Page 55 of A Lady's Touch of Sin

Chapter 26

When Baldwin arrived back from indoors with Aunt Margaret, Marta peered at him curiously. He flashed a seemingly-confident smile, although his eyes didn’t come along with it. She frowned, aching to ask him what Aunt Margaret had wanted him for. Before she could, Ewan blurted, “What was that about?”

Baldwin gave a light shrug. “She needed a bit of help with something.”

“She never asks me to help her with the heavy lifting,” Ewan said. His lips parted for a late-morning yawn. “I suppose she knows I will never be the brawny son my father yearned for. Now that Tatiana is out of the house, he has no one with his masculine energy…”

“Hey!” Tatiana smacked his upper arm. “That’s horrid.”

In the field, Laura and the boys stumbled to a halt. Laura fell onto her back and gasped for air. Malcolm collapsed beside her and pressed his head against her stomach. All three looked just as exhausted as Marta felt.

“I suppose what they do is akin to what we do emotionally throughout the season,” she said off-handedly to Tatiana.

“I would do anything to trade them,” Tatiana said.

When the Duke arrived, Marta’s body seemed to clam up. She pressed her lips together in rage, apprehension. She remembered that horrid night at the Regent’s, remembered that Baldwin had had to punch him to get him off of her—and yearned to live in a society that allowed for truth and honesty. Unfortunately, she remained an outsider in England, swept up in the ever-changing tide of another world.

They greeted the Duke in the parlour. He looked regal and handsome, just as ever, and he kissed Aunt Margaret’s hand before reaching for Marta’s. Marta shifted uncomfortably, detesting his lips upon her skin. When he released her, she forced a smile to form.

“Good afternoon, My Lord. Welcome to our home,” she said.

“It’s marvellous,” the Duke returned. His voice was clearly false, a bit higher than normal. He beamed at Aunt Margaret, then at Uncle Everett, both of whom seemed overly willing to swoon. “And it smells magnificent.”

“We’re having lamb,” Aunt Margaret announced. “Recently purchased from a nearby farm.”

“I adore lamb,” the Duke returned.

Aunt Margaret seemed apt to faint. When the Duke turned to march towards the dining room, Aunt Margaret flashed her face around and made her eyebrows bob up and down. Behind Marta, Ewan grumbled something she couldn’t fully hear. It seemed clear they were in for a raucous, hopefully, semi-disastrous affair.

Once inside the dining room, Aunt Margaret hovered in the corner to instruct everyone on seating arrangements. “Duke, I would love to give you the head of the table. And Marta, why don’t you sit next to him? Yes, there by the window. Oh, marvellous.”

Marta walked as a captive on a plank and found herself directly beside the Duke. Her nostrils filled once more with his stench. His eyes scanned across her cheeks, over the bulge of her dress. Aunt Margaret had demanded she change into something that seemed a bit more provocative, a light lavender gown that Marta had previously loved. Now, with this added memory, she felt she might not.

Aunt Margaret seated Baldwin on the other side of the table, near Uncle Everett. Ewan sat beside him, while Aunt Margaret sat across from her, with Tatiana directly beside. The boys and Laura had decided to take their meals in the garden, a fact that overwhelmed Marta with jealousy.

“Tatiana, I don’t believe I’ve seen your boys before,” the Duke said. “They’re quite handsome.”

Tatiana chortled. “Please, don’t tell them that. They know themselves only as wild, racing terrors. If they knew they had any control with their adorable nature, I imagine they might decide to rule the entire continent.”

There was light laughter. Even Marta joined in, although her throat felt frozen. Baldwin seemed unwilling or unable to catch her eye across the table. For whatever reason, she so yearned for just a flicker of recognition. Why had he remained there? Was it out of some sort of morbid curiosity? Did he wish to protect her from the Duke?

Still, it seemed the Duke was overly willing to pretend that Baldwin had never punched him. He hadn’t yet addressed him, even as he’d said hello to nearly everyone else in attendance.

“What has your day looked like thus far?” Aunt Margaret asked the Duke. She looked more like a teenager than an older woman as she ate tenderly, seemingly conscious of his gaze.

“It’s been rather busy with fruitful meetings throughout the morning,” the Duke said. He tapped his lips with his napkin and cast his eyes towards Marta, as though they were both in on some sort of secret.

Marta yearned to assure him that they would never see eye to eye on anything. They would never hold secrets that they would keep from everyone else. Their world would never be the same.

Aunt Margaret glared at Marta, then, as though it was up to her to answer. Marta cast her eyes back and collected her glass to take a small sip of berry wine. Before she could dredge up an answer, Ewan said, “What is it you do throughout these meetings, My Lord?”

The Duke looked grateful that he’d asked. The words had been almost flirtatious, although only Marta and, perhaps, Baldwin might have noticed.

“As you know, I’ve grown quite close with the Regent in recent months,” the Duke said. “We speak atlength about the betterment of the county and its residents.”

“I see,” Ewan said. “Isn’t that a great deal of pressure on your shoulders?”

Again, only Marta and Baldwin may have perceived the subtle sarcasm beneath his words. Ewan’s smile remained stellar.

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