Page 30 of A Spinster's Unexpected Marriage
“I must know whether it is that Lord Granton found himself engaged to you because of a bet,” Lord Billington said, decisively. “And I must be told the truth about his feelings for you. One seems a little more believable than the other.”
“Can they not both be correct?”
Lord Billington laughed but then shrugged. “I suppose they could be though I am less than inclined to believe the second.”
“Why not believe them both?”
With a slight frown now crossing his expression, Lord Billington shook his head. “I do not think that the latter is plausible though I am willing to try and believe it. Though,” he continued, “that does leave me with another question, even if Idobelieve it to be true.”
“And what is that?”
Lord Billington stopped walking and turned so that she faced him rather than looking away. She could not help but look into his eyes, seeing them so different to Lord Granton’s and still finding herself entirely unmoved.
“I must wonder ifyourdevotion to the Marquess of Granton matches his,” he said, slowly and carefully so that she could hear every word. “I question whether or not you find yourself just as overwhelmed with affection as he is.”
Martha’s heart began to hammer in her chest, feeling as though she were coming to the edge of a precipice, ready to either step off or step back. “I – I am surprised at such a bold question, Lord Billington,” she said quietly, swallowing tightly when he grinned at her, clearly quite at ease with his question. “It is certainly not something that I expected to hear from you.”
“No?” Lord Billington chuckled. “Well, might I be the first to tell you, Lady Newton, that you are the talk of London! I confess that I have become rather intrigued as to why a gentleman such as Lord Granton would have turned so quickly towards someone such as you.”
“Someone such as I?” Martha repeated, not quite certain that she understood and feeling herself a little insulted.
“Yes.” Lord Billington shrugged. “Your father’s mistakes and situation is well known. The fact that your hand was secured by means of a bet is not a surprise, however, but hearing that Lord Granton has then, somehow, fallen quite in love with you to the point of setting aside his old way of life is something that I cannot quite bring myself to believe. Unless,” he continued, as Martha’s face began to grow hot, “there is something about your character, something about… well,youyourself, that has forced his heart to change abruptly. I confess that I do not know nor can I imagine what that would be, but I find myself curious all the same. I must know, Lady Newton! I must discover what it is about you that has encouraged Lord Granton’s heart towards you in such a way. After all, you have changed a rogue into a reformed gentleman and that simply does not occur in society!”
Finding herself with nothing to say in answer to that, Martha swallowed tightly and glanced towards Lord Billington. He was still smiling, perhaps unaware of just how confused she was about this conversation and how she was to answer. She knew very well what she wasmeantto be saying, what she wasmeantto be doing but for whatever reason, she could not bring herself to say it. Was she simply going to lie? To tell Lord Billington that no, she did not have any feelings for Lord Granton? Yes, she was certainly not half in love with him, as he had suggested Lord Granton might be, but that did not mean that she felt nothing for him.
“I have surprised you by my emboldened question.” With a laugh, Lord Billington reached to press her hand for a moment, though inwardly, Martha recoiled from his touch. “Forgive me, I did not mean to surprise you. It is only my curiosity which drives me, that is all.”
“Curiosity about what, might I ask?”
Martha stopped quickly, turning to see Lord Granton himself standing nearby. Putting his hands behind his back, he sauntered towards them, a slight lift to his chin and a question in his eyes.
“Good afternoon, Lord Granton.” Lord Billington’s expression was easy enough, his voice warm and his smile amenable. “I was simply enquiring as to whether or not Lady Newton might be interested in watching the phaeton race I am to take part in.”
Martha, who had not heard of this until this moment, frowned heavily but Lord Granton was not looking at her. Instead, he was looking directly at Lord Billington, his blue eyes now very sharp indeed.
“What phaeton race?” he asked, as Martha slowly removed her hand from Lord Billington’s arm. “I have not heard of this.”
Lord Billington chuckled, seemingly quite unaffected by Lord Granton’s heavy glare. “Have you not? Well, it is only recently arranged which might explain it. You see, Lord Hyndford and I thought we might have a little phaeton race at Rotton Row. Not every young lady or even gentleman would be interested in such a thing, of course, but I did wonder if Lady Newton might have a desire to watch the race. I am bound to win, of course, which is all the better for me!”
“I see.” Lord Granton lifted an eyebrow, looking to Martha for the first time since he had broken into her conversation. “What say you then, Lady Newton? Are you interested in being a part of this… frivolity?”
Martha, who had not had any time to think about such a thing and certainly had no thought as to how to answer, merely spread out her hands and smiled as brightly as she could. “I do not think I have seen a phaeton race before,” was all she said, making Lord Billington chuckle though Lord Granton only frowned.
“Then you must come along, I will be disappointed if you do not attend so I will send you a note as to when it shall take place,” he told her, as Lord Granton stepped closer to Martha and took her hand in his, settling it on his arm before she could make even a word of protest. “Now, I shall leave you in the fine company of your betrothed and take my leave. Thank you for joining me in the carriage this afternoon, Lady Newton. It has been a most enjoyable afternoon.” Without saying even a word to Lord Granton, Lord Billington simply smiled, nodded and then stepped away, leaving Martha to walk beside Lord Granton though he did not say a word to her for some minutes.
There was an almost physical tension between them, something that Martha felt she might be able to reach out and touch. She wanted to swipe it away, to break it apart but all she could do was meander through Hyde Park with Lord Granton and wait for him to speak.
Eventually, he did so.
“Lord Billington took you to Hyde Park in his carriage?”
Martha nodded. “Yes, he did. Miss Stockon and Lord Childers were present also.”
Lord Granton sniffed. “I see. And how did this arrangement come about?”
“They all came to call upon me and the suggestion was made there,” Martha explained, a little confused as to why she now felt so anxious within herself, as though she had done something wrong. “I did not think that there was anything wrong with that so therefore, I agreed. Besides,” she continued, before he could speak, “it seemed as though he might have a little interest in my company so, therefore, it was best to encourage it, was it not?”
“Yes.” Lord Granton did not look at her, his voice low and his words coming out quickly, one after the other. “Yes, that is so. I suppose that is why he invited you to the phaeton race, though there is no need for you to attend, of course.”
