Chapter Eight 

  

Society Tales

Rumor has it that the strapping Lord M.C., the Viscount B. was seen being helped from a Drury Lane theater by an unknown lady last evening.  Nonsense!  If anything, the viscount was likely to be assisting her - whoever she was - since he is the picture of health these days!  As for the lady in question, I have several reports about whom the lady might have been, as he was seen with Lady C., a late peer's daughter, in the theater.  However, just the night before was noticed keeping company with a bevy of pretty young things.  Until I can ascertain for certain whom the lucky lady was, I shan't print anything that might reflect poorly upon a lady's character.  Or increase her chances for matrimony, either!  That is simply not my way.

Also of note at the theater last evening was the appearance of Lord L.M., Scottish heir to a viscountcy himself.  What he was doing in Town I cannot hazard a guess, but some have suggested that he, too, is in search of a bride, preferably a pretty English Rose.  Could this be a banner year for men falling- willingly or so it seems! - into the parson's mousetrap?  Or is the lord in question's visit to London something a little less bewitching and something more of a business matter?  Whatever the reason, this author does not hesitate to point out that he is both unfailingly polite and exceedingly nice to look at!

- Lady X

Given how late he was out the previous evening, Marcus knew he should still be abed, sleeping off the frustration that had tied him in knots since his encounter with Caroline in his coach.  After all, his body needed the rest, especially after the hellish pain it had inflicted upon him last evening.  

However, he was not abed.  Instead, he had risen early, much to his valet's dismay and roused Rory, Cheltenham House's head groom, asking the man to have Marcus' prized stallion, Beast, saddled and ready for an early morning ride.  The sun was barely in the sky, and not even that in some places, but Marcus needed to be out of the house.  Much like his horse, he was restless and feeling confined.  Soon Marcus hoped to have his horse in the country where Beast could exercise properly.  In the meantime, an early morning jaunt to the park and back would have to do.  It was the best he could manage under the circumstances.

Marcus had also been certain to read Lady X's column before setting out.  In fact, he had gone so far as to instruct Towson to bring the paper directly to him the moment it arrived.  Since both of his parents were still sleeping in preparation for their departure from town, and would likely remain in bed for some time yet, Marcus had plenty of time to scan the column, searching for a mention of his name.  Or rather an allusion to him, at any rate.  Lady X, like most gossip columnists, did not use actual names but rather an assortment of initials when referring to people.  And occasionally titles when matters became a bit confusing.  After all, there were only so many acceptable names for society lords and ladies.

As expected this morning, Lady X did not disappoint, though, like Caroline, she also seemed to be intent on pushing Lady Diana and her friends on him as potential brides.  He did not want them.  In fact, after last evening, he wanted no one but Caroline.  She was perfect for him.  Not that she would see it that way, he was certain.  In that regard, she was just as stubborn as he.  When her mind was made up, it was very difficult to change it, but he still meant to try.

From the moment he had pulled his lips from hers for the last time, she had attempted to continue protesting, clearly uncomfortable with the feelings he teased out from deep inside of her.  No matter that her body had a completely different reaction to her mind.  Uncomfortable or not, at least he had made her feel.  That was the most important thing.  And if she felt something for him, however small, he was certain he could turn that emotion, whatever it was, into love.  After all, it was clear she desired him, given the way she responded to his fevered kisses and caresses last night.

As he rode through the still and misty morning, he continued to replay the scene in his carriage over and over.  She had wanted him.  Badly.  Just as much as he had wanted her.  So why did she insist upon pulling away, even though he had been the one to stop the madness last evening and only then because he knew she deserved better than a quick tumble in his carriage?  Given the way her body reacted to his, it was certainly not because she found him distasteful.  Or because she could not stand him.  In fact, given the way her tempter had matched his, he was fairly certain she felt a good deal for him.

No, it was not lack of attraction that had made her regret the kiss.  Though she claimed that she did not regret a thing, he could tell very well by the expression on her face that she did.  He had the feeling she was hiding something.  That was not like Caroline.  Or rather, it was not like the Caroline he had known.

Did she keep secrets now, he wondered?  That was unlike her, but then, she had been gone from town a very long time.  What did he really know about Caroline as she was in the present and not the past?  What did he know of her time in Northumbria?  Precisely nothing.  And that bothered him.  Something did not seem right, especially after last night.  And he wanted to know the truth of her, all of the truth and not merely the parts she chose to share.  He wanted to know what secrets she was hiding from him and the sooner the better.  He did want to be married and away in the country soon, after all.

