Page 6 of Miss Mulberry and the Moody Marquess
“Ethan. Or Warburton. Aimsbury still sounds foreign and my lord… even though I’ve held the title for seven long years now, I’ll never become accustomed.”
Her smile positively lit her face when she bestowed it upon him. “Well, I think with it being just us, I could certainly call you Ethan. And you should call me Charlotte. Good heavens, we’ve known one another for ages now! And you have quite clearly displayed the depths of your friendship to me today…But in company, perhaps we should revert to more formal address?”
Ethan felt a smile tugging at his lips. It was an unfamiliar feeling. For as little as he talked, it seemed he smiled even less. But in her presence, it seemed to be all he could do. It was impossible not to feel happiness when he was with her and even more impossible to keep that happiness hidden. “Charlotte… I like having a secret with you.”
Chapter Four
Charlotte had the strangest experience of her life. Looking up into the handsome, though normally quite dour, face of the Marquess who stared down at her in a manner that seemed quite intimate—she had the strangest fluttering sensation in her stomach. And her heart began to race. Not alarmingly, at all. But thrillingly. And she was so struck by how handsome he was, and by how much she desperately wanted to believe he was truly flirting with her and not simply taking pity on her, that she stumbled on her next step, nearly losing her footing.
At the last moment, when she expected only to feel her bones being jarred by the hard ground, it was the comforting sensation of strong arms closing about her that she experienced. And when she opened her eyes, she found herself staring up at the Marquess.At Ethan.He was staring down at her, as well, their faces scant inches apart.
For the longest moment, she simply stared up at him. Noting for the first time how impossibly blue his eyes were. And then, with no small degree of embarrassment, she recognized that she had remained in his embrace for far longer than was seemly. “Oh. I have been terribly clumsy.”
He helped her to her feet and, with what appeared to be reluctance, allowed his arms to fall to his side. But he did not back away. He stood, according to every lesson in deportment she’d ever had drilled into her, very close to her. Too close to her. Tellingly, she was quite reluctant to step back from him. More than reluctant, in truth. Entirely unwilling! At their present distance, she could make out details of him that she was certain no one else knew. Like the small scar beneath his chin, or the fact that his blue eyes weren’t just blue—only mostly blue. There were, in fact, flecks of green and gold hidden in their depths and they mesmerized her.
“Miss—Charlotte,” he said, “You need not apologize.” The words came out stiffly, as if he were terribly uncomfortable with what had occurred. “A man likes to play the hero.”
Ducking her head, not only out of embarrassment but because she was terribly afraid she would do something wildly improper if she continued to look at him, Charlotte replied, “I shall endeavor to keep that in mind… Ethan. I would certainly never want to be responsible for denying a gentleman his avocation.”
There was silence then, stretching between them in a way that should have felt uncomfortable. But it didn’t. Instead, it made it her feel as if they were the only people in existence. Even the sounds of other party guests in the distance were muted by the hum of connection that built between them.
He cocked his head to one side. “You haven’t asked.”
“Asked what?” she parroted in confusion.
“Why I am here today.”
“Oh,” she said again. “Because you are very kind, of course. You have rescued me from much more than a fall today, and I am very grateful to you for it.”
“Grateful,” he repeated, his expression utterly inscrutable. “I’m not here for gratitude… or to be kind.”
She had offended him in some way. That became glaringly apparent to her, though she hadn’t the faintest notion how. “Of course not. But just because you do not do something for gratitude does not mean you shall not have it. I would be having a very poor time of it here had I not had you to keep my company… if it isn’t kindness, why are you here?”
A sigh escaped him and for the first time since they’d left the house, he looked away from her. He peered into the distance as if searching for what he should say next in some distant vista. “Charlotte, there is a point in time when even a man such as myself does not wish to be alone.”
Charlotte’s heart did that curious leap again. That was a very true statement. While he’d always been very kind to her, most people thought him quite rude. Before, she’d wondered if it was because she was betrothed and therefore not a threat to what everyone had assumed was his very confirmed bachelorhood. “I would never think to presume, my lor—Ethan. I am certain you have your reasons for everything that you do.”
“True enough. I’ve reached the conclusion, Charlotte, that it is time to take a wife.”
Charlotte felt a pit hollow itself out in her stomach. Of course, he wanted a wife. He was a titled gentleman with extensive estates and a generous fortune. He would want a wife to manage his estates. His sister would not want to do that forever. Surely, having been widowed for more than a year, she would also be looking for marriage again. “I see. Well, moving in society, limited though it is in Ambleside, is certainly the best place to start your search.”
“My search?”
“For your prospective bride, of course,” Charlotte replied.
He looked at her quizzically, as if completely puzzled by her reply. His lips parted as if to speak, but a high pitched and very familiar voice called out, “My lord? My lord?”
His head whipped around and the flash of annoyance on his normally impassive was impossible to miss.
“Oh, I was afraid you’d run off already!”
Charlotte glanced in the direction of Mrs. Barrington who’d come to retrieve them. The woman was quite breathless and appeared to have been running about in her efforts to find them.
“We’re about to begin our game of trucco, and the boys insisted that Miss Mulberry must join us. Alas, you must as well for when Charlotte joins in, we will have uneven numbers! Do come along… quickly.”
Charlotte turned her head and saw the Marquess’ thunderous expression. “It will be enjoyable, my lord. I promise.”
He let out a long suffering sigh. “I doubt that, but there is one benefit at least.”
