Page 29 of The Marquess's Imperfect Brid
“I remember having a Christmastide treasure hunt when Anne, Neil and I were children,” she said. “Anne had been sick for a fortnight, and that was the first day she had been well enough to leave her chambers. Neil and I tried to let her get a few clues ahead of us. But she kept getting sidetracked by the treats and pudding that our cook was making for the feast later that evening. We lost her for an entire half hour, and Neil and I were frantically trying to find her before Mother became too worried.”
The marquess chuckled, listening intently to her as she spoke.
“I must assume, since I have met your sister, that the two of you eventually found her,” he said.
Grace giggled and nodded.
“We certainly did,” she said. “She was in the kitchens, skulking about. She had slipped in and hidden under the preparation table. And while the cook’s back was turned, she had helped herself to the Christmastide pudding. She was covered from her nose to her neck with it, and her hands were nothing but congealed sugar.”
Lord Hayewood laughed heartily, bending over as he took a breath.
“Were the two of you in trouble?” he asked.
Grace was stunned by the genuine surprise in his voice as she spoke about her childhood. But she laughed again and shook her head.
“No, we were not,” she said, choking back another bout of giggles. “Because I sneaked her back up the stairs while Neil made a big show of pretending to call out to us and stomping like a mad horse to make Mother think we were right there with him. While I…” she had to pause to take a breath and collect herself. “… I poured a pitcher of water all over Anne, which made the pudding drip all down her dress. I had to put her in one of my dresses and pretend that we had gotten distracted playing make-believe that we were debutantes preparing for our first seasons.”
The marquess was laughing almost as hard as Grace was by the time she had finished her story. He put a hand on his stomach until he caught his breath.
“Oh, my,” he said. “It sounds like the three of you engaged in some rather impish antics.”
Grace sniffled, dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief and nodded as she tried to control her laughter.
“We certainly did,” she said. “And we always ensured that none of us got in trouble, if it could be helped.”
Lord Hayewood nodded, looking at Grace with both amusement and kindness.
“I can imagine that you were very protective of your little sister,” he said. “And it is very clear that your brother is protective of both of you.”
Grace nodded, her smile fading a little.
“He became especially protective over me after my accident,” she said, shocking herself yet again by mentioning the one subject about which she was never comfortable talking. “People were so cruel to me after I got the wounds that left these scars. And Neil did not rest for months, refusing to allow anyone to say anything ill about me, whether I was present or not.”
The marquess’s brow furrowed, and his eyes filled with a deep sadness.
“I cannot imagine how such cruelty must make you feel,” hesaid.
Grace nodded, sighing wistfully.
“The partial blindness and deafness since the accident were hard enough,” she said, surprised at her admission to the handsome marquess. “But to have gossip and judgment added to the challenges those maladies left behind made things so much more difficult.” Grace gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. She could not believe she had placed so much of her troubles onto the marquess. She felt so comfortable and at ease in his presence that she had forgotten herself. She blushed, shaking her head and looking down at the ground. “Oh, pray forgive me. I do not know why I forced you to listen to all that.”
Lord Hayewood cleared his throat, and she expected to see an angry expression on his face. But when she looked up, his eyes were filled with pain, kindness and, she thought, a glimmer of tears.
“There is nothing in the world for which you should apologise,” he said, looking at her with understanding and admiration. “I know how it feels to carry burdens which no one seems to understand, and about which no one seems to care.”
Grace blinked, her heart skipping. If he longed to open up to her as she had to him, she would open her heart to anything he wished to share.
“I cannot pretend to understand your plights,” she said. “But I can imagine duties and responsibilities must get quite heavy from time to time.”
The marquess nodded, his eyes speaking of the burdens he felt.
“My father has a list of expectations of me as a future duke,” he said. “And society has its own, separate list. It seems that nothing in my future is to be decided by me, not unless I make such decisions within the confines of societal conformity. And yet the life I want is free from those confines. I will always dowhat is right and just. But I wish to do it from within my own realm of happiness. Not that which others tell me should be my happiness.”
Grace gave Lord Hayewood a warm smile, touched by the extent to which he was trusting her. Her heart ached for him, as she also understood being trapped by things that were not inside her control. Her accident had taught her that people would put you in a place in existence based on what they believed to be right. Even if it was all wrong.
“I understand that perfectly,” she said.
The marquess nodded, gazing into her eyes. She could hardly believe the bond, which she could actually feel growing between them. She had never dared to open up to anyone in such a way, apart from her family and Millicent. And it seemed that Lord Hayewood was the same. Yet there they stood, sharing their experiences and troubles as if they were old friends. Or perhaps, even partners.