Marcus decided that perhaps Mr. Greer's time might be better spent in the north of England rather than in search of Lady X, at least for the moment.  There was time to uncover the identity of the mystery lady later, and, in truth, she was doing him no real harm.  Oh, he still wanted to meet her, certainly, and he was still beyond intrigued.  However, for the first time last night, he had dreamed of bedding not Lady X, but rather Caroline instead.

The body he coveted in his dreams had a face for the first time, and a very lovely one at that.  Lady X could wait.  Caroline was more important to both his present and his future.  If only she would see the situation in that manner, it would be perfect.

He was still pondering the best way to win Caroline's heart when, like a forest nymph, she emerged from the early morning mist, the sun barely high enough in the sky now to give light to the city let alone burn away the fog of night.

"Lady Caroline?"  Marcus was immediately suspicious.  For all of her borderline scandalous behavior, she was not, in general, reckless.  However, this was the second morning she had been out and about in Hyde Park well before most ladies of the ton had even peeked an eye open for the first time.  Some might well have not yet been abed at all.  She had also never been a particularly early riser.  Was this one more part of her that was different now, or was there a darker, more nefarious reason?  He wanted to believe it was merely a change in habits, but he could not.

He could also not treat her to a full inquisition about her activities, much as he might want to.  It was not proper.  There were also other people about, tradesmen going about their business and shop girls on their way to their places of employment.  In the light of day, it would not do for him to forget his manners.  Or throttle her.

"My lord."  Caroline dropped a quick curtsey as he slid off his horse, praying that Beast would remain even-tempered this morning.  "You are awake early as well."

Marcus considered her carefully for a moment.  "Indeed.  I was unaware that you were such an early riser.  At one time, you were scarcely to be found up and about before late afternoon."  

"Habits change, my lord.  All things do."  She gave him an innocent look, but her bland expression did not quite reach her eyes.  He had the distinct impression that she was hiding something.  He also felt as if they were being watched, but he was fairly certain that was nothing more than his imagination.  There were no spies lurking about the park on such a damp, misty morning.  The very idea was utter nonsense.

While at first glance, Caroline appeared as if she was only out for a morning constitutional, there was something rather wrong about the situation as a whole, though Marcus could not quite put his finger on precisely what.  Perhaps it was the slight tremor in her voice or the way her eyes darted behind her, as if she was afraid someone might see her in Marcus' company.  Which was of course, patently absurd.  There was nothing to worry about.

Or was there?

Belatedly, he took in the lack of a maid, carriage or driver - all things that a proper lady should have when walking about in the park at this hour.  Or any hour, really.  If she should even be out at all.  Even Caroline who claimed to need no one and routinely disappeared from balls and the like without notifying Lady Mary, her paid companion by way of Lady Berkshire.  Even she was not that brash, especially not given the way she had lectured Marcus about her reputation and avoiding scandal.

Then there was the matter of her clothing.  She wore, well, not to put too fine a point on things, but a particularly hideous creation of gray bombazine that looked better suited to the rag bag than to clothe a gently bred lady like Caroline.  She looked poor, to put it bluntly, as if she was only one step above the shop girls he had noticed moments before.  Perhaps not even as well off as a flower seller.

Additionally, there was something not quite right about the park itself, as if there were eyes watching that should not be about at this hour.  Spying.  Waiting.  Maybe it was not his imagination after all.  Either that or Caroline had him so completely befuddled that he could not think properly.  However he pushed those ideas aside as absurd.  Instead, he turned his narrow gaze back to Caroline to study her more completely.  She was indeed, The Mystery.

Suddenly, several things that had been bothering him, including her supposed lack of interest in him as a man, while her obviously body proved otherwise, began to shift in his mind.  Who was this woman before him?  Sadly, he did not really know.  Not any longer.

"What brings you out on this fine morning, my lady?"  He looked around for a maid who had perhaps lagged behind, but he still did not see any sign of another person.  "And alone, no less."  By God, if she was wandering about on her own where anyone might accost her, she would no longer have the need to fear him ruining her reputation.  She would be done in by her own hand without any effort on his part at all.

"Oh, I am not alone," she said, waving in the general direction of a nearby street, and if he squinted, even with his ruined eye, he could vaguely make out the line of a coach.  But not the one bearing the Redwing crest.  Instead this was a plain, nondescript older carriage that, like Caroline, looked rather shabby.  "My coach is waiting for me, as you can plainly see."  She shifted from one foot to the other in what Marcus thought to be nervousness.  "I merely wanted some time alone this morning to clear my head.  The serenity of the park helps me think.  And there is so very much on my mind this fine morning."

