Page 73 of Falling for a Forsaken Marquess
Agnes smiled, but the look of hurt in her eyes could not be missed. “To be surrounded by one’s family is the greatest pleasure for the person who understands what matters most in this world. Would you please excuse me?”
William wanted to grab Agnes’ hand and stop her from leaving, but that would draw attention. Instead, he looked on with disappointment as she joined another group but made no attempt to participate in the conversation.
“Poor Agnes,” Phoebe tutted. “Always the wallflower.”
William felt sorry that he would have to endure talking to Phoebe while Agnes was mere steps away. Fortunately, dinner was soon announced, and everyone moved into the banquet room. William was forced to escort Phoebe, but his mother had other ideas about seating arrangements.
“Oh, Agnes dear,” the duchess called, flapping her hand for the young woman to draw near. “You will sit here,” she indicated, pointing at a chair next to William.
He could have kissed his mother at that moment.
Chapter 14
Agnes had not expected to see Phoebe at the dinner party despite knowing that she and her mother had met the duchess and had smugly proclaimed how much she was well-liked by the Sculthorpe family. Even Jacob had taken an interest in the woman, although he would be blind not to see that Phoebe was only interested in William.
Perhaps it was the matter of the one brother inheriting a title and most of the wealth, while the other brother was simply a handsome lord with a honeyed tongue that had attracted the woman.
Phoebe would have done better to remain with the earl she had been matched with as Lord Montague was also a handsome fellow with a kind heart. He was undoubtedly friendlier than William, but Agnes had never once considered setting her sights on him instead.
Mrs Mellors had carefully selected the men she believed would best suit Agnes and Phoebe, and if the young woman had no respect for the matchmaker’s abilities, then it was on her if her evident intention to capture William failed. There was no telling what Phoebe was willing to do to grab his attention and make him believe that she was better suited to him.
“Why the frown, Miss Humphries?” William asked, pausing his next spoonful of turtle soup. “Is the food not to your liking?”
Agnes didn’t particularly like turtle soup, but it was seasoned well enough to please her palate.
“The soup is fine, My Lord,” she replied. “I was simply thinking.”
“Would you mind letting me into your mind?”
Agnes couldn’t help smiling. Several weeks ago, this would not have happened. William had only been too happy to stay away from Agnes and ignore her for most of their time together, but lately, he had sought her out. However, she had despaired of ever speaking to, let alone seeing, William once Phoebe arrived, but Providence had smiled upon her once again and given her a seat next to him at the dinner table.
“Do you know Lord Montague, My Lord?” she asked.
“I suppose I have spoken to him on occasion, but I cannot profess to know him well. Why?”
“He assisted Mrs Mellors with a skittish horse after something on the road frightened the poor creature. I assumed you would know him as he seems the sort of person you would include in your circle.”
William lifted his eyebrows. “What sort of person would that be?”
“A kind person, My Lord,” she answered. “Not everyone would go out of their way to help someone else, yet you and Lord Montague have done just that. I find it admirable that you did so much for the young boy we rescued some time ago.”
Fanny had somehow come across the knowledge that William had taken the boy to his home in an unsavoury part of Cheltenham and had gifted the child’s mother with a sizeable sack full of coins. The information had been gladly received by Agnes, who now wondered what else lay beneath William’s austere façade.
Bearing in mind that the marquess wasn’t as stern as he used to be, he had to be kind and gentle-hearted to go to such great lengths. He had undoubtedly judged her when they first met, but Agnes had done the same thing as well.
Now, she wished to know the man behind the blue eyes, the one who would carry a filthy child and ensure he received treatment from his physician without a thought to the naysayers.
Two bright little spots of pink appeared on his cheeks before William spooned some of the soup into his mouth. Agnes silently slurped some of the savoury liquid, dabbing the corners of her mouth with the handkerchief she always kept on her. She didn’t like the act of using the tablecloth to wipe her hands or face as other people did, finding the practice a tad nauseating.
“How did you come to know about the boy?” William finally asked.
“Mrs Mellor’s servants found out about it from a family member who lives near the woman and her child. Apparently, the woman could not stop talking about the handsome lord who had become her very own guardian angel.”
William chuckled, his embarrassment evident. “It was nothing, Miss Humphries. She needed help, and I was able to offer it. She should not have made such a fuss.”
“Perhaps it was nothing to you, My Lord,” Agnes countered. “But it meant the world to that woman. Do not attempt to lessen the wonderful thing you did. You could have been like that horrid man who showed no remorse for his actions. Men like him have no place in civilisation.”
“And yet that is the norm,” said William.
