She Ruined the Marquess: A Historical Romance (Unexpected Love Book 1)

by Anna Macy

  William hesitated for a moment. “If that’s not enough, you can count on my undying gratitude for saving me from a lifetime of regrets.”

  Nicholas's auburn brow furrowed, and he nodded. “I understand you are frustrated, William. I can’t imagine what you’re going through, especially after your father’s death, but the fact is, this is how things are done.” Nicholas walked closer to stand alongside his friend, one hip cocked.

  He reached out his hand and clapped William on one shoulder. “She is a lovely girl. Very smart, shockingly pretty. You could’ve and may have done much worse on your own. In my opinion, she’s practically done you a favor not having to go through the season again next year as a single man.” Nicholas shuddered dramatically.

  William raised one arched brow at Nicholas. They had made a vow, years ago, that they would each help keep the others away from the altar and out of the casket. At the moment, it seemed to William that Nicholas was failing on his half of the deal.

  Robert received a pass, as William would never be able to make up for the utter lack of scruples he had demonstrated last night. Even if it had been dark, and the woman had been unnamed, William was now the man who had kissed his best friend’s fiancée.

  “There’s no part of you that is a bit relieved to have broken your anti-marriage campaign?” Nicholas’s voice was gentle, careful.

  William shook his dark head, his thoughts muddled by the speed at which things were happening.

  “I saw what arranged marriages do to families. Even if I can’t escape this one, I’m not ready to be celebrating.”

  William’s greatest fear was becoming the man his father had been, a sullen, angry older man who denied his son his love and his wife his affection. He had died alone, holed up in his crumbly mansion with only his money for companionship.

  Not that most people knew that. Most assumed that William enjoyed being compared to his father, yet nothing could be further from the truth. Sighing, William plastered a smile on his face and began to meander down the stable aisle. Nicholas followed.

  “Looks like you will be facing the fortune-hungry Mamas all alone, Nicholas. Please, accept my sincere apologies.” Nicholas chuckled as they crossed the lush green grass of the Manor’s stable yard.

  “I’m serious, William. I know you didn’t want to marry, but she’s the daughter of an earl. She’s highly educated, beautiful, kind, and while it sounds like you two had an uncomfortable first meeting, you must give the girl points for creativity.’”

  Nicholas sighed, tilting his head back as a cooling summer breeze wafted over the pair. “And all that aside, I like the girl. She and Marian arrived early, so I’ve had time to get to know her.” Nicholas hesitated for a moment, nervous.

  “She’s not your mother, just as you are not your father. From what I can tell, she wants another chance at a family. Come to think of it; you two aren’t so unalike.” His voice was sincere, but William looked down as he spoke, unable to meet his friend’s eye.

  “I’d like to speak to her myself. Alone. Not in bed preferably.” Nicholas shot him a small smile at his attempt at humor.

  William did have to admit that he could have done much worse while this was not in his plans. Everyone in the house seemed to adore the quiet beauty who hailed from Greystone.

  “You are correct. She does seem like the perfect candidate for any gentlemen in the marriage mart. It is my qualifications that I feel are lacking. My father was a poor example of a husband or a father. Everyone tells me I’m just like him, and thus, the life of domesticity will be a poor fit for me as well. It’s quite simple.”

  Nicholas made a face at him.

  “So what are you going to do? Keep attending balls when it pleases you, flirting with society, and then going off to hide at Mansfield Park when things get too serious? You can’t hide forever. You speak about changing the pattern in your family yet continue to follow exactly in your father’s footprints.”

  William was startled at the seriousness in his usually lighthearted friends’ voice.

  “You and me, William, we didn’t get the family experience growing up, not like Marian or Robert. I know how intimidating it can be.”

  William nodded silently. He had spent much of his youth alone, the child of two horrendously mismatched people who never attempted to make their relationship work. Marriage was a matter of money, titles, and heirs. Emotions had no part in the arrangement.

  Nicholas, on the other hand, had been tragically orphaned before he left the nursery. With his brothers, both significantly older than him, Nicholas had spent much of his youth alone except for his doting grandfather, Arthur Euston, Duke of Cullor.

  “But that doesn’t mean you can just close up every time something comes your way. I know you didn’t want this girl in your life, but maybe fate is setting you onto a new path. It would be cruel to cast that path aside. And even crueler to set her aside, even after her misunderstanding.”

  William slowed to a halt, the garden surrounding them in the last brilliant blooms of the summer. He let his eyes sweep the familiar yard at Lakeview. “Thank you, Nicholas. I will try to be more open-minded. And yes, I need to speak with her myself.”

  “Good, walk back to the manor with me,” Nicholas requested, pushing his hands into his pant pockets. He turned to stroll back down the way he had come. It was time to talk to the woman who had turned his world upside down.

  William walked; his mind filled with visions of his new, almost fiancée. Her sharp, fiery dark eyes entrapped him this morning while Lady Catherine had given him his life sentence. She had been dressed in a dark red, one of his favorite colors, and that dress had highlighted every inch of her incredible alabaster skin.

