Page 11 of Falling for a Forsaken Marquess
“Do you still love her?” Martin asked.
William shook his head. “Such a woman is not worthy of my affection. I do not know if any woman is worthy of it.”
“Do not say that,” Martin protested. “It will make getting married much harder.”
“I tire of this topic,” said William, reaching for a biscuit. “Do you plan to stay in the county for the hunting season, or have you received an invitation to attend a hunting party elsewhere?”
“I have received several invitations, but I do not wish to leave my home. We have enough hunting ground here. When will you return home?”
“The end of August, but with this new development with Mother, I’m not sure if I can leave. She’ll think I have taken back my word if I go before she finds me a wife.”
Martin shook his head. “You’re in a difficult predicament, old friend. I know how desperate you are to be in your own home again.”
Desperate was not an understatement in the least, but a perfect word to describe his thoughts on his situation. The men continued to talk about the hunting season and the next society dinner for their club, with Martin surprisingly not mentioning anything about William being removed from the membership.
t likely meant the other members had voted against the decision, but William didn’t care either way as he had bigger things to worry about, namely getting out of the promise to his mother.
***
William couldn’t believe his luck when another week passed without a word from his mother about discovering the perfect bride. He began to think she was having difficulty finding this woman and might give up soon. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be when the duchess called him to her parlour early one afternoon.
“You wished to see me, Mother?” William said from the doorway.
“Oh, yes!” she said, looking up from her ladies’ magazine. “Come and take a seat, dear. I was looking at a few patterns for stitching purposes. I thought your wife-to-be would appreciate a pretty handkerchief with a lovely design on it. What do you think?”
William stopped walking as soon as his mother mentioned his wife-to-be. She had given him no warning at all, and now he was left with the need to run out the door and never return. His mother looked him up and down, frowning at his stationary position.
“What has happened, son?” she asked. “You seem to have frozen in place.”
William began to move, but he put no thought into his actions. His mind was still on the notion that his mother had chosen a woman, and he would indeed be married before the year’s end.
“William, dear,” his mother said, her concern etched on his face. “What has come over you? You seem so stiff and in shock. Are you ill?”
The duchess rose and came to him, guiding William to a chair and sitting him down. She felt his brow and peered into his eyes, giving him a whiff of the lemon sweets she had been nibbling before he entered the parlour. He shook his head, putting a hand on his mother’s arm.
“I am fine, Mother,” he snapped. “There is no need to fuss so much.”
“Goodness!” she cried, straightening. “You do not need to be so short with me.”
William sighed, running a hand over his face. “Forgive me, Mother. Please, take a seat, and we can talk.”
The duchess was still frowning when she returned to her chair and popped another lemon-flavoured boiled sweet into her mouth.
“You look lovely today,” he said. “I have always said that lavender is your colour. Do your shoes match?”
Speaking about fashion was the fastest way to get his mother to smile and lose the frown on her face.
“I always match my shoes to my dress, William,” she replied. “You know that well.”
Only a small line remained between her eyebrows, but William was not clear of her ire just yet.
“Your friends must be envious that you have such lovely dark hair with hardly a grey thread in sight,” he continued.
The duchess’ hand went to her hair as a smile appeared on her face. “I use a secret recipe passed down through the women in my family. I shall give it to your wife once she becomes a Sculthorpe. I didn’t have a daughter of my own, so your wife will become my daughter. I cannot wait to share all my knowledge with her!”
William swallowed hard, pulling at his cravat. “Do you, uh, know who she is already?”
The duchess scrunched her face a little and wiggled her nose before letting out a disappointed sigh.
