Page 58 of Unmasking a Wicked Marquess
Like a spirit disappearing in the air, she vanished, her skirts no longer visible as they rippled in the wind. “I should have asked her,” he murmured aloud, wishing he had not dallied now. “I should have asked her to marry me.”
Chapter 18
“Where were you today?”
“What?” Edward looked around distractedly, pulling the collar of his shirt and adjusting his cravat. He stood in the drawing room as some people milled into the dining room, taking their drinks with them as they spoke of the day’s success and all the bets they had won.
Out of the corner of his eye, Edward thought he saw his mother and Lady Clarence speaking of the horses together, but it may have been in his imagination, for the next minute, he saw Lord Clarence leading his wife away into the drawing room.
“Edward?” Philip put his glass down beside Edward’s on the drinks tray set on a mahogany sideboard. “You seem most distracted these days. What has got into you?”
“Nothing,” Edward lied and topped up their glasses with claret. Over his father’s shoulder, he saw Juliet entering the dining room beside her sister. She looked back at him, smiling sweetly, and then she was gone.
Out of reach. That is how she feels to me now.
His body still thrummed with energy after what they had shared earlier that day, and he was determined to relive it.
“I went to the stables earlier at Ascot.” Philip’s words made Edward snap his attention back to his father. “You weren’t there.”
“What time did you go?” Edward asked, thinking on his feet to come up with a lie.
“Around one o’clock.”
“Then we must have crossed paths. I went to eat with the jockeys at that time to find out how they were faring with the horses. They are all hard workers, you know. Considering how well they are doing for us at Ascot this year, I think we should give them a bonus.”
“Yes, yes, I am sure you are right,” Philip said distractedly.
“It was a good day, was it not?” Edward said, hoping all the horses had won and he would not be caught out in his lie.
“Yes, it was.” Philip sighed and glanced over his shoulder again. “Edward, I want you to tell me something and be honest.”
“Of course.” Edward regretted the promise at once, for his father was looking towards the dining room door through which Juliet had just stepped.
“You look at Lord Clarence’s daughter far too often.”
Edward’s hand closed on the spindle of his glass so tightly that he feared he might actually break it off. He tried to stay calm and attempted his utmost not to react as he lifted the glass to his lips and took a small sip of the claret. The red wine burned his throat most pleasantly, offering him a little distraction.
Edward wasn’t certain which upset him more. Was it the fact that Philip only spoke of Juliet in relation to her father? Or the fact Edward’s propensity to stare had angered him?
“You do not deny it,” Philip hissed in sudden panic.
“What would be the point when you have evidently observed me looking at her?” Edward asked with a shrug. “Besides, Father, her name is Juliet. Lady Juliet. You could at least call her by her name rather than addressing her through her father.”
“What has got into you?” Philip asked wildly.
“Shh,” Edward pleaded, glancing over his shoulder as the Duke of Darby and some other men walked past them and into the dining room. “Do you wish everyone to overhear our discussion?”
“They might agree with me how mad this is for you to be staring at the daughter of Lord Clarence.”
Edward’s gut tightened once again to hear Philip still refuse to address her by her name.
“What’s her name?” Edward murmured, determined to hear it on his father’s lips.
“What?” Philip asked distractedly.
“I’m curious to see whether Lady Juliet has ever done you an injury or if you are so determined to hate her because of the disagreement you had with her father.”
“Disagreement? Have you gone deaf?” Philip tried to laugh, but it was forced, and he ended up shaking his head rather wildly. “He accused me of cheating at the races. A friend of mine became so insistent I had cheated that he … he …”