  And while those full, soft lips had been kept a safe distance from his own, he had had to catch himself every time she spoke, to be sure that he was listening to what she was saying, not just staring at the way her mouth looked.

  She had tried to free him from this mess, taking responsibility for her actions, even while facing down the ominous Lady Catherine. He had almost been moved to go to her at that moment, her pain and confusion so sharp.

  William had fisted his hands, letting his short nails dig into his palms to stay still and away from the lovely woman who was trying to sort out the situation she had caused. It had shocked him to his core that he had been driven to comfort her; his chest had ached to watch her struggle to explain herself.

  Yet, as soon as she had asked for Robert, he had fled like a coward. He knew that they needed to talk, but he had wanted her to summon him, as silly as it might sound, first. This rush of protective behavior, and now an embarrassing bout of jealousy, confused William to no end.

  It had been a misunderstanding. Those kisses, the noises she made in her throat as he melted into her body, those were not for him.

  He and Nicholas climbed up the smooth limestone steps of the terraced garden space and quickly found themself face to face with Marian and Juliet. The ladies were sitting together atop a small stone bench and immediately launched to their feet. Juliet immediately dropped into well-meaning curtsies at their approach, with a sour-faced Marian following suit shortly after.

  William knew that Marian would never have given him such a formal greeting had her friend not done it first, which made him grin. That smile widened as they both straightened, and he realized how significant the height difference was between the two women.

  Marian was a tiny slip of a human being, her beautifully delicate features a mask for the iron that bound her together. But again, William found his eyes drawn to Juliet the moment she rose from her curtsy. Juliet was slender, much taller than her friend, with gentle curves that filled out her red dress, her breasts pressed tightly against the bodice of her gown, and while her long, graceful looking arms crossed her torso, he remembered from the night before how she had felt pressed up against him.

  He blinked rapidly, bringing himself back to the moment. Quickly trying to forget precisely how lovel
y it had felt to have those curving hips cradle him and how her long legs had wound around his body to pull him in closer.

  “Ladies. How nice to see you,” Nicholas greeted the pair, returning their curtsy with a quick bow of his own. William stood utterly still, wrangling in his emotions. Nicholas’ eyes begged him to do something, anything.

  “Nice day for a walk.” He blurted the words out, desperate to fill the void of silence but immediately regretting the strange and nonsensical comment. It was cloudy, and the end of summer chill was fresh upon the breeze that blew around them.

  Luckily, or perhaps not so much, for William, Marian was there to help cover his moment of lunacy. She had coughed gently into her hand at his statement but regained her composure quickly.

  “Oh yes, a very nice day,” She answered, face alight with humor. “Juliet was just telling me how she wanted to go on a walk before we enjoy our luncheon with the newest guest arrivals.”

  William caught a quick, subtle narrowing of Juliet’s eyes before a non-committing smile curved her lips. “Erm, yes, of course. That is precisely what I was saying, my Lord,” Juliet nodded.

  William fought the urge to roll his eyes as he realized the plan being put into place.

  Dryly, obediently, he asked, “Would you like to accompany me on a short stroll, Lady Juliet?”

  “She’d be delighted,” Marian said, urging her friend forward with a little shove. It struck a chord of laughter in William as he caught the pained look Juliet had sent to Marian.

  ***

  Juliet was glaring at Marian as hard as she could manage. The tall, solemn-faced Marquess stood like a statue waiting for her response.

  “Yes. Delighted.” Juliet clenched her teeth in what she hoped would pass as a smile.

  “Well, that settles that. Nicholas, escort me back upstairs please, I believe these two are past the point of a chaperone.” Marian grinned widely as Nicholas stepped up beside her, and they continued their ascent to the manor. Juliet wished she could stick her tongue out at her friend.

  Rolling her eyes at Marian’s departing back, Juliet suddenly felt very exposed. She looked around them, but other than William, they were alone in the gardens. Not even a servant in sight. The midday light peering through the haze of English clouds illuminated Lakeview’s rolling landscape.

  The grass was still a dark, lush green gifted by a wet, rainy summer, but hues of orange and yellows had stolen onto the edges of the tall ash tree’s leaves which filled the land with shade. Of course, the namesake of Lakeview was a vividly colored body of water occupying the rest of the view from the manor. While it was far too cold to swim in, Juliet had delighted in watching the graceful swans glide across the water.

  Nicholas explained to Juliet, just out of view of the manor was a small pair of cottages where some of the staff made their home. While they were permitted to live in the small village just outside of the Duke’s land, many chose to reside here as they had done for generations. Juliet understood their inclination. Life at Lakeview was refreshing to the soul.

  Ignoring William’s heavy gaze on her face, she sent one more pleading look after her friend, but Marian never looked back. Her sweet voice filling the air as Nicholas walked alongside the woman, hunched over a bit in order to hear what she was saying.

