by Cari Hislop
Her head jerked back in his direction. “I was just wondering what it’d be like…” She rested her elbow on the table and propped her chin in her hand as he leaned closer.
“What would you give to have children?”
“What would I give? I don’t understand.”
“Which is more important to you, children or love?” asked Marshall.
Mary felt her cheeks burn again as the loud words rumbled through the house. “I’d certainly never marry just so I could have children. My friend Lilly was desperate for babies and a house of her own. The man she married wasn’t cruel or a drunk, but he didn’t love her. She died holding her sixth infant before her fourth year as a wife. All the babies were too little to survive. I think it broke her heart.”
“The man was a thoughtless bore. He should have left her alone for more than five minutes after giving birth.”
“She was expendable. He married the butcher’s daughter a month later. She was quite a catch, even if she was ugly.”
“Would you marry someone you didn’t love?”
“Do you want the technical answer dear Husband, or my heart’s answer?”
“Just answer the question!” The blue eyes flashed irritation and something else that sent a strange shiver down Mary’s spine. The question could only be leading down a path that would snuff out her dreams.
“Not unless the alternative was starving to death, but if I loved him even though he didn’t love me I’d consider it. If one is going to be miserable, one may as well be miserable with one’s beloved near at hand.” His angry scowl didn’t make the next few hours look very pleasant. “Why?”
“Because I…” Marshall was silenced as the twins appeared at his side and pressed cheerful sisterly kisses to his left cheek.
Alyce smirked at her sister, “I think our brother’s enamoured with his hired wife. Did you see the way he glared at us as for interrupting his intimate conversation? I’d wager a guinea he was hoping to kiss her.”
“They’re married, he can kiss her if he likes.”
“What did that wicked imp say?”
Mary met unrepentant eyes and then turned back to Marshall with reluctance. “She thinks you want to kiss me.”
Marshall’s cheeks filled with colour as he stood up and leaned across the table towards his sisters. “I’ll be careful in future not to alarm your delicate sensibilities by doing anything so foolish as kissing my wife.” Mary was watching the twins amused reaction to their brother’s roar unaware of Marshall’s intentions until a hand tipped back her chin and he was kissing her mouth, sending pleasurable tingles into her lips and over her scalp. Mary’s mouth was gaping, her cheeks a little too warm as she watched him stalk from the room oblivious to his giggling sisters. Mary swallowed her embarrassment and followed her husband leaving the two younger girls whispering to each other.
She retrieved her lace pillow with its clacking ivory bobbins from her bedchamber and hovered several minutes in the hall as she listened to him mutter in his study. Taking a deep breath she entered and closed the door behind her. He was hiding behind a book. She hoped she looked calm as she sat down in her chair and tried to focus on tying the threads around the pins in the right order. He’d only kissed her to make a point. The thought made her forget which bobbin to pick up next. Her eyes slowly slid to look at the man sitting next to her. He wasn’t handsome, but he was pleasantly male. There was something attractive about the breadth of his shoulders and the angular planes of his face and the roughness of his skin. She reined in her thoughts and silently scolded herself for being silly as her heart started pounding. Those kinds of thoughts would only lead to a broken heart.
Marshall watched Mary wind strands of thread around carefully placed pins, tie a knot and then pick up another two bobbins. She looked completely serene, totally unaffected by his kiss. He couldn’t expect her to enjoy it just because he wished it. He threw down his book and opened his desk drawer. He had a horrible feeling there was something unpleasant happening in the evening. He took out the list for his sisters’ schedule for the week and moaned in horror.
“What’s wrong?” Marshall turned his head to find tempting lips inches away.
“Horrid Aunt Bea’s list of engagements for the week; I hope that needle witch made you a ball gown.”
“A ball?”
“Don’t get excited. You’ll be my companion wall flower.”
“I’d be a wall flower in any case. The only time I was ever asked to dance was when Papa asked men to stand up with me. He thought I didn’t know.”
“I know the feeling. When I was nineteen Mother employed a woman to teach me how to dance by counting the steps and watching other people keeping time to the music. The young ladies still refused to be dragged about the dance floor by the deaf boy, but my teacher was an attractive young woman with an eye to improving her station in life. Mother sacked her when she found us in a passionate embrace.” Marshall glanced at his wife’s lips and back to her eyes. “I hadn’t known kissing could be so pleasurable.”
