Page 45 of The Marquis' Game of Seduction
Colin could hardly hear the passers-by. His mind stirred with thoughts of Rose. It was against propriety to dance more than twice, yet Colin hadn’t had the inclination to dance with any other. Rather than dance, he’d spent the majority of the night sipping champagne with Rose and Allan and other of their long-forgotten friends. Colin was mesmerised with Rose throughout, amazed that she could hold such conversation and make such jokes, despite having been raised in an orphanage. This had been her first party, and she’d slipped into it without pause—a natural.
And in a way, she’d wrapped her way around his heart, his heart that had been so entirely resistant, so hopeful that he could find a way to drift away from her.
He felt a shadow beside him. Colin tipped to the left to inhale the sight of Rose—her skin glowing and her cheeks endlessly soft, her hair cascading down her shoulders. Her breasts bulged beautifully beneath her dress, cupped close together. Her eyes held onto his for a long moment. Still, guests swarmed around them, yet it seemed that they were the only people outdoors.
“It was really a wonderful party,” she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.
Colin yearned to reach up and grip her hand, to ask her to come to his bedroom that night. Oh god, it was mindless that he had to sleep alone with such a tremendous ache in his heart. He swallowed and searched for the right words to say. How could he translate to her that he needed her to stay?
“I suppose I’ll head to bed,” she said. “It will be terribly difficult to rise in the morning. But Duncan doesn’t allow any sort of mucking about, as you know. He requires strict diligence and endless amounts of play.”
Rose’s lips parted. She drew her hand over her lips, shielding view of her yawn. Colin couldn’t help but think that her yawn was the most beautiful, most tender thing he’d seen in his life.
“Of course,” he said. “Perhaps we can have breakfast in the morning. Allan will still be here. He’s staying several days.”
“That’s marvelous,” she said.
For a moment Colin thought she was going to come toward him, and press her lips against his cheek. But she simply gave him a little curtsy and whipped off toward the back area of the house, where her bedroom was. Her absence made a shadow grow long and hungry in his heart.
Twenty minutes later, all the guests had left, creating a ghostly feel to the ballroom. Colin walked across it alone. Each of his footfalls echoed from wall to wall, and he slipped his hands into his pockets and felt contemplative, incredibly alone. When he reached the hallway, however, he found Allan waiting for him, a bottle of Scotch in his hand.
“Shall we?” he said.
Colin gave him a rueful smile and followed him toward his study. Allan poured their glasses, his back to Colin. Colin’s eyes rushed toward the window, where he caught sight of the tower outside. The lights were off; all was quiet. This, he knew, was good. Nothing had been disrupted or disturbed.
And perhaps Rose was losing sight of her curiosity about the matter.
“I was really quite surprised at how much I was drawn to your beautiful governess this evening,” Allan said suddenly. He turned to pass the glass to Colin. “I know you said she was raised in an orphanage. But this gives imagination to a very different sort of girl.”
“She’s quite a reader,” Colin said. “I think she’s seeped up knowledge about all areas of the world. About matters I haven’t given much thought to. She can run circles around nearly anyone in conversation. In a way, she’s the perfect governess. Boundless curiosity.”
“Perfect governess, yes,” Allan said. He arched his brow. “And beyond that, don’t you suppose she would be… the perfect match for you?”
Colin cast his eyes back. He walked toward the window and tilted his glass against his lips. The smallest bit of scotch dribbled over his tongue. “I don’t know, Allan. I know I was foolish and wrote you that letter, spilling out the contents of my silly heart. But…”
“I don’t quite know where your hesitation comes from,” Allan continued. “Rose is remarkable. Intelligent and witty and absolutely stunning. Countless people at the party were speaking of her. Asking about her. ‘Who is this woman? The Marquees simply won’t leave her side.’”
“They certainly weren’t saying that,” Colin said, although he really wasn’t so sure.
“You couldn’t keep your eyes from her, Colin. The way you lit up when she told a joke, it was a beautiful thing. I haven’t seen you so light, so free, well—ever. Certainly you weren’t that way as a boy.”
“Apologies that I wasn’t as fun-loving as you wanted me to be,” Colin said. His voice was edged with sarcasm.
“You know I will take you as you are, regardless of the day of the week,” Allan said. “We’ve been through far too much for me to want anything but that. But to see you in this way, I feel it’s my duty as your friend to force you to take notice. This is special.”
“But there’s so much she doesn’t know, Allan,” Colin blurted. His head spun with drink. “I’ve taken her into this house, thinking it would be temporary, and not filling in the blanks of the strange, ghoulish and ghostly—almost mysterious nature of this life. She senses those blanks. She’s too intelligent not to.”
“Come now. You’re being too hard on yourself. And perhaps you’re being too hard on her,” Allan returned.
He appeared behind Colin and splayed his hand on Colin’s shoulder, an act of friendship—yet Colin’s body immediately grew tense. He ached instead for the soft touch of Rose. His memory sizzled with the thought of her soft hand in his as they’d danced across the ballroom.
“What do you mean?” Colin asked.
Allan’s hand dropped. “You tell me her intelligence is second to none, but you don’t allow her to see the truth. She would surely handle it better than you think. She’s clever and assertive. If she doesn’t understand your predicament, then it’s obvious that she doesn’t deserve you.”
Colin spun toward him, his eyebrows stitching together. “Yes, but what if she doesn’t accept it? What if she spurns me? I can’t very well kick her from this house. Her relationship with Duncan is the only thing that’s keeping Duncan together. He would have become an absolute mess without her guidance. I know this to be true.”
Allan gave a very delicate shrug. His eyes looked glossy, sad. “I suppose that’s true,” he murmured. “But it’s a chance you must take. Love is one of the most wretched and most beautiful things. And we must take risks in order to get what we most want.”
