Page 54 of The Marquess and the Maiden

Chapter Fourteen

Harriet left her fiancé’s side to seek out the comfort of Agnes, Justine, and Tilly. Everything was happening too quickly.

Her life had turned completely upside down, from losing the Ladies of Virtue to now losing the dream of having a marriage built on love and affection. Instead, hers would be built on manipulation and desire that would likely wane once he bored of her. Where would that leave her?

Her friends gathered off to the side of the refreshments table. Agnes’s warm blue eyes landed on Harriet, and she smiled.

“I won’t say congratulations, though the situation warrants it, because I know this wasn’t your choice,” her friend said as she reached them.

“Thank you.” She put on her best smile. “I suppose things could be worse.”

“Most assuredly,” Justine said. “I heard that Margaret Potter was recently betrothed to Lord Brickfield.”

Harriet winced. “He’s twice her age.”

“At least,” Agnes added.

“Not to mention I believe he’s shorter than her,” Matilda said.

“You and Lord Davenport make a striking couple,” Justine said.

Agnes nodded. “Yes, you cleaned him up quite nicely.”

Harriet’s eyes landed upon him immediately. While he wasn’t the tallest man in the room, he still had a commanding presence. His broad shoulders and tapered waist cut a fine figure in his black waistcoat. His intense silver-blue eyes landed on her, and warmth spread through her entire body. His lips curved in a smile.

She had shaved him and given him a haircut, but his face had not changed. He’d always been handsome. She’d always thought so, at least. But here, now, with his eyes on her, he was breathtaking.

He was hers.

Would he always look upon her with desire heating his eyes? Perhaps, but it was doubtful. Desire didn’t last forever, and he’d already admitted that he could never love her.

They chatted quietly for a few more moments, and then Oliver’s friend Benedict came over to them.

“I believe this is our dance, Lady Justine,” he said with a tight bow.

She nodded and allowed him to sweep her onto the floor.

“I must be missing something,” Harriet said. “When did they get introduced?”

“Yesterday, perhaps,” Tilly said.

They walked idly over to the refreshments table and each grabbed a lemonade before moving off to one of the partitioned areas separated by a screen and some potted topiaries. Harriet led them around to the back side of the screen. She longed to be free from all of these people.

“I heard that this entire party was so Lord Davenport could find a bride,” a voice came from the other side of the partition.

Agnes gripped Harriet’s arm, and they all fell silent.

“Yes, my mother made me come, though I begged her not to,” another girl said.

“He is richer than Queen Victoria herself,” a third girl said. Harriet recognized the voice as belonging to Felicia Collins.

“I’m thankful someone else is saddled with him. I cannot imagine him touching me,” the first girl said.

“They don’t call him the Monstrous Marquess for nothing,” Felicia said.

Yet that had not stopped the girl from flirting shamelessly with him the entire weekend. Harriet should have encouraged that match when she’d had the chance. The thought of him doing to Felicia what he had done to her the other night, though, left Harriet with a hollow feeling.

“We can all agree that everyone’s favorite spinster saved us all,” the second girl said.

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