Mary felt like one of her father’s butterflies caught in a net as she stared into mesmerising blue eyes. How long before her delicate wings were pinned down forever? He wanted her to admit she’d enjoyed his kiss. If he asked her outright she’d have to admit that she had or refuse to answer the question. Her personal rule of honesty decreed it. She could see her silence was irritating him. “What time is the ball?” Her question broke his concentration and turned his attention back to the evening’s torture.
“I’m to have them there by seven-thirty. When you’re dressing tell the maid I want your hair up…”
“I wouldn’t have worn it down.”
“I didn’t mean that!” The roar made her jump. “I bought these for you.” He opened the drawer and pushed a small box into her hands. “Here!”
She opened the box and found three matching tortoiseshell hair combs inlaid with gold. “They’re lovely, but I’ve only worked one and a half days. Are you sure you want to give me…”
“Are you questioning my judgement?”
“No, it’s just that I’ve never been given anything this beautiful.”
“Humph!” Marshall flushed with pleasure and decided to buy her something really stunning. “Merry…” He waited until he had her full attention and then gestured for her to come closer. Her eyes went wide, her chest heaving visibly against her bodice as she inched back towards his lips. He could see his nearness was affecting her, but he couldn’t tell if the affect was good or bad. “Is there anything you need me to do?”
Her eyes rolled away to the right as she thought about it. “No.”
He scowled as he tried again. “Is there anything at all you’d like me to do?”
“No.” He pursed his lips and wondered what she’d do if he kissed her again. Would she return the compliment? His mouth watered at the thought. It was nearly two decades since his last inglorious attempt to purchase the sensation. Trying to hire a Mistress had been even more galling than trying to find love. He’d never gotten farther than a few kisses before losing the women to someone with better hearing. He leaned closer to see what she’d do. She returned his stare without moving.
Mary shivered as the look in Marshall’s blue eyes caused gooseflesh on her arms. She slowly exhaled as he pressed his lips to her ear. “I wonder what…”
“Someone’s knocking on the door.”
“I’m busy, tell them to go away.”
“The footman says there’s a young gentleman to see you, a Lord Buckingham.”
“Bring him in before I change my mind.” The door opened and the footman waved in a cheerful gentleman dressed in the height of fashion with handsome thick brown hair, but it was his large protruding front teeth which held the eye.
“Lord Raynham…” The man made a bow and turned to Mary, his upper lip moving up and down over his teeth, “Lady Raynham, it is a divine pleasure to meet you. Your sisters were extolling your abundant virtues the other mo
rning…”
“What did the rabbit say?”
“Lord Buckingham said it was a pleasure to meet me, that I must be magical…”
Marshall’s eyes narrowed at the smiling man. “Sit down! Unless you stick your face in my ear I can’t hear a thing so talk slowly and leave out the drivel so my wife can repeat what you say without losing her mind.”
Buckingham pulled up a chair and sat down as if he’d been greeted like a long lost brother, “First of all… I want to congratulate your recent nuptials…terribly exciting…nuptials. I’ve been looking myself…for a woman…to call my own for some time…”
“How old are you?”
“I’m thirty…though Mother always said, ‘Arthur, you’re as old as the stars…”
Marshall swallowed an unkind retort and sighed with resignation. He had a horrible feeling the smiling man was going to be joining the family and that some of his nieces and nephews would be born with rabbit ears. “Why are you here? What do you want?”
“I believe I’m in love. I woke up this morning from a dream where I was singing about a fair maiden whose brown locks flowed around me like the waves of the sea as we lay on a bed of pine needles…it was a perfectly respectable dream I assure you. Though I was quite disappointed to find it was only a dream…my mother would be so pleased. She used to say that I had a diamond for a heart…that I was the most valuable boy in all the world…”
“I don’t want to hear another word about your mad mother, get to the point!”
“Mother wasn’t mad, she had a gift. She could speak with spiders, butterflies, though wild hares were her favourite.”
“Did he really just say that?”
“Yes.” Marshall could almost feel Mary’s laughter bubbling to the surface as he glanced at her quivering lips. He impulsively put an arm around her waist and pulled her face into his jacket as she pressed silent laughter into his chest.
“You’ll have to excuse my wife’s tears; the sudden alteration in her circumstances would unhinge the most serene of females.”
The smiling man opposite just nodded his head in agreement. “Women are the most wonderful creatures, but most of them outside my family have an odd tendency to cough or cry. That’s why I admire…”
“I can’t hear you!”
