by Deb Marlowe
She blushed. “I would like that.”
Giles never thought such simple words would please him so. Offering his arm, he led her across the length of the room. The stone terrace was well lit, with torches continuing down the steps to the path. From there, Chinese paper lanterns hung from trees to reduce the number of places a couple might escape from prying eyes.
He kept Tabby close to the steps to reduce gossip. He must find the fine line between appearing interested and already having an understanding of marriage. “I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your help in avoiding Lady Marjory.”
“Is she still such a nuisance? She is so very forward. I’m surprised she’s not an embarrassment to her mother.”
“May we speak of something else? I can’t allow her to ruin my night.”
Tabby gazed up at a torch, the firelight throwing dancing shadows across her face. “I’m rather surprised you’re out in Society as much as you have been. You do have an excuse not to be somewhere she could find you.”
Giles was running out of excuses he could give himself for why he wanted to be wherever Tabby was. “Parliament is so dull. I take pride in my legislative duties, don’t misunderstand me. But there is nothing pressing for a vote, and some of the older MPs tend to drone on incessantly. The situation is ideal when I desire more sleep, but not on a daily basis.”
“I thought the position required daily attendance.”
Running his fingers through his hair, Giles said, “We try not to miss many sessions. So many run late into the evening, however. To be sure, I am there when a new bill is being discussed.”
“I would think nothing less of you.”
How bacon-brained of him. Here he was, strolling on a beautiful evening with an even more beautiful and charming woman, and he spoke of business. He must rectify that. “Will you return to…where is it you live?”
“Rutland, and yes, we return there in June.”
“Will you miss the entertainments of Town?”
She laughed. “We are not so backwards as all that. We have many activities to keep us busy. There is nurdling, although it’s mostly played in pubs where I’m not allowed to attend. But we do play at home some evenings in the winter.”
He shook his head with a grin. “I’m afraid I’ve missed that game. How does one nurdle?”
“I imagine it’s called a penny pitch in some places. Toss a penny through a hole carved into the seat of a settle.”
“I can see why we never played. Mother would never allow us to carve her furniture.” She laughed again and it struck him how beautiful she really was. It was an odd thought to have in the relative darkness of the garden, but her face lit when she was happy. Even when her features were more sober, she could be a marble cherub. No, a cherub implied a certain roundness that her curves hadn’t yet obtained. Perhaps as she grew older, she’d be as round as that, but for now she was a slender nymph.
He paused and faced her. He caught a whiff of lily of the valley that he doubted came from the garden. It suited her, made him want to lean close and smell her hair. Would her lips taste as sweet as she smelled? “Do you know, I’ve enjoyed the evenings I’ve spent in your company. How lucky I am that you and Barbara became such good friends.” Suddenly it struck him how much that sounded like he was leading to a proposal.
“Yes, I’ve enjoyed it, too. I shall miss it when I return home.”
Thank goodness. She didn’t expect more of him than he was willing to offer. He really should spend more time at St. Stephen’s. He was coming dangerously close to wanting to kiss her.
Chapter 7
Late the next afternoon, Giles decided he must be locked away in the family attic at Stapleton, far from Town. He’d clearly lost all semblance of sanity. Even the slightest hint of wit no longer remained.
“I’m so excited to attend the Danby ball. We’ve been invited by the Duke of Danby himself! He’s such a kind, generous man to take an interest in others. I imagine his family must love him dearly.” Lady Marjory had barely taken a breath since he’d picked her up for a ride in his curricle.
Thus the verification of his insanity. He’d willingly taken Lady Marjory for a drive in Hyde Park. During the fashionable hour. Her mother would be sending Danby a note at this very moment to inform him that a proposal was near.
In fact, the fear of a proposal was what brought him in search of Lady Marjory. Last night he dreamed he and Tabby had a town house of their own here in Town, and were expecting the arrival of their first child.
He’d awakened in a cold sweat, his stomach tense, his limbs trembling.