"I see," he replied, even though he really did not.  Could she not do her thinking at home?  Or at the very least, in the company of a proper chaperone?  "Even so, there are dangers, Caro.  Ones that I believe you ignore to your own detriment."  He could not resist using his pet name for her, wanting to provoke her into anger rather than face this slightly somber woman before him.  

This was not the woman he had ravished in his carriage last evening.  This woman was cold and remote.  Distant.  Not at all like the warm, pliant woman who had come undone in his embrace.  "There are men about.  Men who might hurt women.  Seduce them, even.  Ravish them and make all sorts of delicious promises they have no intention of keeping.  Though there are others who will.  I would like to believe you know the difference."  Marcus looked deeply into her eyes, and there he could see that she was remembering the passion they had shared the previous evening.  There was his Caroline at last.

Her breath caught in her throat at his words, and she began to tremble a bit.  He could see that she more than remembered now that he was standing in front of her.  It was as if she was reliving it right before his very eyes.  Damn, but he wished he could see her lovely breasts again, nip at her tender flesh as he had done last night.  He wanted to know if she was remembering the passion just as clearly as he.

Then she shook her head as if pushing the thoughts away and her eyes cleared.  "I am not so foolish as all of that, Marc."  Her words were soft but there was another one of those clear notes of strength beneath, as if she did not wish him to tell her what to do.  Well, perhaps she did not.  He did not have that right after all.  However, that didn't mean that he could not warn her.  "I am careful.  I promise.  And my maid Glenna is in the carriage.  I have never really left their sight.  But after the last few days...."  She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them again, he could see the passion in them flare once more.  "After last night, I did not sleep well.  In fact, scarcely a wink.  Is that what you wished hear?"  She sounded angry, as if she did not want the passions he had awakened in her any more than she wished to find hemlock in her water goblet.

Well no, he thought silently in reproach, at least not if you are going to carry on so.  As if I accosted you against your will and ravished you senseless, which I most certainly did not!

Well, that last part might have been true.  He wasn't certain either of them had been able to think clearly when they had finally parted.

Instead, he drew in a deep, steadying breath before letting it out slowly, careful to keep his anger in check.  He had been doing rather well, he thought, except for his occasional rows with Caroline.  And those he would prefer to keep private.

"I am sorry, my lady," he said as he tucked her arm into his, even though she struggled a bit in his grasp, and turned her so that they were now facing back towards her carriage.  She might wish to go wandering about unescorted, but while he still drew breath, he would not allow it.  "But that changes nothing.  Not what happened last night between us, nor the fact that it is not proper for you to wander about Hyde Park on your own, no matter the reason.  What if someone had seen you?"

Clearly furious, she continued to look straight ahead, not even sparing him one glance.  He couldn't decide if she was angry, embarrassed, or attempting to keep her passion in check.  Perhaps it was a combination of all three.  And while he prayed it was the final emotion she felt towards him, he had a sinking suspicion that it was the first instead.  "I have survived worse, my lord."  Then she lapsed into stony silence again, which was far from companionable.

As they approached her carriage, he could see Caroline's driver hopping down to assist her into the conveyance and the sly peep of a maid's eyes through the closed curtains.  So she had not truly been alone, just as she had said.  That still did not make her actions correct.  Though given the stiff and unyielding nature of her posture and the furious look in her eyes, she did not seem to be in the mood for apologies.  Still, he would grant her one anyway.

"My apologies, my lady," he finally offered, not knowing what else to say that would not aggravate her further.  "I was merely concerned for you.  I do not wish to see you come to harm."  When she still did not reply, he stopped and turned her to face him.  "Caro, I am sorry.  However, after last night, we cannot pretend that things are the same between us.  We can no longer pretend that there is no lingering affection.  And that affection makes me worry for your safety."

Caroline raised one eyebrow at him rather imperiously.  "Just because we kissed, or perhaps indulged a bit more, that does not mean that I have changed my mind, Marc.  I will see you married to a fine lady of good breeding.  One that is not me."

"And I have told you that I will accept no one but you, Caro," he tossed back, feeling his temper flare to life again.  What in heaven's name was wrong with the chit?  What he truly that much of a monster with his bad eye and damaged leg?  He had expected other young ladies to view him as such, but not Caroline.  "Why will you not give me a chance to win you?  Especially when it is plain that you desire me as much as I desire you?"

Caroline began to raise a hand to his face but then stopped as if remembering that anyone might stumble upon them.  "Because our time has passed, Marc.  We are different people now.  Perhaps if I had not gone away or perhaps if you had not become ill, things would have been different.  We would have been different."  She clenched her fingers around her reticule.  "Last night should not have happened.  I now realize it, even if you do not."

