Page 28 of Marigold and the Marquess
Leo was in attendance at her cousin’s soiree.
To her surprise, he did not simply take a turn about the room and then dash off. He seemed resolved to remain the entire evening. Perhaps it was not all that surprising. Her cousin Dillie happened to be the Duchess of Edgeware. Her husband, Ian, was one of the most powerful men in England, second in rank at the Home Office only to the Duke of Wooton.
She’d heard the Duke of Wooton was also known as the Duke of Ice. But Ian and Leo were also quite icy and fierce when they wanted to be.
Leo had the power to freeze her with his cold stare.
She turned away, refusing to torment herself by looking at him.
There were plenty of people at Dillie and Ian’s party, many of them happy to talk to her. More young men surrounded her and tossed empty compliments at her.
Had Leo noticed?
Leo and Ian were off in a corner speaking rather seriously, if the tension in their bearing and their frowns were any indication. Their conversation did not last long since Ian had hosting duties that required his attention. As soon as Ian left him to return to his wife’s side, Leo strode outdoors.
Marigold wished to follow him, but she was now in conversation with Dillie and some of their other cousins, so she could not simply dart away. As Ian joined them, his frown evaporated, for Dillie was smiling up at him. Marigold could see this duke was madly in love with his wife and she found this a most commendable trait.
In fact, all her cousins had made love matches.
She had no intention of being the first Farthingale to settle for a marriage of convenience. While she debated whether to follow Leo out, one of her suitors approached. “Miss Farthingale, you are a vision in rose silk. Indeed, radiant.”
“Thank you, Lord Beldon.” She smiled politely, but was not keen on the man. He fawned and flattered, but there was something about him that put her off. His attentions seemed forced, as though courting her was a chore. Then why waste his time on her?
Perhaps she was not being fair.
She knew little about him and may have been judging him too harshly.
Nor did she know anything about men in general.
Leo had kissed her with heat and passion, as though crashing headlong into love with her. Then the next words out of his mouth were a glib declaration that he would never marry her.
After this, he had immediately cut off their friendship.
He could not make it any more clear he had abandoned all intention of courting her. Still, his kiss had felt real. She suspected his reason for abruptly ending their friendship was because he liked her more than he was ready to handle.
Yes, she would hold onto that hope.
She shook her head, knowing her instincts were all in a jumble.
Leo claimed he wanted nothing to do with her, but sparks ignited whenever their gazes met. Lord Beldon claimed to be enraptured with her, but there was a big, vast nothing between them. He did not like her very much, she was certain of it. Yet, he spouted insipid poetry and fawned over her to the point she wanted to scream and run away.
It all felt fake.
So why flirt with her?
She was not an heiress.
The best that could be said of her is that she was well connected. All her cousins had married important men, although some of them at the time were considered reprehensible cads. But she understood why her cousins refused to marry anyone else. One had a sense of who was right for them and who was not.
Lord Beldon’s affection for her simply did not ring true.
She listened politely as he continued to fawn over her. Then he spoke of his true passion, his newly acquired racehorse. “Got him last week at Tattersalls. Outbid Muir for him.”
That caught Marigold’s attention. “Oh, you both wanted the horse?”
“To tell you the truth, I hadn’t thought to purchase him until Muir started bidding on him. We all know he has an excellent eye for ladies and horses. If he wanted that beast, then I was going to grab him first.”
And if Leo wanted Marigold? Was this the reason Lord Beldon was paying attention to her? She dismissed the notion since Leo had not paid her the slightest attention this entire week.