“…your sisters. I’ve never met two more delightful young ladies in all my life. Mother would adore them. It’s a pity she’s dead. I supposed we all have to die sometime. I’m sure she’s swinging on her star smiling at me.”
“It’s alright Merry, you’re safe now.” Marshall ignored the man talking to himself and ran a comforting hand over her hair. It was even smoother than he remembered. “It’s all right; no one’s going to hurt you.” After a shuddered breath she relaxed, her tears of laughter in evidence as she reluctantly removed her face from her husband’s waistcoat. “Have my handkerchief, it’s clean.” Mary gratefully took the silk square and covered her lips and sobered herself with thoughts of having to eventually leave her loud but thoughtful employer. “What did he just say?”
All Mary had heard was the faint sound of her husband’s thumb caressing her inner wrist as he continued his comforting charade. Meeting the two burning sapphires her cheeks burned bright red. “I’m…I’m sorry Lord Buckingham could you repeat that?”
“I’d like to marry one of your sisters…I’d take both of course except it’s illegal and I don’t know what I’d do with two wives. I suppose I’d order a three sided table, but I’d have to rebuild the dining room. I don’t think Mother would be pleased if I changed her decorations…”
“Which sister would you like? They’re on special offer, take one and be saddled with the second by default.” Marshall was feeling charitable. He was sure his touch was having a positive affect on his bride. The thought made him smile. He crossed his legs and leaned closer to Mary’s lips.
“Lord Buckingham says he doesn’t know which one he’s in love with. He can’t yet tell them apart.”
“Don’t worry Buckingham, after a couple dozen hours in their company you’ll forget you thought they looked alike.”
“I find that hard to believe. I’ve never seen two people so similar….well except for my twin uncles, twin aunts, twin cousins and twin grandmothers.”
Marshall’s eyebrows met in unease. “Twin grandmothers?”
“My grandmothers were identical twins who married two brothers. My parents were cousins twice over.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“My parents grew up in the same house you know, it was fate. They fell in love at six and became inseparable. They even shared the same bed until my Grandparents found out and tried to pack Father off to Eton. Father escaped his carriage and walked all the way home. He refused to live without his beloved Marmie. All my grandparents were against the match, but Father refused to eat until they purchased a special license. It was a triumph of love that makes my heart dance with joy. I was born three years later.”
“Are you making that up?”
“I never lie, unless I have to tell an untruth, but then I rarely find myself with a pistol at my head, though Cousin Horace did threaten to kidnap me and set me loose in a field and pretend he was hunting rabbits. He never was right in the head. They’ve locked him in the attic, but I think he prefers not to see people. Every time I visit he foams at the mouth. Auntie Po says it’s best if I just pretend he’s dead. I hope no one has to pretend that I’m dead.” Marshall took a deep slow breath after Mary finished repeating Buckingham’s stream of nonsense and silently thanked God he was hard of hearing.
“Is it true you’re worth twenty thousand a year? I hope you’re not a gambler because I don’t intend to house and feed you and your silly brood. I wish to get rid of my sisters not drown myself in their children.”
“Children?” Buckingham smiled as he pondered the joy of creating children with a beautiful woman who thought him amusing. He’d never be lonely again and his offspring would be beautiful and kind like their mother if only he could figure out which was the sister he liked best. “I find gambling boring unless it’s exciting. I assure you I was raised to take good care of my dependents. I am quite prepared to sacrifice a few pleasurable evenings at cards for my wife and children.” Mary covered her mouth with the handkerchief and started coughing. “Is she alright? Do you think there might be something about my cologne that makes people ill?” Mary managed to repeat Buckingham’s words before falling into another coughing fit.
Marshall sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose. “It is rather pungent. Were your grandparents cousins by any chance?”
“Good heavens no, I’d be a congenital idiot. We’ve been lucky so far. Cousin Pelham has strange visions of carriages that move without horses and numbers being the language of the future, but he’s harmless.”
“Is there anything else I should know about you?”
“Well there is the problem of always feeling like I’m missing something. Mother used to say I was missing my twin; he was born dead. I can never remember where I put anything and I’m just as likely to forget what day it is. It’s most inconvenient when travelling. I won’t forget my wife though, if I can figure out which one I love.”
“My handkerchief Wife…” It was Marshall’s turn to cover his mouth and cough over his laughter.
“I hope you’re not coming down with a cold Marshall. Your sisters would be utterly disappointed to miss the ball this evening.”
Buckingham sat upright in his chair as if a puppet master had yanked on his strings.