Spending time with Lady Marjory was the quickest cure he could come up with to remove all desire to spend time with any young lady. Even one so pleasant as Tabby.
“Oh look, there are three of my dearest friends. Lady Caroline, Lady Sarah, Lady Susan, hello! You see me with the grand-nephew of the Duke of Danby. Aren’t you jealous?”
“Lady Marjory, please. People are staring at us.” Giles assumed they did, at least. He refused to lift his gaze above his horses’ tails to see their reactions.
“But I want everyone to see how lucky I am to be favored with your attention.”
He wondered why she threw Danby’s name about, when Giles’ own father was a duke. He’d never understand women. He shook the reins. “Walk on,” he called to the horses.
They’d barely travel a few feet, when they crossed paths with Barbara and Tabby. Lord Aaron escorted Barbara. Giles didn’t recognize the young man walking beside Tabby.
“Lady Barbara, Miss Minett. How lovely to see you. Your brother has been so kind to allow me to escape my mother’s dull company for a time.”
Giles cringed. He couldn’t bear much more of her enthusiasm. Nor had he planned to let Tabby see him with Lady Marjory. “Good afternoon,” he said to the group.
“It is such a lovely day to be out, I agree.” Tabby inched closer to the man she stood beside. The move was most certainly a direct flaunt at Giles. She was capable of finding the companionship of other gentlemen and wouldn’t lie at home heartbroken.
The idea hit him directly in the gut. She didn’t need him for her happiness.
When had that come to matter? Would another turn about the park listening to Lady Marjory help rid him of the idea he needed her?
He didn’t think he could tolerate another round, but it seemed the wisest move at that moment. But only one more turn. Anything beyond that would be pure torture.
***
Tabby arrived early to the Danby ball as she, Barbara and Lady Marjory planned. Finding the two of them speaking in the grand hallway, she hurried to join them. “Is he here yet?”
“He didn’t come with Mother and I. He’ll come directly from the Albany. I think I’m almost as excited as you are.” Barbara grasped Tabby’s hands and squeezed.
“The duke will be ecstatic to have his plans successful,” Lady Marjory said.
Barbara’s eyes widened. “We can’t have that. Think what it’ll mean to the rest of us. He’ll never stop forcing us into marriage.”
Lady Marjory grinned. “Do you honestly think anything would stop him?”
Tabby watched the exchange between the two, surprised at the change in Lady Marjory. Her brow furrowed. “You aren’t…what I expected now that I know you.”
Laughing, Lady Marjory assumed the irritating voice she’d used in their prior meetings. “You prefer me to speak this way? I’m certain it’s the reason Lord Giles wished me to accompany him in the park recently, don’t you? He truly favors me over all others, according to His Grace, the Duke of Danby. I just know there’ll be a proposal soon.”
The three girls exploded in laughter that bounced off the walls and marble floors. They stopped just as quickly.
Tabby pressed her fingers to her lips. “We should join the others, I imagine.”
Barbara nodded.
Lady Marjory said, “I’ll watch for you and Lord Giles. I hope our plan worked. I must leave you bef
ore he discovers us together.”
Watching her go, Tabby shook her head. “This is most certainly the oddest Season I have experienced. I hope it will be my last. I don’t believe I could tolerate another such as this.”
She and Barbara found a spot to wait for Giles, but before he could arrive, Danby approached with a gentleman at his side.
“Lord Ellington, may I present my grand-niece Lady Barbara Graves and her friend Miss Minett?” The duke took a half step back as his his job were complete.
Ellington. Tabby searched her thoughts to remember who he was. A marquess. Lord Aaron was the youngest son of a marquess. Barbara’s father—and Danby himself—could have little objection to Barbara attachment to Lord Aaron.
A thought occurred to her. Danby knew her name yet they’d not been introduced. The fact on its own didn’t surprise her. But a man capable of gaining such knowledge should have noticed Lady Barbara spending so much time with Lord Aaron. Why wasn’t he pressing Lord Aaron to propose?
