Page 27 of A Whisper of Desire
“Once we’ve had tea. As it’s almost three now, I’ll meet the staff after they leave. Can you let Brunton know to have the staff ready at half after four? That will still give me plenty of time to dress for the ball.”
“You haven’t eaten today. Do you want something more substantial than the scones with tea?”
Marisa wasn’t hungry. The ball she could handle. She’d been the belle of enough of them. What she worried about was what would happen after the ball. Would Maitland come to her? She was not going to instigate intimacy as she did last night. The fear of being rejected was simply too great. She wanted to see if he truly desired her. If the feelings rushing round her body were rioting inside Maitland, he’d come to her bed. If he didn’t…She didn’t want to think what that might mean—for her and their marriage.
Chapter 8
Susan finished pinning the last curl on her head and Marisa gave her a warm smile. She was excited about the ball. It was her first appearance as the Duchess of Lyttleton and she was looking forward to conversing with her friends. There would be awkward questions about Rutherford, but she and Helen had come up with a story.
She was tired of waiting for Lord Rutherford to make up his mind, and Maitland came in and swept her off her feet. She fell head over heels in love with him. Not quite as much of a lie as it may seem. She had a feeling she was falling for him; even if one day and one night of marriage was not long enough to be sure.
Her earlier talk with Beatrice had been rather disappointing. Beatrice said the night of their wedding she and Sebastian discussed how the marriage should work. She suggested Marisa sit down and talk to Maitland about what she desired in the marriage. If sharing his bed each night was important to her, then she should make him realize that.
A chance to talk with Maitland would be a fine thing. By the time she’d taken tea with Helen and Beatrice, then met with the staff and let Mrs. Heyer, the housekeeper, introduce her to the large house, she’d had to hurry with her toiletry in order to be ready for the ball.
Taking on her duties gave her the courage to do what must be done. She had to grow up and take half the responsibility for this marriage. Maitland couldn’t read her mind. She would have to explain to him what she desired. The idea of coaxing a man who kept his emotions on a tight rein to reveal his feelings did not sit well in her stomach. It was fluttering as if she’d swallowed a buzzing bee.
She made her way to the staircase and was about to descend, when she spied Maitland waiting for her in the entrance hall. He was pacing, slapping his gloves against his thigh. He looked like a caged panther, dark and sleek, with suppressed power and hidden danger.
Her heart quivered as she soaked in the vision of potent masculinity below. Why had she never noticed how broad his shoulders were, how his black hair gleamed in the light and how the curls beckoned her fingers to tug them? She felt a jolt down to her toes. Her breath faltered and a buzzing began in her ears.
At that moment he looked up and his frown disappeared and a genuine smile lit his face as he watched her descend. He was so handsome. She was a lucky woman.
He moved to greet her at the bottom of the stairs, placing a kiss on her cheek.
“I will be proud to escort such a beautiful woman tonight, and to share with thetonhow lucky I am to have you as my wife.” His husky voice sent heat licking over her skin.
“What a lovely thing to say, thank you. You look very handsome tonight yourself.”
He tucked her hand over his arm and escorted her to his carriage. As they settled on the squabs, Marisa asked, “What are you going to tell people about our rushed wedding? No doubt Lady Dunmire has told, well, everyone.”
“I will say it was a prudent choice to align two great families. No one will raise an eyebrow at the logic of this match.”
“So romantic.”
He looked at her as if she were a child. “A duke does not marry for love. There are far more important considerations. If we try to say it’s a love match no one will believe it. They will think we are hiding some big scandal.”
She turned away to look out of the carriage window. She looked at the houses they passed, wondering at the couples that lived in them. Were the couples that lived there happy? Were they marriages of convenience or were they homes filled with love? Finally she turned to look at her husband.
“Rutherford is likely to be there. Do you think he will cause a scene?”
“I doubt it. He’s young and he never formally proposed, and if we appear happy, no one will think it strange that you accepted me instead. I am a duke and he merely a marquess in waiting.”
She would like a quiet word with Rutherford. The cad. The one thing she did know was she was better off being married to Maitland, a man who didn’t love her but respected her, than to Rutherford, a man who simply disrespected everything about her.
—
She held tightly to Maitland’s arm as they waited at the top of the stairs to be announced at Lord and Lady Hutchinson’s ball. When the butler announced the Duke and Duchess of Lyttleton, it appeared that the chatting below stopped and all heads turned their way. The moment of stillness passed as quickly as it came, and by the time they reached the ballroom floor the couple was surrounded by well-wishers, including Beatrice and Sebastian, Hadley and Helen, and Arend.
“I will see you for the first waltz and I’d like to take you into supper,” Maitland said before he added, “The men and I will be in the card room, should you require me for anything.”
With that, the men left the ladies and Marisa was free to answer all the questions about her unexpected marriage from the other young ladies who’d been debutantes with her. Most of them had become engaged or married during the season and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary about her brother insisting she marry his friend the duke.
Her dance card, as usual, quickly filled up. Maitland dutifully arrived for the first waltz and she found it difficult to focus on her steps. The feel of his arms about her sent images racing into her head of the things he’d done to her last night. She looked forward to more of the same tonight, and scandalously she’d moved closer to him as he’d twirled her around the floor, his powerful thighs feeling solid through the thin silk of her dress. For one moment she thought she’d felt something else solid pushing against her stomach when they briefly brushed each other. Her face had heated, while Maitland had shown no reaction at all. She must have imagined it.
Later, a few of her friends, including Helen, decided to escape onto the terrace for a breath of fresh night air before supper was called.
Marisa was content to lean against the balustrade and listen to the excited chatter. Helen was the current topic of conversation, with her friends trying to wangle who had taken her fancy. Marisa smiled at Helen’s skilled deflection. She knew her sister harbored a crush on Lord Fullerton. Her heart ached because she thought Hadley a decent man, but he was totally oblivious to Helen’s crush, and because of that he inadvertently encouraged her feelings. She wondered if she should have a word with him or, better yet, get Maitland to have a word.
