Page 39 of The Marquis' Game of Seduction
“Oh?”
“We decided that we—I—the Kensington Estate, that is, should hold a party,” he continued.
“My goodness! A party. I’ve never been to an actual party before,” Rose said. Her eyes glittered. “Oh, but I don't suppose I’m invited. Staff aren’t ordinarily invited to such things. I know that. Please, dismiss what I said as idiocy. I wouldn’t wish to…”
“No, no. Rose. Of course you’re invited,” Colin affirmed. “In fact, I wouldn’t think of having a party unless you were there. I imagine that you won’t be able to join until after you put Duncan to bed. However, after that, the party will run late into the night.”
Rose’s cheeks were flushed with excitement. She looked very nearly like she wanted to spring forward and wrap her arms around Colin. Perhaps she would have, had Allan not been right there. She swallowed and fixed the curls of her hair and said, “I really do need to find something to wear.”
Colin hadn’t considered this. In his world, every girl he knew had a line of many dresses, many of which were well-suited for a party. However, an orphan—an orphan who hadn’t attended any parties whatsoever—certainly had a far different outlook.
“Of course,” he said.
“Perhaps I can go after lessons with Duncan tomorrow? I know Anna goes to the market on Tuesdays, and…”
“That should do fine,” Colin said. He gazed deeply into her eyes. He’d never given the gift of such excitement to someone before. It made him think that perhaps he wanted to please her more and more—find little ways to create this glint in her eye.
“Wonderful. Thank you, my lord,” she said. She stepped back and gave a little curtsy.
Slowly—as though it was the last possible thing he wanted to do—Colin closed the door. He listened as her little steps skated back down the hallway.
It was a funny thing, the fact that he’d completely forgotten about his dear friend Allan behind him. When he turned around to discover him, Colin nearly leaped from his skin. He coughed twice, trying to conceal his shock. But Allan could read him like a book.
“My goodness. I didn’t mean to interrupt your reverie, my boy,” Allan said. His smile stretched wide between his ears.
“You didn’t interrupt anything. I was simply informing her of the goings-on of the house,” Colin said.
Allan clucked his tongue. “Of course. The goings-on of the house. Very polite of you.”
Colin’s shoulders slumped. He knew that Allan had him trapped. He’d seen the wild-eyed look he’d been giving Rose, could feel the panic and love stitched across his face and simmering in his voice. After a long pause, he said, “Did I seem like a fool?”
Allan burst up from his chair, cackling. “My boy, you looked every bit the fool. But every single person who’s ever fallen in love with anyone has looked like a fool. Can’t we all—for once—relish the fact that we look like fools? Can’t we absolutely adore the fact that—hell—there’s so much we don’t know about any of this? Perhaps there’s pleasure in it. Perhaps when we’re very old men, we’ll look back on the beauty of our anxiety and…”
“All right. All right,” Colin said. He rolled his eyes as a smile broke over his lips. “Just stop with the poetics. I’ll plan this party and let you know when it begins. Just. Let’s stop talking about it, all right? I really cannot handle it a moment more.”
Allan spent the afternoon with Colin: eating lunch, drinking Scotch, watching the weather mold over to early evening. Colin was grateful that Allan avoided topics involving both Rose and Amelia and stuck to topics of the past—times when they were young and alive and exuberant, without knowledge of the darkness of the future. Allan bid him adieu, stating that he had to return home for dinner with his fiancé.
“But I look forward to the party. And I look forward to seeing more of you, my dear friend. Don’t allow more time to tread between our sessions. I regret to inform you that I do very much miss you, no matter how much I fight it.”
Colin watched Allan’s horse dart back out the way it came. He remained there at the door until long after the white horse disappeared down the road, till an ominous thunder clap erupted overhead. Then, he latched the front door closed and returned to his study, where he sat quietly for the remainder of the night, without taking dinner.
How had he allowed so much time to occur between himself and Allan?
Was that how life happened? It just dripped away from you, until you became a very old man—a man who realised that his friends were now just acquaintances. That his memories might as well be passing fancies. He shuddered at the thought.
Chapter 17
“A party?” Anna asked. She frowned over the top of her book the following afternoon, her finger still tracing the line she’d been in the midst of reading. Despite her concentration, Rose hadn’t been able to stop her reckless blurting. She’d informed Anna that she had permission to attend the market with Anna that afternoon, in order to purchase a dress of her own.
“Yes. That’s right,” Rose affirmed.
“But. No. You don’t understand,” Anna whispered. “Colin hasn’t wanted any kind of party here in…years. I don’t even remember the last one. No, this is completely outside the bounds of reason. He must be losing his mind. Do you get the sense that he’s completely and totally… himself?”
Rose shrugged. “Is there an appropriate way for anyone to act? I don’t know, Anna. I know only that he wishes to have a party and I’ve been invited. Anna, I’ve never attended a party! I’m twenty-four years old, and I have always ached to attend something like this. And imagine it. Me! An orphan! At the party of the Marquees! It’s almost too ridiculous to speak of. Which means that I must find the absolutely perfect gown. Something that doesn’t scream ‘I am an orphan that the Marquees picked up off the street’.”
Anna rolled her eyes and clipped her book shut. “Don’t be foolish, Rose. You’re extraordinary looking.”
“Yes. But I come from absolutely nothing,” Rose affirmed. “Which means I have to work extra hard to ensure that nobody is the wiser. Now, read that final line, and then let’s prepare to attend the market…”
