Page 15 of Miss Mulberry and the Moody Marquess
“And improper,” he noted.
She glanced around at the empty room. “Yes, I suppose it is. But I assure you, I have no nefarious plans to trap you into marriage. Rather, I asked you here to warn you about othersplotting to keep you from the woman it appears you have a fondness for—Miss Mulberry.”
“Georgianna Cranford,” he surmised quietly.
“Indeed. Her maid has been gossiping about Miss Mulberry to anyone who will listen. Luckily, my own maid is quite sensible about such matters and recognized immediately that Mrs. Cranford’s maid was on a fact finding mission for her mistress. Not that there is anything to find,” Miss Dearborn stated. “But she’s also planting rumors as well as seeking them out. She indicated to my maid that she overheard you confessing to your sister that you had an attraction for me.”
Ethan was in a difficult position. “Miss Dearborn, you are a lovely young lady, but that is false.”
“Oh, I’m aware. You see, I overheard you and Miss Mulberry in the garden before. I know that you’re quite taken with her and that, if it were up to you, the pair of you would already be wed… So I encourage you, my lord, to make haste before those plotting against you succeed in keeping the two of you apart. But be discreet in your efforts.”
“Thank you, Miss Dearborn.”
“I believe Miss Mulberry has retreated to the garden again… this time with our hostess. You should seek her out.”
He nodded. “Indeed. Thank you, Miss Dearborn.”
“For what it’s worth, Charlotte Mulberry is one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. I’m glad she did not marry Arliss Cranford for she deserved much better… but she’s been treated very badly and made an object of ridicule by many for things that she had naught to do with. I hope that the two of you may find the happiness together that she deserves.”
“Thank you again. And our hopes for Miss Mulberry are aligned. You may count on that.”
Leaving the library and the unexpected ally he’d found in Miss Dearborn, he headed for the garden. As he stepped outonto the terrace, he saw Mrs. Whitlow making for another entrance to the house, but she did not see him as she disappeared inside.
Making his way from the terrace, he surveyed the gardens beyond and found that, just above a hedge, he could catch a glimpse of a very familiar blonde head. It was Charlotte. He would have to tell her about Miss Dearborn’s assertions regarding the schemes of Mrs. Cranford. Then they would need to reevaluate their initial plan to wait until the end of the house party to wed.
Taking the graveled path to that would lead him to the area of the garden she presently occupied, he was not at all upset about the turn of events. If it meant making her his wife even one day sooner, it was well worth it. Once he rounded the corner, he found her pacing a small area enclosed on three sides by thick hedges. A small bench was at the back of the greenery formed an alcove.
“Charlotte, I must speak with you.”
She looked up from her pacing, clearly so lost in thought that she had not heard him approach. “Oh… yes. I— well, I was just getting ready to send a note to you. I think we need to talk, as well.”
He nodded. “You first.”
Charlotte clasped her hands together to stop their ringing. “This is terribly awkward. I haven’t the faintest notion how to begin!”
“That would all depend, I suppose, on how you’d like it to end,” he answered cautiously. Had she changed her mind about allowing him to court her? Had she decided that her heartbreak at Cranford’s rejection was still too fresh to consider moving on?
She stopped her pacing then and stood only a few feet from him. “Would you mind very much to kiss me again?”
Relief flooded through him. She had not reconsidered their agreement. “Mind? Charlotte, I’ve never wanted anything more.”
Ethan didn’t hesitate for another second. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Cupping her cheek with his hand, he tilted her face up to him and claimed her softly parted lips in a gentle kiss. It belied the depths of his desire for her, but it fully revealed the depths of his feelings with its tenderness. It was the strangest thing to feel that the entirety of his future rested on a single kiss.
Chapter Eleven
It was dizzying. The way his lips moved over hers, the feeling of his large hand cupping her cheek so tenderly while his other arm had moved about her waist, pulling her closer to him—it was thrilling and so very telling. Perhaps she lacked the knowledge of what passion and desire might be, but she understood love, even if she had not yet experienced it. And the care that he took with her was so evident that she could not imagine it was prompted by anything less.
Somehow, he had maneuvered them to the small bench that she had occupied earlier with Mrs. Whitlow. He simply pulled her down with him until she was sprawled across his lap, his arms wrapped about her, cradling her. And all the while, the kiss never stopped. His lips never left hers. The whole of it left her breathless. And eager. Eager for more kisses, eager for his touch.
He pulled his lips away from hers at last, both of them breathing raggedly. “I will kiss you whenever you require—Likely more than you require because I do not think I will ever grow tired of the wonder of it.”
Charlotte’s heartbeat, already much faster than it typically was, seemed to skip erratically for a moment. “You say such things to me… and for seven years you barely spoke to anyoneunless it was to growl at them. One or two words for everything! Now you say things that make my heart pound faster and dizzy my mind!”
He shook his head. “I never trusted myself to say more… If I said too much, and revealed my feelings for you, while still you chose Cranford? It would have wounded me to the core, Charlotte. So long as I kept my feelings a secret, I could hope they might one day be returned.”
“I’ve changed my mind,” she admitted. “I think, if you’d like to propose, I’d very much like to say yes.”
“I’m very glad of that because we have other issues to contend with. Mrs. Cranford is scheming to drive a wedge between us. Luckily for us, the young lady whom she intended to be your rival has more character than that.”