There was little Tabby could do to help her friend, except to treat Lord Ellington as though he was there to dance with both of them. And in the meantime, she could watch for Giles. Where was he? She hoped he hadn’t decided tonight was the night to stay late in Parliament.
“Lady Barbara, are you free to dance the next dance?” Lord Ellington asked.
“Yes,” she said simply.
They hadn’t seen Lord Aaron yet, either. Dread stretched before her of a night without either gentleman present.
Lord Ellington was a pleasant companion in the country dance, but it was clear he had no interest in Tabby. He wasn’t condescending, but his manner was very cool. If he’d been so with Barbara, there was no way he’d win her heart away from Lord Aaron.
Tabby danced a few more times, and Barbara was constantly on the floor. Remaining near her mother, Tabby kept one eye on the doorway in hopes Giles would finally appear.
When the supper dance came and went and everyone adjourned to eat, Tabby could stand no more. She rushed into a darkened hallway looking for a place to hide. She ducked into an alcove and allowed her tears to fall. She hiccupped in her attempts to be quiet, covering her mouth with one gloved hand. Her handkerchief in her other hand was already soaked through.
It couldn’t be more clear that Giles didn’t care for her, much less love her. He’d said from the start their friendship was only to divert Danby. Yet she’d hoped, as they’d grown close recently, he’d become as fond of her as she was of him. Fond. Such nonsense. She loved him.
She cried harder still, unable to keep herself quiet. She pressed back further into the alcove. If someone heard her, they wouldn’t see her and might leave her alone.
“Are you ill?” The quiet male voice came from a doorway across the hall. His silhouette was outlined from the moonlight streaming through the windows in the room behind him.
“I wish to be alone.”
“Tabby?” It was Giles. Just the man she’d wanted to see. Just the man she wished never to see again.
“Please let me be.”
“I can’t.” His voice was closer, although she didn’t hear footsteps.
She held her breath in hopes of stopping the tears. He already knew she’d been crying, but she didn’t want him to see her doing so.
She couldn’t even see the handkerchief in her hand. How was he to see her? It no longer mattered because he stood in front of her.
“How may I help. Shall I find your mother? My sister?”
“No, please. I said I wish to be alone. That’s the only way I’ll be happy.” How she lied. She’d never be happy without his love.
His fingers touched her arm just above the hem of her long glove. “I can’t leave you in such a state. At the very least allow me to offer my shoulder to cry on.”
The damn she’d built around her heart burst open. Giles pulled her into his arms. Her hands pressed against his waistcoat, and the firm muscles beneath. He had such a fine form, such a strong, comforting grip. Life was truly unfair to let her know him and then take him away.
“Hush.” He stroked a hand over her hair, smoothing it away from her face. He pressed a kiss on her forehead.
She froze, her breath caught in her lungs. He’d kissed her. Not on the lips, not the passionate joining she longed for, but it must mean something. She lifted her head and his moved back.
“Have you cried it all out?”
“I…I believe so.” She remained tense, waiting.
He didn’t pull away. One hand stroked her back, not pulling her toward him but not letting go. “I’m glad. It hurts me to hear all the pain in your tears. I wish I knew the cause. Shall I call out the rake for hurting you so?”
She sniffled and lifted her handkerchief to her nose. She could never let him know he was the cause of her tears. His absence, to be exact. “It’s nothing worth pursuing. No one has harmed me.”
Unless you’d call stepping on her heart and smashing it until it stopped beating harming her. But he couldn’t fight against himself, could he?
His hand cupped her cheek, cool against her burning skin. His thumb brushed away the dampness there. Although she couldn’t see his features, she felt his breath as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Her gasp never escaped.
He tasted sweet, like the punch served that night. His scent was heavy, masculine. Nothing she could name but everything that would now be special to her. Beneath her hands, his heart raced as quickly as hers.
He lifted his head, then kissed her again, and again, finally catching just the corner of her lips.
