Page 20 of Falling for a Forsaken Marquess
William almost snorted. His mother made it seem as though his brother had gone away on holiday.
“Who are these lovely ladies, Mother?” Jacob asked, his eyes never leaving Agnes.
“Mrs Mellors and Miss Humphries, dear,” the duchess said. “They have come to have tea with us.”
The women stood up and curtsied, dipping their heads briefly before taking their seats.
“Enchanté,” said Jacob with an exaggerated bow. “I shall take a seat right here if no one minds.”
The man sat down in an armchair beside Agnes, showing no shame as he pulled it an inch closer to her seat.
“Is this your first time in Cheltenham, Miss Humphries?” he asked.
And just like that, Jacob took over the entire conversation without a thought to anyone else. William did not mind and was grateful for his brother’s presence as it took away the pressure for him to speak to Agnes.
“No, My Lord,” said Agnes. “My family and I have been to Cheltenham a few times in the past. It is not too far from Lydney, so ’tis not a stretch.”
“Indeed? How did I not see you before now?” asked Jacob. “I have lived here all my life, although I did spend four years away.”
“We keep to ourselves, My Lord.”
“That seems a rather selfish thing to do, Miss Humphries,” Jacob complained. “You need to give others the opportunity to befriend you.”
Agnes smiled. “Perhaps I am a little selfish in that regard, but it is not purposefully done.”
William kept waiting for the look of adoration to appear in Agnes’ eyes, but she maintained her pleasantly interested gaze. She didn’t seem affected by Jacob despite the thick layer of charm he applied to all his sentences. The younger man knew Agnes had come to see him, but he was taking away her attention.
William wasn’t concerned about it, but it did bother him a little that his brother was flirting with a woman chosen for him. However, if his brother truly wished to be with Agnes, he was welcome to her. It would be one less thing William had to worry about.
Chapter 6
Agnes was finally in the Sculthorpe household, but nothing was going as planned. It was normal for a person to be nervous, but Agnes needed to control herself before ruining her first meeting with the marquess. Lord Hampton had looked ready to flee when she greeted him, but he was still in the room, so she hadn’t scared him away just yet.
Her loudness and blabbering were embarrassing, to say the least, but Lord Sculthorpe didn’t seem to mind as much as his brother did and was putting her at ease the longer he spoke to her. Unfortunately, she wasn’t here to talk to him, but Lord Hampton, but the older man didn’t seem interested.
“How long do you plan to stay in Cheltenham, Miss Humphries?” Lord Sculthorpe asked.
Agnes’ eyes briefly travelled to the marquess and darted back to the younger man. “Well, that depends on the success of my visit.”
“I see. Has your family accompanied you?”
Agnes shook her head. “Unfortunately, no, My Lord. They were not able to come with me.”
“That is unfortunate,” the man replied. “I hoped I could meet them and perhaps invite them to dinner. Would that not have been wonderful, Mother?”
Lord Sculthorpe turned to his mother, who was mid-sentence in conversation with Mrs Mellors.
“What was that, dear?” she asked.
“I said it would have been wonderful to invite the Humphries to dinner, but they are not in Cheltenham. Miss Humphries is all alone.”
“Not quite alone, My Lord,” Agnes argued. “I am with Mrs Mellors.”
“Yes,” the man agreed. “I suppose I should consider that as well. I thank you for bringing Miss Humphries to Cheltenham, Mrs Mellors. I daresay our town is better off for it.”
Lord Sculthorpe flirted far too much, and it was beginning to bother Agnes a little. It seemed odd that the one brother was paying her so much attention while the one she had come to meet barely looked her way. The marquess came across as cold and distant and was such a disappointment that Agnes was ready to leave, but she couldn’t just yet.
Mrs Mellors had warned her he would be challenging to handle, but this was frankly frustrating. However, Agnes was not one to give up at the first sign of hurdles, and she wouldn’t start now. Lord Hampton would eventually have to speak to her, and if he didn’t, she would take the initiative and talk to him.
