Page 84 of The Dreaming Beauty
“We need to talk,” he said.
She nodded, her countenance pale. “I know. I am ready for my punishment, whether it be a court trial, a trip to New South Wales, or whatever you deem fit for my crimes.”
Her contrition seemed sincere, and the humility in her tone was out of character. “You were desperate and young. I will not be your judge,” Marcus said. “But Society will be. What you have always prized the most will now be what turns on you. Once the stories begin to circulate, your reputation will not recover.”
She dropped her head, shame radiating from her stooped posture.
“You are no blood relation to me,” he continued. “But you are still my family. Despite everything you have done, especially to me as a child, you have since made me feel I was loved. For that, I will not deny you a home or an allowance.”
Her head came up, and tears streamed down her face. “I do not deserve it.”
“Time will tell what you deserve. My trust in you is broken, and you will have to earn it back. I need time to decide where you will reside, but it will not be within these walls.”
“Of course.”
He wanted to comfort her—it hurt to see her hurting—but if he was to protect all of his family, he needed her to learn her lesson. And some lessons did not come without a degree of pain.
She was not the only one who had made a mistake. Marcus carried his own anguish, one he hoped to relieve right away.
Chapter 36
“Are you sure you wantto clean up the fairy circle?” Tansy asked. “It’s such a beautiful, magical place.”
Daisy sighed and picked up one of the wooden houses. “I do love these. We worked so hard on them.” She poked at the door of the larger one. “What’s this?” A letter came out in her hand. “It has your name on it.”
Tansy stared in disbelief, her heart suddenly pounding. “May I have it?”
Daisy passed it over and waited as Tansy ripped it open. There was only one word.
Tonight.
Her hand wrapped around her middle, and her breathing came out in jagged breaths.
Daisy stood and read over her shoulder. “What does it mean?”
“Nothing. Who knows how long it has been here?”
But she knew the answer to that because she had checked the houses several times since Marcus had left for Oxford, waiting for a servant to deliver some sign that he cared. But why did he want to meet her tonight? If there were more secrets, she could not bear to hear them. Besides, she could not handle being rejected by him again. While she still desperately loved him, there seemed to be too much hurt to bridge.
At the end of the day, a duke did not marry a silly woman who spent her time building fairy houses. If she could not marry Simon, a sweet and talented man, then she certainly could not marry the most perfect man of her acquaintance.
She pressed her eyes closed. No, there had to be another reason he wanted to meet her, and it was not to recapitulate their mismatched feelings. She folded the letter and tapped it against her leg. “Let’s leave the fairy houses for another week, Daisy. I find I cannot bear the notion of any more change.”
Daisy had been watching her carefully. “Very well. One more week.”
That night Tansy sat at the edge of her bed while Daisy snored away. She noiselessly pulled her nightdress off, revealing her pink gown. She had worn it to dinner, telling everyone she was celebrating being reunited with her family, but really, she had worn it for Marcus. He wouldn’t see it in the dark, but she wanted to feel confident. Her love for him overwhelmed her, and she needed to be brave enough to set clear boundaries between them. She was Lady Tansy now, but inside she felt like a brokenhearted little girl. He had hurt her worse than any other man had, and she was afraid to be hurt again.
Tansy soon slipped out the door, surprised to see Marcus standing there just below the steps. After learning of his experience with spying, she should not have been surprised by his sudden appearance.
The stars were bright, the weather was perfect, and the man in front of her was more handsome than ever. He wore his coattails and held a bouquet of red roses in his hand. He extended them toward her. “For you.”
“They are beautiful, Marcus.” She accepted them and brought the blooms that always reminded her of her mother to her nose.
His usual smile was absent. “I am sorry for hurting you, especially on your birthday, and for leaving you without saying goodbye.”
“You did what you felt was right.” She shrugged, unsure of what else to say. How was she to explain the pain he’d inflicted not just when he had walked away from her but when he had left for Oxford without a word? It was kind of him to bring her flowers and apologize. She should be grateful he was attempting to be her friend again.
He cleared his throat. “I said those things because I felt you deserved someone better. Someone whole without nightmares. Someone who could help restore your birthright.”
