He snorted. “Oh, I do not doubt what he thinks,” he snapped. “He is thinking only of himself and what wealth his daughter may bring him.”
Marianne stared at him in shock. “Bring him? I do not understand.”
William waved his hand as if to dismiss her, and Marianne gaped at him once more. Who was this man? For certainly he was not the same man who had won her heart. Marianne glanced over at Julia, and the woman returned a smile of encouragement. There was more Marianne wished to ask him, but she decided now would not be the best time. Perhaps once they arrived to wherever it was they were going, his former countenance would return.
The silence was enough to drive her mad, however. “I have been looking forward to this day all week,” she said in an attempt to ease the tension around them. She did not know what was bothering him, but she was determined to find out. Yet, she would not learn anything if they sat in silence.
The carriage continued down the road, and William did not move his gaze from the passing landscape, nor did he respond to her words. Marianne sat back in the seat and wondered if she would be able to help the man as she once had, or did he find her no longer necessary and soon would have reason to discard her?
Julia took Marianne’s hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. At least she was not alone with William; she would have her friend there to help her until he came back around to the man he once was, for she knew he had not completely disappeared. That man never would.
***
The carriage came to a stop alongside the road, and Marianne watched in fascination as the driver handed William two large blankets and a wicker basket. Then he offered his hand to first Marianne and then Julia and helped them alight from the carriage. Before them lay a wide, open field filled with wildflowers and ankle-high grass, and Marianne followed William up a short hill where a large tree stood, Julia following not far behind.
When they reached the crest of the hill, Marianne took a deep intake of breath. “The view is wonderful,” she said. The other side of the hill led to a small valley where a cottage sat beside a stream. The patchwork hillside on the opposite side of the valley sported different fields in varying shades of green. “Are these your lands?”
“Yes,” he said in reply, his previous temperament now cooled once more. “The far border of it, anyway. It is lovely, is it not?”
“Very,” she replied with all honesty. She offered to take the blanket from him, but he refused, so she studied the clear sky that she saw as a clear sign that their outing would end much better than it began, for which she was glad.
The blanket flicked behind her, and she turned to watch William lay it on the ground in the shade of the tree. When Julia insisted she take the second blanket and sit off to the side, he argued that it was not necessary. However, after a few choice words, he finally relented, and she placed her blanket on the other side of the tree. She had always been a good friend, and this only proved it all the more.
“There we are,” William said, and he offered his hand to help her sit.
She lowered herself to the ground and then smoothed her skirts around her, hoping he would notice the pearls glittering in the sun. Not that men noticed such things, but she did hope he was not like most men.
“Julia is a good friend to chaperone you as she does,” he said as he sat beside Marianne, his back against the trunk of the tree.
Marianne nodded. “She is. We have been the best of friends since we were children, and like you, she is someone who is dear to my heart.” She looked up at him through her eyelashes hoping her words would please him. His smile told her that they did. In a burst of courage, she put her hand out and covered his, and he, in turn, held hers. The touch was strong and the feeling safe. “William, you look worried. Have I done something to upset you?”
“No,” he replied, much too quickly. “I suppose I am concerned for the party next week. Much arranging remains to be done, so that does worry me a bit. Plus, this will be my big introduction.” He gave a heavy sigh. “I fear I will fail.”
“You will not fail,” she said firmly. “In fact, I know your introduction will be one everyone will be speaking of for years to come.” She gave him an encouraging smile to punctuate her words.
He tilted his head. “You believe in me that much?” he asked. “You may be disappointed.”
She laughed. “No, I could never be disappointed in you,” she replied. She hoped her words would relieve his tension, but it hovered over him like a thick fog.
He removed his hand from hers, bent his legs, and placed his forearms on his knees. “Marianne, might I ask you something?”
“Of course,” she replied.
“Do you miss Mr. Sharp?”
Marianne was taken aback. What on Earth brought this on? she thought. “No, of course not. Why do you ask?”
He shrugged, much like a young boy asked why he stole a tart. “The man seemed to enjoy your company,” he said. “The truth is, I thought maybe that you felt obligated to accept my offer to court you. Did you not help me because your father forced you to?”
She scrunched her brow. “You understand how these things work,” she said, not understanding where his concerns came from. “Granted, I had no choice when it came to me tutoring you, for my father insisted I do so. However, do not doubt that I care for you, for I do, and there is no one else for whom I care.”
He reached over and pulled a bottle of wine from the basket. “I know you care for me,” he said as he pulled the cork from the bottle. Then he poured them each a glass of wine.
Marianne took the glass her offered with reluctance, but she did not drink. Something did not sit right with her, and she needed to keep her wits about her if she was to get to the bottom of it.
“I care for you, as well,” William continued. “I just wondered is all. I will never speak his name again.”
Marianne took his hand back in hers once more. “There is no other man in my life.”
“You are my friend,” he said as he turned his gaze on her and looked into her eyes, “and the only woman I care for. When the party is over, we will spend more time together, for I miss seeing you more often than I do.”
