Page 13 of A Spinster's Unexpected Marriage
She stopped then, wrenching her hand away from his arm, her eyes a little wider than before. Red poured into her cheeks but she did not look away, showing a little more tenacity than James had expected. “How dare you speak to me in such a way? Do you not understand that I am just as frustrated, as upset as you? Can you not show even the smallest respect?”
“Respect is not something that I give much consideration to, regardless of who it is,” he answered, aware that he was not doing anything to improve himself upon her but finding that he did not care. “I am afraid that this is who I am, Lady Newton, and whether you wish it or not, I have no interest in improving myself for either you or for anyone else in theton.”
She blinked, then shook her head, looking away from him. “I think you are the most obnoxious, rude, ill-mannered gentleman that I have ever had opportunity to meet.”
“And yet, regardless of your opinion of me, I am to be your husband,” he told her, his stomach writhing with a sudden uncertainty as the truth hit him, hard. Hewasgoing to be wed to this young lady, hewasgoing to find himself as her husband and she as his wife. Could there really be any sort of contentment between two people who so clearly disliked each other? “I can see no way of escape, so therefore, I think we must simply acknowledge our disinclination towards each other and continue on regardless. Now,” he continued, turning to offer her his arm again. “Shall we?”
Martha’s throat bobbed and for a moment, James found himself admiring the column of her neck, the gentle colour in her cheeks, only to then turn his head away sharply as he realised what he was doing. When her hand went to his arm again, James jumped visibly, only to scowl and begin to stride forward, pulling Martha along with him. The last thing he needed was to find anything about his betrothed that was in any way admirable, for what would become of him then?
“Yes, yes, weareengaged.” James looked first to Lady Guthrie and then to her daughter, Lady Annette, who was blinking furiously while, at the same time, trying to smile. “It has come as a surprise, I know, but one cannot help one’s heart!” He laughed lightly, while inwardly feeling a great and heavy darkness wash over him. Lady Annette had been in his arms before, on more than one occasion, though he had never stolen anything more than a simple kiss from her. What would she do now that he was engaged? Would she be unwilling to step back in towards him, even if he made it clear that his engagement meant nothing to him? Trying to take in Lady Guthrie’s expressions of congratulations, he looked to his right and then to his left in the hope of securing Lord Radford’s company. He had said that he would do his best to separate James from Lady Newton so that James could then go on to make sure that the ladies he had been interested in before were aware of his intention to continue on as he had been, but there did not seem to be any sign of him.
“I shall permit you to speak with Lady Lamberton, shall I?” Lady Guthrie laughed and then set her hand to James’ arm. “I can see that she is eager to approach you both. My congratulations again.”
James smiled and inclined his head, not so much as glancing at Lady Newton. Instead, he looked to Lady Lamberton, knowing that she would be coming to him with questions rather than congratulations. The widowed Lady Lamberton had been one of his favourites of late and no doubt, she would be afraid that their connection would now cease due to his engagement. James wanted very much to ensure that she was not caught by that apprehension for much longer.
“There you are! I have been hoping to catch you both so I might offer you my congratulations!” Seemingly out of nowhere, Lord Radford stepped towards them both, directly into Lady Lamberton’s way. “Might you introduce me, Granton?”
James quickly did so, offering his friend a small nod of thanks. Lord Radford quickly began to engage Lady Newton in conversation, turning her away from James and leaving him easily able to converse with Lady Lamberton.
“Lord Granton.” The lady inclined her head though her smile was a little lacklustre. “I heard the news.”
“I am sure that you did,” James said, offering her his arm and stepping away from Lord Radford and Lady Newton just as quickly as he could. “Walk with me, will you? A turn about the room, perhaps? That way, I will be able to explain everything.”
Lady Lamberton turned her blue eyes to his and James let out a slow breath of contentment, revelling in her beauty. “You mean to say that we will not necessarily have to end our connection?”
“Indeed not!” James exclaimed, glad when she took his arm. “Come now, Lady Lamberton, I could never step away from you!” Chuckling when she blushed hot, James continued on his way around the ballroom, glad to be relieved of Lady Newton’s company. “In fact, I should hope that not a single thing should change between us, Lady Lamberton.” He lifted his chin, a sudden determination filling him. “I have absolutely no intention of letting it.”
Chapter Eight
Martha took her friend’s hand and gripped it tightly. “There he is.”
“I see him.” Miss Stockton looked at her and then pressed Martha’s hand back in return. “What is it that you will say to him?”
“I do not know.” An ache lodged in Martha’s chest and she felt herself wanting to cry out aloud in order to free it. “I do not want to be engaged to him, Anna!”
“I know.” Miss Stockton let out a small sigh as Martha let go of her hand. “What is it that you can do? Is there no way of escape?”
Martha shook her head. So far, she had endured a week of engagement to the Marquess of Granton and, much to her frustration, he had not shown her even the smallest amount of interest. It was as though she were an annoyance that he wanted only to bat away, to ignore and to forget about. Whenever they had to stand together, whenever they had to be in the same space together, he did his best to ignore her completely, pretending as though she was entirely absent. They might share a smile now and again but it was completely false and only done when someone from thetonwas speaking with them, congratulating them on their engagement or the like. Aside from that, it was quite plain to her that he had no interest in her company.
“Look at him,” she murmured, seeing how he quickly approached two young debutantes who had been standing together and now turned, as one, towards him. “All he wants is the attention of others.”
“Yes, he does,” Miss Stockton agreed, sounding sad. “I am sorry that you must endure this, Martha. I do not know what to advise, else I would have said something.”
Shaking her head, Martha tried to pull her gaze away from him but found she could not. The gentleman was nothing but arrogance and pride, preening in front of the young ladies as though he was a peacock eager to display its fine colours. How could she wed him? How could she give herself to him in such a way? “My life will be nothing but misery and loneliness,” she whispered, her heart aching suddenly. “There is nothing for me any longer. He has not changed. He will not change. The Marquess of Granton will always be a rogue, whether he is married or not.”
“And you cannot extract yourself?”
Martha shook her head. “He does not want to marry me either,” she said, rather dully now. “But there is nothing that I can do to prevent the marriage from taking place. My father has done his best, the announcement has been made and the entirety of thetonare now expecting a marriage. If I end the engagement, then I will never again have the chance to marry though,” she continued, her mouth tipping a little ruefully, “I did always say that I should prefer to be a spinster than to marry a gentleman such as he.”
Much to Martha’s surprise, Miss Stockton caught her breath in a gasp, her eyes going wide as Martha frowned, a little confused as to why her friend had responded in such a way. Surely that was not such a surprising notion, was it? To be a spinster might indeed be difficult way of living but it could not be too dreadful, could it?
“I – I may have something!”
Martha frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I think I might have a way to free you from this engagement!” Miss Stockton declared, making Martha’s eyes flare wide. “I think there is a way, though it would require the Marquess’ agreement.”
“What is it?” Martha asked, suddenly filled with a frantic hope. “What is it that you think I can offer?”
