Page 14 of Marquess of Mistletoe
“His lordship?”
“Mr. Jones. Put me very much in mind of my dear, departed Charlie. He assured me his lordship was in every way a worthy man, too.”
Doubting Leo had cost Marielle ten years with him, ten years when Leo had risked his neck daily in battle after battle, and Marielle had gone slowly daft stitching endless samplers.
“I need to borrow your lap desk again,” Marielle said, “and somewhere in this inn, I must find an oilskin. Then we’re for London.”
And if Leo didn’t present himself on her doorstep by the New Year, well then, Lisbon was warm even in winter, and it was time Marielle saw something of the world.
* * *
“The roads are a trifle difficult,” Mr. Hollyburn said, for the third time. “I’m sure her ladyship will be here shortly, my lord.”
Leo had refused tea three times, assured Hollyburn of Mama’s good health twice, and paced a hole in the solicitor’s carpet waiting for Lady Drew Semple to keep her appointment.
“Women aren’t as punctual as we gentlemen,” Mr. Inverivy said. “They get distracted easily, poor dears.”
Marielle didn’t get distracted. She fixed on an objective and flew at it, and Leo had been certain his future was her target.
“Her ladyship is your client, Mr. Inverivy,” Leo said. “Do you imply she can’t tell time?”
The solicitors exchanged a look that Leo had seen enlisted men toss among themselves when a newly commissioned captain gave some daft order.
“Perhaps,” Hollyburn said, “Mr. Inverivy meant that her ladyship didn’t account for Boxing Day traffic in Town, or how her progress would be hampered by the weather. We are getting a bit of snow, my lord.”
The snow started had after Leo had left the Ox and Ass, and had the steady, relentless quality of a substantial winter storm.
“No wife of mine would fail to grasp something as obvious as winter weather or holiday traffic,” Leo said, which was ridiculous as he hadn’t ever had a wife. “In any case, I’m here to inform you both that I’ll not be pursuing negotiations with Lady Drew. I’m sure she’s in every way a lovely woman, and I’d be lucky to have her for my marchioness, but I’ll not be making an offer.”
A beat of silence went by, and then both solicitors babbled at once.
“But my lord, her ladyship is in every way appropriate to one in your unusual circumstances!”
“You can’t mean that, sir. I spent hours and hours coming up with a list, and you’ll not do better.”
Not do better, because Leo’s people had been little more than wealthy farmers. Marielle hadn’t cared about that, and Leo hoped she was still indifferent to rank and title.
A knock interrupted the solicitors’ exhortations.
A skinny boy in a worn coat tugged off his cap. “A note, Mr. Hollyburn, for his lordship.”
Leo took the note from the boy before Hollyburn could snatch it, and tossed the lad a coin. “Happy Christmas.”
“Thank you, milord!” The boy scampered off, while Leo eyed the sealed note.
Lady Semple had put pen to paper, her hand remarkably like Marielle’s. Perhaps all English school girls developed the same graceful, looping script while they waited for English schoolboys to mature into worthy articles.
My lord,
I am exercising a lady’s prerogative and changing my mind. You are without doubt a fine man, and I wish you a happy future, but I can assure you from experience, marriage to a relative stranger would be a tepid undertaking at best. I deserve better, and so, I daresay, do you. Please accept my apologies for causing you needless travel on a day cold enough to freeze Lucifer’s ears off.
Lady Drew Semple
“The lady and I are in agreement,” Leo informed the solicitors. “We’ve both thought better than to proceed with a negotiated courtship. She won’t be joining us, nor will she become my marchioness.”
Her ladyship’s decision solved a considerable problem, and Leo was grateful to her for her honesty. The irony wasn’t lost on him though—but for this errand in Chelsea, he’d not have spent the most wonderful night of his life with Marielle.
Who was doubtless waiting for word from him back at the Ox and Ass. He jammed the note in his pocket, departed on the moment, and was soon enduring Rafe’s grumblings as they waited for their horses at the livery stable.
