Page 53 of A Fake Courtship with the Marquess
“Ah… what a pity, for you look so very magical,” he replied, understanding. Romance and terror did not go hand in hand.
Walking to a boulder beside the fishpond, she sat down and put her shoes back on, foregoing the stockings. “Will you tie them for me, Henry?”
“Of course,” he replied, kneeling before her.
It proved to be a surprisingly intimate moment, as he rested her shod foot in his lap and tied the laces neatly. Every so often, he lifted his gaze to find her gazing back, and realized that the magic between them had not disappeared entirely. It was merely… postponed, for if she did not intend to have Lord Powell for a husband, and did not wish to bother looking for another, that could only mean one thing.
“I had a thought, Arabella.”
She tilted her head. “You did?”
“Might you consider accompanying me to Somerset for the rest of the Season? It has been a long while since I have visited my mother and father,” he explained, casting her a mischievous smile. “And if you are in Somerset, there will be fewer occasions for you to seek a husband to replace me.”
Leaning forward, she brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. “I told you, I am no longer interested in that. Although, I am still inclined to give ourselves the courtship we have been granted.” She chuckled. “You never know, by the summer’s end, I might decide to take myself to a nunnery.”
“A challenge indeed.” He fastened the last lace and set her foot back on the grass. “In that case, I will do my very best to woo you, for you would look very dour in black.”
Arabella sighed. “I rather like the sound of that.”
“Which part? The wooing or the black?”
She shrugged, laughing brightly. “You will have to find that out later. For now, we must return to the ball before my father sets the hounds loose to locate me.”
“You have not yet given me an answer,” he reminded her, getting to his feet and offering his hand to help her up.
Taking hold of the proffered hand, Arabella stood and leaned into him. “I would be delighted to go to Somerset with you, providing you can convince my mother and father.Thatwill be the true challenge.”
“Ah… if that is what I must do, perhaps you ought to go to a nunnery and I ought to go to a monastery,” he teased, weaving her arm through his.
Walking back toward the comforting beacon of the house, enveloped in a giddy bubble, the pair likely thought they had already overcome their greatest challenge—admitting their feelings to one another. True, they had not used words but, sometimes, words were not needed.
However, if they had only glanced back once more to ensure they had been alone, they would have seen the shape of a man, silhouetted in the gap between the hedges. A man who had listened to everything they had said and watched their lips press together. A man who did not intend to let Henry have what he wanted, no matter what it cost.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“And just where have you been?” A stern voice brought Arabella to a startled halt on the servants’ staircase.
Gripping the banister, she turned around, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Cassie, you frightened me half to death! You must not do an impression of my mother at such moments. It is woefully unkind.”
“You’re fortunate it’s not Her Grace.” Cassie scampered up the steps to reach her mistress, grinning wildly. “Don’t worry, Milady, I managed to cover for you. All the ladies were swooning over Lord Powell, so nobody noticed you leave. Then, I hear the servants gossiping about Lord Haskett whisking you away, and I see Her Grace coming. So, I nudge Lord Gressingham into her path. You know how he likes the sound of his own voice. She was well distracted.”
Arabella paused and pulled her friend into a tight embrace. “Thank you, Cassie. I do not know what I would do without you. Honestly, I do not.”
“I trust all went well?” Cassie hugged her back.
Arabella nodded, pulling away so they could continue up the stairs, out of earshot of anyone who might be listening. “He kissed me, Cassie! It was… the most divine thing I have ever experience. I know I have read of such things, but nothing can properly describe all the… all the… all the feelings that rush through you when it happens!”
“Mercy, I wasn’t expecting that!” Cassie clapped her hands together. “It was with Lord Haskett, yes?”
Arabella gave her a playful smack in the arm. “Of course it was.”
“Well,I’mthoroughly delighted for you. Did he confess? Tell me everything.”
Reaching the top of the stairwell, and poking their heads out into the upper hallway, to make sure the coast was clear, Arabella began to divulge the details as they emerged. She was still telling the tale as they entered Arabella’s bedchamber, where they assumed their usual positions on the rug by the fireplace—Arabella kneeling in front of her lady’s maid, so Cassie could begin removing the adornments from her hair.
“Then, a rabbit disturbed us, but he has asked me to go to Somerset with him!” Arabella concluded excitedly, brushing her fingertips against her lips. She could still feel his kiss upon them, hardly able to believe they had been so daring.
Cassie set the butterflies and pearls upon a tray, before unraveling the braids that held Arabella’s elaborate hair in place. “Did you agree? Please say you did. You’ve no idea how exciting this is for me. Iknewhe was the gentleman for you. I just knew it.”