Marcus wanted to argue with her but quickly decided that would not advance his cause.  Instead, he shrugged.  "That is your opinion, my lady.  One, might I add that I do not share."  She was about to protest when he brought his hand up to still her.  "But, as I do not wish to argue with you, I shall accept that you do not desire me.  For now.  Even though we both know it is a lie you tell yourself when I am not around.  So introduce me to whatever silly idiot females you feel you must.  I will meet them, at least, even if I shan't marry them."

"Marc..." Caroline began but then stopped as if she knew this was a battle she could not win.  "Very well.  I am far too weary to argue this morning.  Not to mention that there is another ball tonight that we have both agreed to attend."

"Lady Saintwood's Moonlight Ball."  He nodded, knowing full well that Caroline planned to throw Lady Diana in his path again.  The chit was nice, but not for him.  "I remember, and I shall be there."

"See that you are."  She motioned for her driver to lower the steps.  "And that you will be agreeable to the ladies I introduce you to."

He shrugged again.  "Agreeable enough."

That was clearly not what she wanted to hear for she pursed her lips, but he would not concede the point.  He would meet the young ladies in question and be nice to them.  He still would not marry them.  She knew by the very determined look in his eyes that he would not.  "Very well.  I shall see you tonight."

Then she was gone, tucked inside the carriage in a puff of old, gray bombazine and a muted fit of temper.

As he watched the carriage drive away, he frowned.  There was something very wrong about this entire business, beginning with her wandering in the park alone and ending with her refusal of his pursuit.  None of her actions made a bit of sense - especially her protests and resistance even after she practically begged him to seduce her in his coach last evening.

However Marcus decided not to pursue the matter for the remainder of the day.  That did not mean he was about to drop it however.  Instead, he would simply allow Caroline to believe that he had fallen for her lies.  In the meantime, he would recall Harry Greer and send the man to Northumberland.  There was something amiss with Caroline and it was clear that she would not tell him a bloody thing about it.  Instead, she was clinging to the air of mystery that she wore like a cloak.

He had hoped that she might open up enough to truly be herself with him.  He had thought they might be friends in the way they once were.  And that could happen.  He simply wanted to know the truth and not the lies she had been feeding him.

From the expression on Caroline's face, however, she obviously wished Marcus would simply let the matter drop.  So he would.  For a time anyway.  This little incident was far from being forgotten, however.

Inside the safety of her carriage, Caroline risked a peek through the closed curtains.  Marcus still stood where she had left him, watching the carriage roll away down the street and back towards Turner-Carson House.

"He loves you, my lady."  Glenna, never one to keep silent about her mistress' doings clearly felt no need to hold her tongue now either.  "Why do you push him away when it's clear to me that you feel the same?  Is it not what you have wished for all these many years?"

"You know why, Glenna."  Caroline allowed the curtain to fall back into place.  "If Marcus knew the truth about me, about what I have done, he would hate me.  He is also infatuated with Lady X to the point of distraction at times.  For him to discover that she and I are the same person?  That I have known of his infatuation and not told him the truth of things?  He would never speak to me again."

At that, her maid let out a sound that was a cross between a huff of disbelief and a sigh.  "Aye, perhaps he might at that."  When she was cross, Glenna's natural accent, which she had learned to hide over the years, often tinged her words.  "Or perhaps he would be angry only a short while and then forgive ye.  A man in love with a woman forgives her much.  Lest that's what my da used to say."

"And my excellent forgery skills and the fact that my uncle very nearly had me married to a man who wanted nothing more than my fortune?  The very same man who took my innocence?"  Caroline wasn't quite so certain that Marcus could forgive any of those things.  Especially when she had not confessed her sins to him when she had returned three years ago.  On the other hand, he had been dying at the time, so perhaps he might forgive that.  Might.  Or might not.

As expected, Glenna had a different opinion.

"That was not you, my lady," she sniffed haughtily.  "That was all your bastard of an uncle's doing.  I've seen your Lord Marcus' temper.  If he knew all that had occurred, were your scoundrel uncle still alive?  Lord Breckenright would thrash the man soundly, he would."  Then Glenna sat back as if the matter was settled.

Except that it wasn't, at least not in Caroline's mind.  She doubted it ever would be.  At least not as long as Lady X still reported on London society.

