triumph. Especially since they’d had so little time alone between Noah leaving and her mother’s surprise return to her life.
“Are you ready to meet the rest of your party then?”
Sally’s voice brought Marion back to the present time, away from her wandering thoughts of Noah. It was just as well. Whenever she thought of them making love, her body tingled and grew hot almost like he was touching her again. As pleasant as that sensation was, tonight she needed her wits about her.
“Yes.”
As she swept out her chamber door and into the brightly lit hallway she heard voices. The women, including her own mother, chattered away while the occasional male voice of Griffin piped in. But it was Noah’s rich baritone that stood out from the rest, rising up to her ears and giving her the same thrill the sight or scent of him gave her. As always, she was astonished by the power of her reaction to the man. And soon he would be hers, at least in name. And perhaps, in time, he’d come to feel for her in the same way she did about him.
She shook away the thought as she began a slow descent down the staircase into the foyer. At the bottom of the stairs, Noah leaned against the handrail, his elbow draped casually over the end. He was talking to Griffin, but suddenly he stopped and turned as if he sensed her presence. She was pleased when his eyes widened and his voice trailed off.
Marion felt the others’ eyes on her as the room grew silent, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Noah. She was drawn to him and him alone.
“You look magnificent.” He said the words softly as if they were a prayer or if he said them too loudly the moment would pass.
A hot blush of pleasure warmed her cheeks and she hoped she didn’t seem like this was her first compliment. Every one from Noah made her behave as if it was.
Noah held out his hand to Marion and prayed it wouldn’t tremble as much as his knees were. He’d known many beautiful women, but the one he was to marry shook him in ways he hadn’t believed were possible. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
He heard his sister’s voice, but didn’t comprehend what she was saying for a long moment. Finally, he broke the intense gaze he was sharing with Marion and focused.
“You really do look lovely.” Audrey spoke to Marion, but her blue eyes were locked on him and an expression he couldn’t place was on her face. “That shade of blue compliments you perfectly.”
Ingrid Hawthorne stepped forward. “Yes, you’re going to make quite an impression.”
Noah felt Marion slipping away toward her mother and reluctantly let her go. Though he was happy she was getting to know Ingrid after all their years apart, he desperately wished to take her away from their families and spend a week or two or three worshipping her body and getting to know her better and better. Their marriage date was going to have to be moved up, there was nothing else to be said about it.
Tabitha glanced at him quickly, then back to Marion. “We should be off. We want to be fashionably late, not overtly rude. Come along.”
Noah saw Marion’s smile tighten as servants appeared with wraps and opened the front door. Although she was putting on a brave face for his family, she was frightened and worried about making a good impression. What she didn’t know was that it didn’t matter two whits to him whether Society liked her or not. He’d fallen too much in love with her to turn away from marrying her now. He just had to find the right time to tell her that. And hope she’d feel the same.
* * *
Noah gave Marion a sideways glance as the carriage rocked around a corner. She hardly seemed to notice the movement as she continued to gush to his mother about the ball. Her first night in Society had been a smashing success, better than anyone could have hoped for. People had been wary at first, but Marion’s disarming charm quickly had them whispering that she was the new ‘original’.
Griffin leaned over to him, careful not to alert the women to his words. “You seem worried. Anything I can do to help?”
Noah shook his head, amazed as always at how well his best friend could read him. “I received word from Golding about Marion’s father at the ball tonight.”
Griffin’s eyebrow came up in concern as he glanced at the young woman who’d so thoroughly disrupted all their lives. “What of him?”
“He’s left Woodbury, but no one knows where he’s gone.” Noah sighed as he watched Marion laugh.
The thought of Walter Hawthorne coming near enough to Marion to harm her was enough to make his blood boil, but Noah tamped down the emotion when his fiancée briefly turned her eyes toward him. The laughter faded from her lips, replaced by a brief blush and a dip of her head.
Noah’s body clenched with desire. Even after he’d made love to Marion, her quiet shyness still made him weak for her. If his entire family hadn’t surrounded them, he would have drawn her into his lap and taken her right there in the carriage. The thought of her writhing in pleasure above him made him shift uncomfortably in his position as he forced his mind to think of something else. Anything else.
Marion allowed her gaze to move to Noah a second time and was surprised to see hot desire glittering in his eyes. She couldn’t control her body’s reaction to his stare. Her limbs grew heavy as she imagined him kissing her, touching her, claiming her.
“That success will make our next step all the easier.”
Marion shook off her desire and looked at Tabitha. “I’m sorry, I was woolgathering. What did you say?”
Tabitha shot a knowing glance between Marion and her son. “I feel it may be best for all of us to have you two married as soon as possible. I’d like to set a date in just a month, if that’s agreeable to you both.”
