“Lord Woodbury?” Marion’s voice forced him to look at her. He found it hard to meet her eyes now that he was aware of the deception she was being drawn into. “Your Phantom is a fine animal. Where did you acquire him?”
Noah told her the story of winning Phantom in a card game, but his heart wasn’t in the tale. Instead he watched her every reaction, from her broad smile to her chuckles of pleasure when the horse was finally his. He was sickened that Lucas watched her, too.
Noah turned away. Marion’s safety wasn’t his concern or his reason to be here. Later he would try to warn her of her father’s plot, but for now he had to focus on his assignment. On Lucas’s late wife, not on who the man was picking to be the next Mrs. Lucas.
Their host stirred his tea slowly. “Lord Woodbury, I’ve heard you are about to make an offer of marriage to a young lady in London.”
Noah snapped his gaze to Lucas. The older man held his gaze with a clear message. That Marion was his. Noah held back a curse. He was being careless. Instead of encouraging trust and comfort in the man he was hunting, his bold observance of Marion was putting Lucas on the attack. The comment about his pursuit of Charlotte was meant to put him in his place, as well as let Marion know that he was already spoken for.
It worked. Marion drew in a short breath and her gaze dropped away from his.
“I have been courting a young lady, yes.” He tried to maintain a smile, but it was difficult when he thought of being tied for the rest of his life to a woman he didn’t love.
Lucas smiled, but it was a clear challenge more than a friendly gesture. “More than just courting. My sources tell me she will soon be Lady Woodbury.”
Noah shifted uncomfortably in his seat as color flooded Marion’s cheeks. “That remains to be seen.” He rose. “And now I fear I have stayed far longer than I intended. I must be returning to the Green.”
He was surprised when Marion spoke next.
“The Green?” she asked as brown eyes came up slowly. But unlike before, they weren’t open and inviting. Now that she knew he had found a potential bride, she had shut off a small part of herself.
“My estate, Linton Green. I would actually like to extend an invitation to all of you to visit me there. Perhaps we could have tea tomorrow afternoon since the weather looks to be turning foul.” He stared at Marion evenly. “I wouldn’t want any of you to be trapped in the house all day.”
As he had hoped, her eyes went wide and her face filled with color and a smile. For some reason, Marion Hawthorne muttered to herself and now she knew he had not only heard the words she’d said on the stairway, but listened to them.
“A good plan,” Josiah said with a nod.
“Splendid, I shall see you all tomorrow afternoon,” Noah said as he moved for the door. Before he could bring himself to leave, he looked over his shoulder and allowed himself one last glance at Marion.
At temptation.
***
Marion attempted to appear interested in the conversation between her father and Lucas, but her mind kept turning on Noah Jordan. He had left a full half hour before, but still his image leapt to the forefront of her mind.
It was the epitome of foolishness. Now she knew Noah Jordan belonged to someone else. Some woman in London. No, a lady in London. Probably with breeding and style and grace. Not some merchant’s unwanted daughter who spoke too often and laughed too freely.
Marion frowned. There was no reason for her to feel disappointment. The Marquis was a rake, so of course he had flirted with her, but any connection she had sensed between them wasn’t real. By now he had probably forgotten all about her.
And so she had to try to forget about him.
“Marion!”
She jumped at her father’s harsh bark, then shook away her thoughts and focused on the two men before her. “Yes, Papa. I’m sorry, I was woolgathering.”
“Quite all right, my dear.” It was Josiah Lucas who answered. His gray eyes slid over her and he inched closer. Even though he was sitting in a chair and she was perched on the edge of the settee, she struggled to keep herself from sliding away. “Perhaps you will share your thoughts with us.”
She pursed her lips. Oh, yes. That would be wonderful. She could simply confess to her father and this stranger that she had been contemplating the deliciously handsome Marquis and how utterly out of her realm he was.
Instead she managed a smile and a more proper topic. “I was just thinking about how lovely your lands here are, Mr. Lucas. And how much I’m looking forward to exploring Toppleton Square and Woodbury during my stay.”
That elicited a smile from both men and the beginnings of yet another mind-numbing discussion of rivers and hills and valleys. Marion stared into her tea cup as she blocked out her father and Lucas.
Yes, a man like Noah Jordan was not meant for her. But she intended to enjoy his company when she found herself in it. And if she allowed herself a little daydream about him from time to time, it could bring no harm to anyone.
***
Noah strummed his fingers along the desktop. Though it was only just teatime and his guests could hardly be called late, a restlessness he hadn’t felt for years persisted. He welcomed it. It meant his head was in his case, not bored to tears by Society or expectations he wished he wasn’t forced to make.
Sliding his hand across the desk, he placed it over the small box of charcoal pencils perched there. He had picked them up in the village to give to Marion as a replacement for the ones Phantom had destroyed. It was the perfect excuse to be alone with her for a moment. And to warn her about his fears for her safety and future.
He liked Marion’s humor and couldn’t deny a strong attraction to her. Hell, he felt more for her ten minutes after meeting her than he had in all the months he’d courted Charlotte.