“I have missed seeing you, as well,” she said, glad he had changed the subject away from Mr. Sharp and his clear jealousy of the man. “Now, how has your week gone?”
He laughed and reached back into the basket. “Many meetings to discuss the placement of sheep,” he said as he pulled out a large loaf of bread. “It is a story that would take hours to share. Would you like to hear it?”
“No, thank you,” she said with a giggle. “Perhaps another time.”
He tore off a piece of bread and handed it to her. “Miss Bevington, would you like some bread and cheese?”
“No, thank you,” Julia called from behind the tree. “I had a fairly large breakfast this morning. But thank you for the offer.”
William chuckled and shook his head. “A very good friend, indeed.”
Marianne nodded as she nibbled on the bread. “William, this is beautiful,” she said as she glanced around them. “The picnic, spending time with you, it is everything I could have hoped for and more.”
“I am glad,” he said before taking a large bite and washing it down with a gulp of wine. “It is not an outing that requires money or fine things.”
“It is more valuable than that,” Marianne said in a low voice. “I do not want those things from you. I want things of the heart, much like this, what we are sharing here and now.”
He gave her a wide smile and then they both laughed when Julia sneezed. “Sorry!” she called out and then returned to the book she had brought with her.
“There is something I have been wanting to share with you,” William said.
Marianne’s heart quickened. Was he experiencing the same emotions she had been feeling? Was he on the verge of telling her how much he loved her?
“Over the last week, I have found myself greatly concerned, angry, and ill at
ease. Although Sofia is a great adviser, just as Mr. Ludlow is, I have found that neither of them can ever take your place.”
Marianne smiled, his words music to her soul.
“When I think of the future, I think of you,” he continued. “You are the one I want—no, the one I need—beside me through it all. But I must ask, can you imagine a future with me?”
The pleading on his face was endearing, and Marianne wondered if the air around them had heated, as if the sun had somehow gotten hotter, for she wished she had brought a fan with her. She wanted to laugh. Perhaps she was more like her mother than she thought.
“Yes, I can,” she replied, blinking back tears that threatened to spill over her lashes. “I, too, have thought much about the future, and I would like nothing better than to be by your side…forever.”
Before she could blink, he leaned forward and kissed her, and her mind and soul felt at peace for the first time since he had come for her at the house that morning. She no longer doubted they would be together, and she wished to tell him that her feelings for him went well beyond admiration. That, in fact, they went to the point they could be considered love. However, a thought jumped into her mind. The man had enough for the time being for her to add more to what he carried. He did not need her as a distraction, so she decided she would wait to share more of her feelings for him.
When the kiss ended, they stared at one another, and Marianne savored the moment, committing it to memory so she could relive it until a time after the party when he could focus his mind on her as he had once before.
A snicker from the other side of the tree had them both turn toward Julia. “Oh, it is not you two,” she said with a wide grin. “It is the book.”
“How would you know what we did if you were not looking?” Marianne called back with a laugh. Then she turned to William and smiled. “Allowing you to kiss me? Do you realize the scandal if we had been caught?”
“I do,” he said with a laugh as he poured himself another glass of wine. “Then I would have to take you away with me to elope.”
Marianne felt her face heat up and she quickly took a sip of her wine. The thought of marrying this man send pleasant shivers down her spine. “As long as we are together,” she said over the top of her wineglass.”
“As you said, ‘forever’.”
“Forever,” she whispered.
***
Later that afternoon, after Julia and William returned to their respective homes and Marianne to hers, Marianne found herself walking through the small garden at the back of her house. Somehow, the colors of the flowers seemed brighter, the trees taller, and the air sweeter. Her body felt as light as a feather, and she thought she could reach out and take one of the clouds from the sky with ease if she chose to.
It was evident that, once the party was over, William would ask for her hand in marriage, a request Marianne would grant without hesitation. Although she was to become a Duchess, a title for which many would envy her, it did not matter to her, for she wanted William’s love above all else. As a matter of fact, although her father would have gone into apoplectic seizures, she would have accepted William’s hand if he was still a gardener her admiration for him was that great.
Before she had met William, she had thought of love, just as any woman would. However, she also had hoped for the chance to manage her own business, something few women considered. Most women concerned themselves with who they would marry and where they would stand on the hierarchy of society, and Marianne could not deny that she did not wonder where she would stand eventually in life. Yet, William had changed her mind about such things. The titles came and went, just like the money oftentimes associated with them, but happiness and love remained if they were in place to begin with.
“Good afternoon, Miss,” Felix, the family’s gardener, said as he pulled himself up from the flowerbed in which he had been digging. He gave her an unpracticed bow.
“Good afternoon,” she said, giving him a light curtsy followed by a giggle.
The man grinned, his ears reddening, clearly unsure how to respond.
“It is a beautiful day, is it not?” she asked.
