Page 62 of The Dreaming Beauty
A soft, albeit awkward, laugh tumbled out. “No, not at all.”
He’d probably scratched her cheeks with the stubble on his own, but there was naught he could do about that. “Let me walk you inside. I won’t be easy until you are safe indoors.”
She gave a quick nod, and they moved to the other side of the willow trunk.
He retrieved the letter and placed it in one of her hands, taking the other in his. “You will have to wait to read it until you are inside the cottage.” He parted the branches and let them both out, the bright stars welcoming them. “Your aunts would have my head if they knew we were out here. I cannot forgive myself for that.”
“This is my fault, not yours. You must think me so foolish.”
It was clear she thought of herself as such, and Marcus wanted to ease her guilt. If he had not attacked her, there would not have been any interaction, and especially not a kiss. “How could I think you were foolish for coming out here when I am not any better? We both see more of the night than we ought to.”
“Yes, this dark beauty with a cloak of glittering jewels and the incomparable face of the moon. I am not sure how anyone would want to miss it.”
“It’s the mood such beauty creates that ought to keep us from it,” Marcus said, hoping she understood why they could not keep meeting this way. “It gives a false feeling of privacy, as if promising never to reveal our secrets.”
Tansy frowned. “The night is not so unfaithful.”
“I see it your way too. The night is when my mind thinks the clearest. It shuts out the world in such a way that my thoughts are just my own.”
“It does that for me too.” She lifted her head to study the stars as they walked, the wind playing with her hair.
He dragged his eyes from the stunning view beside him to the one above them. The starry night was complex in its nature and not as harmless as it appeared. “The night also comes with rules we must respect, knowing there will be consequences if we don’t. From here on out, we must avoid any more nighttime visits.” He ceased his steps at the corner of the house, where he could see the front door. He released her and put his hands behind his back. It wasn’t that he wanted to push her away, but he never wanted Tansy to distrust him. Not for a moment. Nor did he want her wandering around without him where someone could easily hurt her. “I’ll watch you walk the rest of the way from here.”
Tansy gave him a soft smile, walking backward for a moment before stopping again. “No one could think wrong of you. You are too good. I daresay you could walk me straight to my room and never risk a dishonorable thought.”
He shook his head, already wishing he could pull her into his arms again. “You should know better than that. Even Miss White would understand the danger of us being out here.”
“Daisy?” She put her hands behind her back like he did and matched his serious tone. “Are you afraid the fairies will cause trouble?”
“No, it’s the pretty ones who cause trouble.” He could gaze at her forever as she was right now. “Young ladies of nearly twenty with their hair down.”
A smile played on her lips. “Daisy must have forgotten to warn me. But it hardly matters. As if I could tempt Mr. Taylor.”
She said it more as a question. He wasn’t sure how she could miss the desire he felt for her. Even now her eyes sparkled more than the stars above her. But once again, the timing was not right. He would respect the powers of the night and, even more, the beautiful woman in front of him. He avoided her leading question and said, “Good night, Tansy.”
“Good night.”
* * *
Tansy wrapped her arm around her stomach as she searched through her bedroom window for any sign of Marcus. He was gone, but the feel of him was not. She replayed the night in her mind, smiling. Shewasa fool. A happy fool. Her drawing room was full of fragrant roses sent to her by a duke—a duke! But here she stood, aching for the arms of a poor professor, a steward, a friend, and wishing for something infinitely more.
Just an hour ago, a thousand thoughts had tumbled through her mind, at the forefront the story Marcus had told her of her parents’ deaths. A highwayman had killed them. She knew of only one highwayman—one who happened to frequent the area. The Masked Baron. For a moment outside, she had been sure she was going to meet the same fate by him or someone equally nefarious. She had never been more grateful to be wrong.
Unless kisses could kill, then Marcus Taylor had run her through.
She was completely his.
Sighing through her unabashed smile, she managed to light a candle—even the flickering light reminded her of Marcus under the willow. She set the candle on the windowsill, blocking the glow with her body to keep from waking Daisy. With her fingernail she slid open the wafer that sealed her letter from Marcus and unfolded the paper. In the dim light she read,
Lioness name and picture confirmed. Lion still in question. Need to collect more stories to conclude proper beginning and ending of tale.
She studied the words, not knowing whether she should smile at his clever message or frown at the conclusion. It was simple enough to see the symbolism of a lion and lioness from the family crest as the duke and duchess, which meant only one thing: her motherwasa duchess. Tansy inhaled this new truth and exhaled years of questions in that one breath. She had this answer, and she would soon know more. The next thing she hoped to discover was the identity of her birth father and why the world believed her mother had died years before she had.
Chapter 27
Marcus waited until Thomas openedthe door and let him into Rose Cottage. It had been several days since his nighttime visit, but he’d had a few things to run by his solicitor before he could present the dowager’s offer for purchase of the house and land. The thought of what had occurred the last time he had been here brought a wry smile to his face as he went to the drawing room, where he discovered Iris and Aster bent over a large bolt of pink fabric.
Iris and Aster? Since when had he begun to think of them so informally? A grin threatened to erupt over his face because he had a strong suspicion it had started the moment he quite thoroughly kissed their niece.