Then he stepped back. She heard the rustling of silk, likely his cravat. “Forgive me.”
It was what all men said after doing the one thing girls longed for.
“I should return you to your mother, but we can’t be seen together. I’m not certain if I mussed your hair or not.”
She stood in the glow of her love for him, the warm happiness filling her. “I’ll visit the withdrawing room before returning to the others.”
“Excellent. You’d better go now. Someone will have noticed your absence.”
Tabby stepped around him and hurried down the hall. She didn’t want to miss a minute of what dancing remained, now that Giles was here.
Chapter 8
Two weeks later, Tabby walked with Barbara to the lending library. The streets weren’t crowded that early in the day, so they were able to talk freely.
“I cannot believe my brother has not called on you in two weeks!”
“He likely had important business to keep him busy. He’d missed a lot of time in Parliament with the afternoon calls and evening assemblies. He mentioned feeling he was shirking his duties.” This was nonsense. Here she was defending the man who’d kissed her quite passionately, then vanished. He hadn’t come looking to dance with her. Barbara said she never saw him that night.
No one escaped attending the Danby ball, if the duke summoned them. Everyone said so. Giles might refuse to marry Lady Marjory and tell the duke to his face, but he couldn’t stay away for the family ball.
Lady Marjory had agreed to soften her pursuit of him, but maybe Giles had stayed away in fear of being confronted by his great-uncle.
He had no reason to avoid seeing Tabby in all that time. “I made too much of our friendship. When a man states at the onset that he only wishes for a partner to keep other women away, there’s no need to scorn him when he withdraws the partnership. I’m sure when we meet again it will be as polite friends.”
“I haven’t known you long, but I know you better than this. You’ll not recover from your feelings for him soon. It might take finding another man to mend your heart.”
“Another man. You make it sound so simple. I’ll be like Danby and look around the room.” She assumed a haughty stature and voice. ‘That one. That gentleman there. He’ll make a suitable husband.’”
“All right, I agree it’s a foolish idea. But I do feel the attention of other men would lift your spirit
s. You are welcome to Lord Ellington.”
They both laughed. “Is that all I deserve? Your cast off beaux? I’ve truly sunken below Society’s standards. At least there was no engagement between us, so there’s no scandal to damage me.”
“Mama is having a card party tomorrow. I’m sure you received an invitation. Likely you haven’t responded because you feared seeing Giles. Since he’s been spending his days at St. Stephen’s Chapel, we can assume he won’t come to the party. Say you will come. There might be some flirting, but there will be enough tables for everyone to play. You won’t be left standing in a corner.”
“Very well. Mama and I will come. She’ll be pleased to enjoy company without standing on her feet the entire night. I think she needs larger shoes, but she refuses to buy larger size. To do so would imply she’s become a tad plump.”
Mama was quite pleasantly round these days, but no one spoke of it around her. She’d likely take to her room for days on end.
“I’m so happy! I’ll save you a seat at my table so we may choose just the right man to partner you.”
Taking another day away from his duties, Giles greeted guests as they arrived for Mother’s card party. He was determined not to allow himself to become distracted this time, even though no betting took place.
When Tabby and her mother arrived, his pulse sped. He couldn’t explain it, but the kiss likely had something to do with it. That kiss…she was so innocent, but he’d felt so much of her heart in that kiss. Pressed so tightly to him, her curves felt right against him. If he had to choose a wife, she would be it.
His eyes widened. That line of thought must stop. Only in Danby’s mind must Giles find a bride. In Danby’s and Lady Marjory’s minds. Mother didn’t press the issue. Wickham had helped along those lines, promising to continue the dukedom with an heir. Giles had time.
Enough guests had arrived to fill several tables, so the games began. Giles sat with Tabby, Barbara and Lord Aaron. The lord was the main reason for the party—to give him a chance to speak his mind with Barbara. He was so reserved. Both Giles’ mother and Barbara hoped the small gathering would make him more comfortable.