“That it is,” he said, wiping at his brow with a dirty handkerchief. “You seem especially happy this day.”
Marianne nodded. “I am,” she replied. “There are many reasons to be happy in this world. We must appreciate and cherish each of them lest we forget.”
“I suppose so,” he said, the confusion clear on his face. “I guess I ain’t ever thought of it like that before.”
Marianne went to respond further but noticed her mother hurrying down the path toward her. The woman grabbed her arm and pulled her further down the path to an alcove with a small birdbath.
“My daughter curtsies to the servants and speaks to them of happiness?” her mother demanded. “Are you feverish?”
Marianne pulled her mother’s hand from her brow with a laugh. “No, Mother. Since I met William, I have found I look at the servants in a new light.” When her mother scrunched her brow, she continued. “Do you not see? They have the same dreams of happiness we do. They care not for title or wealth, for it is something they will never have, and yet they are still happy. Is it not amazing?”
Her mother did not seem as elated by this newfound knowledge as Marianne was. “What has come over you?” she asked. “You act as if you were a woman…” She paused and studied her daughter’s face. “A woman in love?” When Marianne nodded, her mother gave her a wide smile. “Oh, this is a surprise!”
“We have not shared the words, but I am experiencing a great affection for the first time in my life. His smile, the way he speaks, it is all the little things he does that mean everything to me. That is love, is it not?”
Her mother placed a hand on Marianne’s cheek. “Yes, it is,” she said in a soft voice. “I am so happy for you.” She gave Marianne a tight embrace. “So, is this what you and the Duke spoke of today? Something must have been said.”
“He spoke of the future, and although he did not come out and ask yet, he said he imagined me with him in it. Mother, I believe he is going to ask me to marry him.”
“Oh, this is wonderful news!” her mother said as she pulled her in for another embrace. When she pulled away this time, tears trickled down her cheeks.
“Have I upset you, Mother?” Marianne asked with great concern. Was this something her mother did not truly want?
“No,” came her mother’s reply. “It brings me great joy to see my daughter in love. It seems just yesterday that you were here in this very garden taking your first steps, and now you are a grown woman. Although, I realized this some time ago , I must admit that I refused to admit to it.”
“Well, do not cry anymore, for there is much to celebrate.” She felt her face heat up again. “There are some questions I have, though—questions about marriage.”
“There is much we must discuss,” her mother said as they began their trek back to the house. “We must discuss your wedding dress, the invitations, the banns.” Then she stopped short. “Do not mention this to your father, not yet.”
“Oh?”
“He will tell one and all, and for now, you must wait until the Duke comes out and asks.”
Marianne laughed. “This is true,” she said. “Now, tell me, on the day of my wedding, what shall I expect?”
They spent most of the afternoon discussing and planning, and Marianne could not have been happier. To spend the rest of her life with William was a dream come true, and she knew that the future he spoke of was near and there was nothing to stop it.
Chapter Eighteen
Only three days remained before William was to give his introductory party. He rubbed his temples in an attempt to relieve the pounding behind them, but it gave him little relief. His outing with Marianne had provided the first bit of relief he had felt in some time, but that had been several days ago. He found the rigors of his position especially excruciating once he had returned home, for a bu
sy schedule and a review of his accounts awaited him upon his return.
Sofia had come by and they were reviewing the new businesses, which were close to completion, and despite his aching head, the thought of the money he would make each month from those new ventures excited him.
“I must admit that the rent you wish to charge is quite modest for such new buildings,” Sofia said as she poured him another brandy—his third thus far. “I thought we should increase the prices by fifteen percent. And to make it so your new tenants do not feel swindled, you might want to consider raising the rents of your other tenants, as well.” She sat in the chair beside his desk that had become a regular fixture in the room. “However, you must do as you wish, even if you end up losing money in the end.”
He sipped at the brandy, although in all reality, he did not want it. Numbers bothered him, at least in how he had to constantly go over them.
Mr. Ludlow sat in his usual chair across the desk from William. “Your Grace, if I may?” he said as he closed a ledge on his lap.
“Yes?”
“Such a price increase in rent may cause unnecessary hardship for the tenants,” he explained. “That fifteen percent could very well bring such an increase that many may be unable to pay it.”
William considered the man’s words as Sofia leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Why must he always argue with you? Do you not have the right as a Duke to collect what is rightfully yours? Or should you simply give it away?”
His temper flared and he looked back up at Mr. Ludlow. “The rents will be increased by fifteen percent,” he stated in a tone that brooked no argument.
Mr. Ludlow sighed. “You do not understand…” he began to say as Sofia gasped.
William shoved his chair back as he stood. “I do not understand? These are my businesses, and your constant disapproval of every decision I make is maddening!” If it had not been for Sofia’s calming hand on his arm, he would have thrown something at the man. Did a simple adviser believe he knew more than a Duke? William could hear nothing above the pounding of his head, and he wished he could simply take a powder, lie down, and never rise again.
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