The warmth inside him faded. That was unfair. He had made a vow to the woman he intended to marry, and he would keep it. There would be no dalliances during his time at Woodbury. No matter how appealing the prospect.
“My lord?” Basil York, the butler at Linton Green for as long as Noah could remember, stood in the hallway awaiting his master’s orders.
“Yes, Basil?”
“Your guests have arrived. I put them in the West Salon as you asked and they await your appearance,” he said with a proper bow.
“Thank you. I’m sure Mrs. York has prepared something sumptuous to go with tea.” Noah watched with a grin as the old man’s eyes lit up at the mention of his wife of thirty years.
“I’m sure she has, my lord,” he answered with as close to a smile as the butler would allow himself before his master. Noah had heard the man laugh many a time below stairs, but above he was the picture of calm and composure.
“Thank you, Basil.”
With a pat on the other man’s shoulder, Noah strode down the hallway. As he paused for a moment at the West Salon door, his heart pounded with excitement at this continuation of the chase. The chase of Lucas, of course. Marion had nothing to do with it.
With a deep breath, he pushed the door open and gave the guests within a welcoming smile. “Good afternoon, my friends. Thank you for braving this weather to join me here at Linton Green.”
He wasn’t surprised that Lucas answered him first. The man obviously saw himself as an important fellow. Overly important.
“Good afternoon, my lord. What an honor it is to be invited to your home. Will your mother be joining us for tea this afternoon?”
Noah stiffened as his thoughts turned to Tabitha. His mother was still deep in mourning for his late father, weighed down by days when she could do naught but cry. She claimed to feel better since his arrival, but he had seen no change in her melancholy to support that statement.
“My mother is still grieving,” he explained with a sigh. “I have extended the invitation to her, of course, but receiving guests is still too much for her at this time.”
He looked over to find Marion’s eyes on him. “I’m so sorry for her loss, Lord Wood
bury,” she said softly.
“Thank you.” He was struck by her sincerity. Though her words were the same as a dozen other well-wishers had used, none of them had ever seemed to feel the sentiment behind them so fully. “Perhaps you will meet her before you depart. I’m sure she would appreciate your sympathy, as well.”
And he realized he meant the offer. Not only did he feel his mother would take comfort in Marion’s genuine sympathy, somehow he wanted Tabitha to approve of her.
Folly. It was absolute folly. And if he wanted to solve his case, he would put it aside forever.
***
The tea was perfect. But how could it not be? Everything at Linton Green was perfect from the food to the efficient servants to their host. Noah’s house felt like a home, despite its elegant exterior. It was a place where she could imagine a family laughing or children running through the hallways with wild abandon. Children with bright blue eyes.
“Miss Marion?”
She jumped at Noah’s voice, embarrassed he’d interrupted her little fantasy.
“Marion!” her father spit out with venom. “Answer the Marquis! Don’t just sit there as if you’re daft, girl!”
Marion flinched. “Yes, my lord?”
“Yesterday your pencils were, er, eaten. Today I’d like to remedy that destruction. Would you accompany me to the library for a moment?” Noah turned to her father with a decidedly aristocratic glare. “If you have no objection, Mr. Hawthorne.”
For a moment, Marion’s father looked at Noah without answering, then glanced from at Josiah Lucas. Strange, it seemed to Marion he was trying to determine which of the men was a greater threat. She could have told him it was Noah he should try to please.
Finally, her father answered, “I don’t see the harm. Though Marion wastes too much time on her silly sketches. If her pencils got ruined, I say all the better.”
With effort, Marion held her tongue. Her father had never encouraged her to educate herself, and that only made her crave art and learning all the more.
“Hmm…” Noah pursed his lips with displeasure. “We shall only be a moment.”
Marion rose, wondering why her hands shook just the slightest bit when she took the arm Noah offered her. As they left the room, she threw a glance over her shoulder and saw the anger in Josiah Lucas’s eyes.
Refusing to allow the two men ruin this moment, she said, “You really do have a lovely home.”
“Thank you. It was my father’s pride and joy. I grew up here.” Noah paused and his face turned solemn, just as it had earlier in the parlor. “And he died here.”
Marion slowed her pace. “Yes, I can see you’re still pained by that loss. I’m sorry to see that.”
Noah looked at her sharply. “I beg your pardon?”
It was the first time he had taken that arrogant tone with her. The one that said he was a peer of the realm and not to forget it. She stopped walking, forcing him up short at her side.
“I’m only trying to tell you I understand. I lost my mother at a very young age. The loss of a parent is something you cannot help but carry with you. I’m sure you must still feel that heartbreak, just as your mother does. Only you can’t show it because you’re a man with responsibilities.”
His face softened as he reached out to her, but his large hand stopped just short of touching her cheek. Her heart skipped to a faster beat as she felt the warmth radiating from his skin. Suddenly he drew back as if burned.
“You are a fascinating woman, Marion Hawthorne.” He hardened his face as he took her arm again. “And here is the library.”
She stepped away from him to look up at the tall bookshelves, brimming with books of all kinds and years. She spun in a small circle, craning her neck to see higher and higher up the endless shelves.
“Oh my,” she breathed.
He didn’t answer for a moment and she tore her gaze away to find him staring at her with a strange expression. One that made a thread of heat curl low in her belly.
