Page 9 of Her Magnificent Mistake
Straightening her shoulders, she placed her hand in his.
And sucked in a breath, suddenly light-headed as the memories swarmed her.
That spark, the laughter they’d shared, the flirtatious glances, thekisses, the heat…
Back when he’d looked at her and seen a woman worthy of love.
Back when she’d been good enough for him.
“Marcia?” he murmured, and she realized in her distraction, he’d led her to the dancefloor.Marcia. He’d dropped the honorific.
I cannot do this.
She had to.
“I am ready,” she announced, lifting her hand to his shoulder.
As the music began, he pulled her closer…and launched into the waltz.
As the daughter of a duke—albeit a reclusive one who preferred his Scotland estate to bigger cities—she’d done her share of dancing in the last ten years. She hadn’t enjoyed it—the small talk, the niceties—but she’d done it.
But in that moment, she couldn’t recall a single waltz, a single partner.
Shecouldrecall, however, with stunning clarity, how it had felt to dance with Hawk. It felt so familiar, to be here in his arms, his strength surrounding her.
So veryright.
She shuddered. Part sadness, part remembered joy, part desperate yearning.
“Marsh—Lady Marcia, are you feeling well? We dinnae have to dance.”
And now he was being solicitous? After the cold way he’d broken her heart?
The man is guilty of murder. Of course he can appear solicitous!
Lifting her chin, Marcia smiled brightly at the man she had thought she’d known. “I would not dream of it, my lord.” Was it her imagination, or did he wince when she used such a formal tone of address? She pressed on. “Bull and I were surprised to see your name in the papers as the Tostinham heir. I had no idea you were so close to greatness.”
“Greatness?” He snorted softly as he spun her through a turn. “The Barony of Tostinham is a minor holding in Cowal. My mother’s father’s family held it for years, but with so many uncles and cousins, I never expected it to come to me…”
Was it really going to be so easy to direct the questioning? “I am sorry for your recent losses. So many deaths…”
“Aye.” His somber expression gave nothing away. “I didnae ken either of my cousins well, but Uncle William was a jolly fellow, he didnae deserve to die so early.”
“But still, now you have Tostinham, which I suppose is a blessing,” she prompted.
Something in his face softened, and although his gaze was directed over her shoulder, she doubted he was reallyseeing. “It is a lovely part of Scotland, one which has always held my heart. The rhododendrons are—och,” he broke off, shaking his head. “Ye dinnae care to hear such blather.”
“I do,” she whispered, and realized she meant it. It had been too long since a man—besides Bull--had spoken to her as anequal, someone whocared. Someone whose opinion mattered. “It sounds just lovely. Cowal sounds like an area worth seeing.”
“It is.” He actually brightened. “Once Allison and I are settled in, I was hoping Bull might like to see it. Perhaps…perhaps you might come as well?”
Excellent.
Marcia tried for a pleased smile.Was this it?The invitation to investigate him more closely?
After abandoning her ten years ago, he would justinviteher to his home now, merely because she was his best friend’s little sister?
Keep him talking!“And the rhododendrons?”