Heat filled Marion’s cheeks at the thought. Though it had been made clear that she would marry Noah, now that they were talking about dates, the full reality hit her. In a month she could be the Marchioness of Woodbury. She would be Noah’s by law and by the bed they lay in together. Every night.
Her mouth was suddenly dry and she licked her lips. “Since my mother is now here, I see no reason to object to a month. If that’s agreeable to you, my lord?”
She glanced at Noah and prayed she wouldn’t see desperation or need for escape in his eyes. She was pleased to see neither, though his look was unreadable beyond that.
“Fine.”
He turned away to look out the window and Marion’s heart sank. Though Noah cared for and desired her, she still wasn’t certain he could ever love her. And though they had no choice but to marry, she somehow hoped she would know his heart felt the same as hers before they exchanged vows before God.
>
“Very good. Then we have much to plan. Tomorrow I’ll have Miss Fox come to fit you for your gown, and for gowns for your mother.”
Tabitha and Audrey began to discuss the virtue of a gray gown versus a silver gown for a wedding and Marion shut them out. Her only focus was Noah. He seemed very far away at the other end of the carriage and she wondered what she would have to do, to say, to bring him close to her. To bring him into her heart as she had taken him into her body. How they could find a way to love each other?
* * *
“I’m so glad the ball went well,” Ingrid Hawthorne said as she brushed her daughter’s hair. Marion shut her eyes at the feel of it, each brush stroke bringing back happy childhood memories.
“It did go very well. People seemed to warm to me within the first hour. Charlotte wasn’t there, and I was allowed to dance with Noah twice.”
She smiled at the thought of Noah’s strong arms around her, holding her and claiming her in front of hundreds of people. Surely the world had seen they were to be together.
“And other men, as well.”
Marion opened her eyes to meet her mother’s stare. “Yes. But I don’t remember them. They’re all the same. Noah is the only one who stands out in my mind. The only one who holds my interest.”
Ingrid sighed as she rose to her feet and paced to the window to stare outside. Marion could tell her mother had something on her mind, something she was reticent to share.
“That will work out well for you since you two are to be married so soon.”
Marion rose from her seat and gathered her swishing blue skirt into her hand. She’d been too busy chattering with her mother to remove her gown.
“Why do you sound worried when you talk about me marrying the man I love?”
Ingrid bit her lips as she turned. “I worry more that you’re required to marry him. A forced life together can be a hardship as easily as it can be a blessing.”
She dipped her head. “You mean like what happened with you and Papa.”
“Yes, that’s part of my reluctance. I loved another person when your father and I wed. It didn’t matter to my father or to Walter that I didn’t desire the marriage. Ultimately it led to so much pain for all of us. I don’t want to see that happen to you and Noah.” She brushed Marion’s hand gently before returning to her watch over the street.
The hairs on the back of Marion’s neck bristled. “I know Noah cares for me, Mama. Perhaps he doesn’t love me the same way I love him, but he can learn, can’t he? We can still build a happy life together.”
“I don’t want to hurt you. It’s the very last thing I would ever do on purpose, but I never had a chance to shield you from pain as a child.” Her mother’s head dipped. “Perhaps I’m only overcompensating now. I believe Noah will make a go of it in good faith, but if he doesn’t really want a marriage with you, eventually he’ll resent your union.”
The blood slowly drained from Marion’s face. That was the last thing she wanted to hear, but she also recognized the truth in her mother’s statement.
“What do you think I should do, then?”
Her mother shook her head. “I’m probably not the best one to ask, but perhaps you should share with Noah how you feel about him if you haven’t already. You’ll certainly see where he stands and come away with a better understanding about what your life with him will be like. Have you told him you love him?”
“No.” Marion shook her head. “I’ve been too much of a coward. I was afraid he’d laugh at me or turn me away. But perhaps it would be better to know that now than in a few years when it will hurt all the more.” She gathered her hair back into a clumsy bun at the nape of her neck and thanked the heavens she hadn’t changed.
“Where are you going?”
She paused at the doorway and glanced back at her mother. “Downstairs to tell him right now. If I don’t, I’ll never sleep, and tomorrow I may convince myself that I don’t want to know if he could ever grow to love me.”
Her mother stared at her. “Marion, you are so brave. I admire that. I admire you. I wish have could have been more like you.” Marion blushed and her mother blinked at tears. “He would be a fool not to love you. Now good luck.”
Marion nodded, then slipped into the hallway. As she shut the door and leaned back against it, Marion drew in a long breath. She needed more than luck to face the handsome man downstairs.
* * *
“You look as though you could use a drink.”
