Page 53 of Temptations of a Wallflower
Could Jeremy speak of this to his cousin? They’d been separated as youths, but now they were grown men. What more could his father threaten him with? After a moment, Jeremy asked, “How did you know that you wanted to marry Lady Marwood?”
The question seemed to catch Marwood off guard. He pondered it for a moment. “Thinking of life without her was impossible. Pretending that I could exist deprived of her was an exercise in futility. Completely impossible.”
“And the difference in your stations?” Jeremy wanted to know hotly.
“Didn’t matter to me,” Marwood said frankly. “Solong as I had her, Society could go hang. Our happiness was at stake.”
Jeremy peered closely at him. Then, slowly, Marwood’s brows lifted. “There’s some lowborn woman who caught your eye.”
Jeremy looked down at his flexing hands. “The opposite,” he said darkly. “I’m the one that’s lower than her.”
“My mind spins at the possibility—who is she?”
“Lady Sarah Frampton.”
“The wallflower,” his cousin exclaimed.
Anger surged, hot and roiling. “Don’t call her that,” Jeremy snarled. “It’s a damn insulting name. She’s . . . so much more than that name.”
Marwood nudged a chair toward his cousin. “Have a seat, and tell me everything. Spare no detail.”
Jeremy turned the chair around and straddled it, his long legs sticking out on either side. He raked his hands through his hair.
“She and I . . .” He exhaled roughly. For a long, long time, Jeremy said nothing, visibly fighting to gather his thoughts and words. Finally, he admitted, “We’ve gotten very close.”
“How close?” Marwood leaned against the railing, folding his arms across his chest.
“Very,” was all Jeremy would expound on the subject. “We’ve . . . kissed.” His face reddened.
It looked as though sheer strength of will kept Marwood from clapping and hooting his approval. “I take it the kiss was satisfactory,” he drawled. “Never mind. Judging by that febrile blush staining your pure cheeks, it was more than satisfactory.”
“She’s . . .” Jeremy’s voice trailed off, and his gaze went far away. He felt tight and alive and ready to burst just thinking of Sarah—her sharpness, her keen interest in the world around her. The secret earthiness of her.
“Ah.”
“She’s even suggested that we marry,” Jeremy said, his voice shadowed. “Though we both eventually agreed that it couldn’t happen.”
“I fail to see the problem,” Marwood noted. “Unmistakably, the lady wants you—though I have to question her judgment.”
Jeremy glowered at him.
Clearing his throat, Marwood continued. “Is she beholden to her parents for their approval?”
“She’s of age,” Jeremy explained. “Their endorsement isn’t necessary.”
“What of their blessing?”
He shrugged. “Whether she needs it or not, I cannot say.”
“If she makes you happy—”
“She makes me very happy,” Jeremy said at once. Confused, restless, but happy.
“Then,” Marwood said, spreading his hands wide, as though they encompassed the answer, “do what you need to do.” He studied Jeremy closely. “It’s not all that simple, eh?”
Jeremy couldn’t meet Marwood’s gaze. “I’ve kissed someone else,” he gritted.
“What do you mean?”