  Although not as broad, Nick was nearly as tall as the Marquess, his body more racehorse to William’s workhorse. But regardless, he dwarfed Marian’s petite figure as they wound their way back to the upper gardens where Juliet knew Lady Catherine and a few guests would all be gathering.

  Once alone, Juliet and William stared, each waiting for the other to begin. Juliet, who had never had a problem once expressing herself, suddenly found herself struck silent. Standing there in the grey glare of the day, Juliet felt like she almost had to squint up at William.

  He was taller than she remembered, his square chin around her eye level. His body was strong, solid, with broad shoulders and a narrow, fit waist. He wore his height and weight with elegance, a man in control of his body.

  Heavy, straight brows contributed to his sullen demeanor. Juliet vividly remembered those powerful lips against hers last night. Today they were flat, thinned as if tasting something bitter. Smooth, close-shaven, strong cheekbones and a slightly arched nose and hair that curled neatly at the nape of his neck.

  She could never forget this face now. Seeing him in the shadows of the night had shocked her but also entranced her. After all, he was the first man she had ever kissed.

  Finally, William gave a soft, breathy sigh through his nose and turned and walked a few steps off the path and into the pillowy green of the garden. Juliet hurried to catch up with his long strides, a little miffed that she was being left behind.

  Reaching him as the man stopped at the edge of the large centerpiece fountain, Juliet glared up at him, her cheeks flushed from the cool breeze, and her simmering temper. “Excuse me, Lord William,” Juliet said. When the man didn’t move or even turn to address her, she got louder. “Excuse me.”

  William turned abruptly, and Juliet realized very quickly that she was no longer in charge of this conversation. His face looked as if it belonged here in the statue garden, carved from marble and utterly still. He stared at her as if one might stare at a bug in their path, with such heavy disapproval at its existence, or the fact it had bothered to get in his way.

  Her stomach clenched again, and her flush disappeared, replaced by a pale, frightened expression. Swallowing hard, Juliet began the conversation she had been preparing since this morning, the one that she knew she owed him.

  “My Lord, I want to apologize for last night.” Juliet pulled her shoulders back, and although her chin quivered a little under his gaze, she did not shrink away. “I made a poor decision regarding my own future, and now it is going to change the course of yours.”

  “That’s one way to put it,” he said curtly.

  “Please, let me speak.” Juliet’s voice was confident even as her stomach flipped over.

  William’s dark eyebrows shot up, the wind had loosened his carefully combed hair, and a few strands fell forward over his forehead. Juliet thought for a moment that this tiny imperfection made him all the more handsome. A bit more like the man she had met the night before. She pushed onwards.

  “I understand that Lady Catherine will not budge on her decision, but I propose that we discuss this future predicament as if two friends, instead of two strangers. I feel that a certain level of commonality will only aid in our ability to find an amicable solution.”

  William Huntington, the Marquess of Mansfield Park, had no idea what to say. This lovely creature, who had climbed into his bed last night and started the beginnings of a sensational scandal, she was asking him to speak frankly with him. The whole idea was preposterous to him, but he kept that pressed deeply down. Better not to make her think she was being made into a joke.

  In truth, the bastard in him was enjoying her apology, enjoying the chance to watch the emotions flit across her beautiful face as she struggled to find a way to talk to him. For as bold as she had been in a nightgown, this young woman was as uncertain and confused as he felt inside. It warmed his heart, and he could not help but tease her just a little.

  “Lady Juliet, are you saying you’d like me to speak frankly? We have already shared a bed, even if it was an accident. Why not speak candidly about our situation?”

  Juliet felt her whole face blush this time, and she cursed her alabaster skin that would betray her every reaction to his words. Sniffling, Juliet took a deep breath, filling her lungs.

  “Perfect. Thank you, Lord William.”

  “On that note, let’s begin with calling me just William.” William took a step towards her. “I think we can do away with honorifics and formalities.”

  Juliet nodded; a few tendrils of her own dark hair were loose and swept across her face. Pressing them back with a huff, Juliet said, “And I’m simply Juliet.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, J
uliet. Again. Since we didn’t get to make full introductions last night.” To her surprise, William’s face creased in a sensual smile, one that made her heart stutter as she stared up into his face.

  “I mean to explain myself, William because I don’t want you to have any of the wrong ideas about me.” Juliet clenched her hands, willing herself to get the story out, tell him everything she could, and quickly. Looking down, uncomfortable at how ridiculous she knew her story would sound.

  “I heard a rumor that Robert was looking to delay the wedding another year. He had business to attend to and had written to my stepfather about pushing the date. I knew that my stepfather would agree to it.”

  Not willing to risk a look at the man in front of her, Juliet rushed on. “I couldn’t do that; I needed the wedding to go forward as planned.”

  A cold tingle dripped down William’s spine. There was usually only one reason women were looking to expedite weddings, and that would be a whole new problem for him and his new potential wife. But her story went on, and he listened keenly.