Caroline had penned her latest Lady X column rather late last evening.  Normally, she rushed to her desk to compose the piece the moment she walked in the door each night while the gossip was still fresh in her mind.  Then she would send someone, usually Glenna, accompanied by Marsh, the driver, to drop the manuscript at the publisher's doorstep.  Last night, however, Caroline's mind had been muddled and she had delayed in writing her column.  Instead, she had indulged in fantasizing about Marcus and his delicious kisses.  About the way he had set her body ablaze with need.  About the future they could have had, if not for her uncle and his machinations.

By the time she had finished, it had been rather late and she knew she would need to placate her publisher with an in-person appearance.  Much as she had the last time she had not finished her piece on time.  The last time such an unfortunately event had occurred, Marcus had caught her out in the park in the early morning hours as well.  Darn the early rising man!

So in the early hours of the morning, she had donned her oldest and most hideous gown and set out with her maid and her driver.  As expected, her editor had not been pleased with the delay but when he had seen her in person, he had, again as expected, become his usual groveling self.  After all, without Lady X, his paper would not sell even a fraction of what it did currently and he well knew it.

On the way home, however, Caroline's mind was still in a turmoil.  She wanted Marcus and he, it seemed, meant to have her.  No matter the cost to either of them.  Yet she knew she could not be with him unless she confessed all.  And that, she was certain, would lead him to despise her.  At the very least, he would no longer trust her.

She would lose him.

After so many years of friendship, she would lose the one person she held most dear to her.  That, she was afraid, she could not bear.  So instead, she had made up her mind to push him away completely, to make certain that he married one of the young ladies she recommended to him.

Except that at the precise moment she had made up her mind, he had appeared on his great beast of a horse in the early morning mists, much like a phantom not of this earth.  Seeing him sit astride his horse, no one would even guess that his leg did not work properly and that his left eye did not focus as it should, leaving him partially blind.  Instead, all she saw was a magnificent, dashing man that she loved with all of her heart.

She had wanted to run to him and fling herself into his arms, tell him that yes, she would be his and his alone.  She would not utter a word about her past, save what might be necessary for the marriage bed.

Then he had opened his mouth and began questioning the reason she was in the park.  Alone.  And she had panicked.

Caroline had reacted badly, she knew, fighting back and, in truth, baiting Marcus into a fine temper.  She had thought it a way to keep his mind from what they had shared the previous evening in his carriage, not to mention why she was in the park at such an ungodly hour.

In turn, he had chastised her and then tempted her to give in, saying that he would settle for no one but her.  Which had, in turn, frightened her even more until they were arguing again.

She hated that, despised every cross word between them.  It should not be thus.  They were friends, far greater than he was with any of his male friends, odd as that was.  She knew things about him that she was certain they did not.  She had saved his life, even though he did not know it.

Yet she also knew that she could not tell him the truth - about anything.  Oh, but how she wanted to.  So instead, she fought back.  Argued.  Became a shrew.  Much to her shame.

Would he stop asking about her past, just as he had rather implicitly promised?  She doubted it.  So the problem still remained - what should she do about Marcus?  Should she tell him the truth or should she scamper back to the country and her cousin Norbert's home at Grayfield?  She knew she had an open invitation to live in the dowager house there for the remainder of her days if she wished.

But could she simply leave Marcus and he not come after her?  Especially at Grayfield?  Given the way he had kissed her in the carriage the previous evening, she sincerely doubted it.

In truth, she wanted him to come after her, or at least a part of her did.  She was tired of the running and the lies.  She was tired of being Lady X.  More than that, she longed for a family of her own, a husband and children running about under foot, even though there were those who would say that age was against her.

There had been a time that she thought all of those dreams lost to her, believing that Marcus would never forgive her for her sins.  Yet now that he was returned to town, he pursued her as if she was the greatest treasure he could ever hope to possess.  Silly, foolish thing that she was, a part of her believed him.  More than that, she wanted him for herself.  She did not want him to marry another.  Yet she also did not see how she could prevent such a thing from occurring either, especially when she kept pushing unmarried young ladies at him left and right.

Soon, there would come a point when he would proposition her.  It had almost happened last night, and she was not so foolish as to think it would not happen again.  After all, he had once been a notorious rake, a man that had kept many mistresses happy and satisfied over the years.  He had also not made it a secret that he wanted her.  Would she be strong enough to resist him if he asked her to share his bed, even for only one night?  

She doubted it and that, she decided as the carriage rolled to a stop outside of her town home, might just be her downfall, the single decision that would cost her the life that she had worked to build for herself.  She also knew that she was unlikely to say no.  Given the choice, she would most likely damn herself in the eyes of society simply to spend one night in Marcus' arms.