Noah looked up from the fire burning brightly and met his best friend’s dark eyes. He hadn’t realized he’d been lost in thought for so long, but from Griffin’s expression he had been.
“Perhaps two,” he chuckled, though he had to force the laughter.
“We’ll start slowly.” Griffin handed him a glass of brandy as he motioned to the two chairs before the fire. Noah followed his friend’s silent order and sat. “Things seemed to have gone well tonight.”
Noah nodded. “Yes, mother and Audrey were pleased, and after a few moments of terror, Marion seemed to relax as well.” His eyes returned to the fire as he recalled how beautiful she was that night. “I’m glad. I only want her to be happy and the sooner she feels at ease with Society, the happier she’ll be.”
A small smirk lifted one corner of Griffin’s lip as he took a sip of his drink. “Her happiness is important to you.”
Noah froze as the trap Griffin wished to set closed around him. Though he trusted his best friend with his life and with his sister, he wasn’t certain he was ready to reveal his feelings for Marion just yet.
“We are to be married. I suppose my job is to insure her happiness the best I can, isn’t it?” He sighed. He sounded defensive.
Griffin shook his head. “Seems to me to be more than that. I’ve never seen you so focused on one woman before. You breathe, eat and sleep Marion Hawthorne.” His friend grinned again. “And you blush like a schoolboy when the subject is broached. Sort of like you are now.”
Noah’s hands came up to his face and he did feel the telltale heat of a blush warming his cheeks. Damn Griffin for taking so much pleasure in his discomfort.
“You’re a bastard, you know that?” He gave his friend a half-teasing frown. “You poke your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Rising to his feet, he paced across the room to refill his drink. Though Griffin laughed, he could feel the other man’s eyes following him, concerned and intrigued.
“I think you need a friend to talk to. And since I’m the only one left in our circle who can stand you, I’ll have to do. Do you want to talk about what’s going on? Or shall I just wheedle it out of you the deeper in drink you sink?”
Noah spun back around for a biting retort, but found he could think of nothing to say. Griffin was right. He needed to talk about his confused emotions. At least sober he could control the way he said what was on his mind.
“I had a plan, you know.”
Griffin laughed. “You always do.”
“And this was not the plan.” He set his drink down on the mantel and folded his arms. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to go down to Woodbury and get tangled up in this mess.”
His friend arched a brow. “Why did you go to Woodbury?”
“Investigation.” He waved off the question with a shake of his head. “It was only to be a bit of an adventure before I settled down and got married like I was supposed to do. To a respected young woman in the ton. To Charlotte.” He frowned as he thought of the pain he’d caused Charlotte, of the promise he’d made to her and broken.
“Sounds like heaven.” Griffin twisted his face.
“Perhaps not, but it was controlled and staid and proper.” He ran a hand through his hair as he sank back into his chair. “I was definitely not supposed to meet some country chit and get coerced into marrying her.”
Griffin let the silence in the room stay for a long moment as he stared at Noah. Noah knew why his best friend did it. He wanted the comm
ent to hang in the air for a moment, to let the emotions Noah felt behind his words build as he waited. Finally, Griffin smiled.
“And you weren’t supposed to fall in love with said ‘country chit’ either, were you?”
Noah sighed, surprised at the relief that filled him when Griffin said the words. Now that someone had expressed them, the tension that filled him every time he thought of his feelings for Marion left him.
“No.” He gave a hollow laugh. “I was most definitely not supposed to fall in love with her. But I did.”
Griffin couldn’t cover the shock that leapt to his brown eyes. Noah couldn’t really blame him. After years of avoiding love, even professing that it didn’t exist, this was a change for him. Even more of a change was being able to admit his feelings.
“I know.” Griffin cleared his throat. “It’s obvious by every way you behave when she’s around. But how long have you known?”
Noah shrugged one shoulder as he swirled the liquor in his glass. “I’m not sure. One day I looked at her and I just knew. It was like… like…”
“A thunderbolt.”
Noah smiled at his friend. Griffin did understand, more than Noah had ever realized. “Yes.”
“Have you told her?”
“No.” Noah thought of the night they made love. The way he had held her, the way he’d kissed her. Weren’t they ways he’d told her he loved her? “Not in words. I want to do it right.”
Griffin shook his head and poured himself a second drink. “The words are important. Women need to hear them. If you feel this way about her, you need to say it.”
Noah ran his hand through his hair a second time as he set his drink down on the sideboard between them. “I know. And I will tell her… I will when the time is right.”
“When?” Griffin’s eyes narrowed and Noah felt him searching his face. He turned away from the scrutiny.
“Soon!”
Instead of reacting to his friend’s sudden outburst, Griffin leaned back in his chair with a short laugh of disbelief. “Incredible. After all these years. Incredible.”
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