Finally, he cleared his throat. “I see you approve.”
She shoved away her body’s strange reactions and nodded vigorously. “Approve? I’m envious to my very core! It’s magnificent. I could lose myself here with no trouble.”
Suddenly she had a very clear image of herself curled up in the window seat with a book, very much at home here because it was her home. The image was troubling and completely inappropriate.
He laughed and the sound warmed her. “I often think that, but I always find my way out.”
He crossed to a small table and picked up a small box of pencils. “And these belong to you.” He held it out to her. “With my most sincere apologies. And Phantom’s.”
Her eyes grew wide at his offering. There weren’t the inexpensive ones she’d lost. They were of the highest quality. “Oh no, these are too much. I couldn’t take them.”
“I insist.”
She looked with greedy eyes at the pencils. Things like books and supplies were a luxury she had to fight to afford and keep in her father’s strict home. These were a treasure, and not just for their finery. What she drew with them would forever be linked to Noah and the stolen moments she had found here in his home.
“I thank you,” she said as she took the box with trembling hands.
“You are very welcome.” His smile fell and his voice grew more serious. “Now there was something else I wished to speak to you about and our time grows short.”
Marion wrinkled her brow. He seemed so grave. “And what is that?”
He shifted as though he were uncomfortable. “It’s about your father.”
She thought of her father’s embarrassing scene in the salon a few moments before. How she hated it when he berated her in public, and in front of Noah especially. “What about him?”
“Has he ever encouraged you to marry?”
She drew back at his unexpected question. “No. In fact, he’s kept me from the marriage market. I am two and twenty and I’ve never been allowed to have beaux.”
“Why?”
She pursed her lips, unsure of what had spawned Noah’s sudden interest, yet she found herself too tired to come up with her usual excuses for her father’s behavior. “The shortest answer I can give is that he’s punishing me for something my mother did. He seems to hate me for being a part of her.”
Noah’s face gentled. “I-I’m so sorry, Marion.”
She started. He’d called her by her name, her given name without prefacing it with “Miss”. He was the first man outside of her family who had ever done so.
“I’ve grown accustomed to it,” she whispered. “But I’d rather not discuss it. It’s a painful subject.”
He leaned closer, but this time he didn’t hesitate to touch her hand. His skin was warm and his fingers easily engulfed her own. “Of course. I only ask because I wonder if perhaps he’s brought you here for a marriage arrangement.”
Marion leaned away in surprise, but couldn’t bear to draw her hand away from his. “I don’t understand what you mean. With whom would my father make an arrangement? He could have easily done that in our own shire if that was his intent, rather than dragging me across the country to Woodbury.”
He took a deep breath as if he wanted to ease her into a bit of unpleasantness. “What about Josiah Lucas? Surely you’ve noticed the way he looks at you.”
That comment drew her up short. She’d be a fool not to mark Lucas’s revolting interest. “Mr. Lucas lost his wife very recently. Perhaps he’s just coming out of mourning.”
Or so she hoped.
Noah snorted. “Somehow I doubt Mr. Lucas mourned his wife excessively.”
She frowned. How and why had he come to that conclusion? “Perhaps, but your hypothesis about me makes no sense. My father and I may not get along, but he wouldn’t make a sudden arrangement without consulting me.”
Noah looked down his nose at her. “Are you certain?”
No, she wasn’t certain. But she couldn’t accept that Noah was rig
ht. Her own father wouldn’t wed her off without speaking to her first. Not to a man like Josiah Lucas. Why his very presence made her skin crawl.
“I won’t force you to answer,” Noah said when the silence had hung between them for a long moment. “Please know I mention this to you only as a warning so you may be prepared for what is about to come.”
Marion nodded wordlessly. Of course, what good was a warning when she had no way of escape? She thought of her aunts. Her mother’s sisters had kept up a secret correspondence with her for years, but could she reach them? And would her father follow her if she ran?
“Come.” Noah’s face was as anxious as her own as he took her arm. “We’ve have been alone too long.”
Mechanically she slipped her hand into his elbow. For the first time she was too distracted to feel the spark that seemed to crackle between them whenever they touched. All she could think about was her father and what plans he might or might not have for her future. And as they walked down the hall, she also wondered how in the world she would get out of them if Noah were right.
She could only pray he was wrong.
Chapter Four
Marion hadn’t believed… or wanted to believe when Noah told her that her father might be selling her into marriage. But since he’d said that shocking thing, she had begun to see more evidence that the Marquis was correct.
Meaningful glances between the men, cut off conversations and Josiah Lucas’s constant attempts to seek her out for conversation all made her skin crawl.
Her stomach turned at the thought. And with the knowledge that there was nothing she could do to protect herself. Perhaps Noah might have some idea, but in the three days since the Marquis had brought her worst nightmares to reality, she hadn’t seen him to ask him his opinion about the matter.
Tonight he was to join them at Toppleton Square for supper, but she feared it might be too late. That afternoon her father had sent her up to her room so he and Lucas could talk. About what, he refused to say, but she was afraid she already knew.
The Temptation of a Gentleman Page 3
