“And how is Lydia? Have you heard from her lately? The last I heard she had eloped with some officer, though I can’t recall his name off the top of my head.”
Kitty chuckled. “Lydia is still Lydia,” she said. “Her husband, Mr. Wickham, died last summer, and Lydia was absolutely distraught for about two months. She came home to Lockwood to recover from her loss. Then, last November, she shocked everyone by running off and marrying one of Papa’s footmen.”
Kitty shook her head, still in slight disbelief at the foolishness of her sister. “At least she won’t be a pauper. She still has the income from her dowry, but since the principle was never hers to begin with, her husband can never touch it.”
“A footman?” asked Marcus, also in disbelief. “Why would she want to marry a footman?”
“Lydia was never strong on practicality,” said Kitty. “I remember her commenting several times on that particular footman’s physique, sometimes in quite shocking ways.” She blushed slightly to remember some of the things Lydia had said.
“Well, I suppose I should simply hope that she is happy,” said Marcus, clearly at a loss for how to respond.
“She is,” replied Kitty. “I received a letter from her just a week ago. They settled in Bath. It turns out that her footman seems to be quite good at keeping her spending in line with their income, because her letter was full of complaints about him teaching her how to budget. Even so, she seemed quite happy with him.”
Silence descended once more between them. Kitty wanted so much to sit and talk with him for hours about their childhood, but she couldn’t ignore her father’s guests in such a way. So, she was hesitant to even start the conversation.
“Well, I suppose I should greet the other guests,” she finally said lamely. “I hope to see you again later in the evening.”
Marcus bowed. “I hope so as well,” he said. There was an earnestness and fervency to his statement that made Kitty pause only for a moment before she turned to walk away. She truly did not wish to leave his company.
Fortunately, she somehow ended up at the same whist table as him only an hour later. Not only that, but she was his partner for the game. Since they were at a table with two of Papa’s friends, they didn’t speak much to each other, but there was an enormous amount of unspoken communication that whisked back and forth between them.
Somehow, she was able to read his expressions far better than she had ever done with a partner during a card game before, which made it possible for her to frequently play a card that he needed her to play. He also seemed to know exactly what she needed as well. With such perfect teamwork, they absolutely trounced their opponents, who accepted the loss with bad grace.
Though they separated again after their game, Kitty somehow couldn’t help but watch Marcus for much of the rest of the night. Though he was, by far, the lowest ranked person in the room, somehow he seemed to get along easily with everyone he spoke to. She marveled at such social skill, though she marveled even more at how handsome he had grown.
Memories of their childhood spent together flowed through her mind, the games they played and the adventures they shared. One memory, in particular, bounced around repeatedly.
She had just turned fifteen, and her mother had begun talking about preparations to bring her out, telling her how to behave herself around men and what not to do. She and Marcus had somehow escaped from her nurse, as well as from Lydia and John, so that she could complain about everything her mother had said.
Kitty could no longer remember all that she had been complaining of, but she knew that one of them was that she was absolutely, positively forbidden from letting a man kiss her.
When she was done complaining, Marcus, with a strange look on his face, said, “Perhaps, I could give you your first kiss. That way, you could know what it’s like, since you won’t be allowed to do it again until you get married.”
Kitty remembered thinking it might be nice, but she was already trying to be a young lady, so she turned down his offer. Now, however, she wished she had accepted. She was twenty-one, almost twenty-two, and even to this day, she had still never been kissed.
As the evening was winding down, Kitty noticed that Marcus was preparing to leave. Sudden panic welled up in her chest. She realized that once he walked out that door, she wouldprobably never see him again. She knew she could not allow that to happen.
Without thinking it through, she rushed over to him and pulled him to the side. In a low voice, she said, “Marcus, I would very much like it if you called on me sometime.”
Pleasure, warmth, concern, and sadness each took a turn in his shifting expression. “I am afraid I can’t do that, Lady Catherine,” he finally said.
The way he called her Lady Catherine told her everything she needed to know. The gulf between them was simply too vast. Him calling on her was not much different than Lydia running off with a footman.
Still, she couldn’t accept his refusal. “You can, if we can get Papa’s permission,” she said. “You do want to, don’t you? We didn’t get the chance to reminisce at all.”
“Is that what you want?” he asked. “To reminisce over our childhood?”
Somehow she knew that what he was asking was if that wasallshe wanted. “I can’t answer that. Not here. Not now,” she said. “But please, I beg you to come with me to ask Papa. I can’t let you leave without knowing that I will be able to see you again.”
“I never could say no to you, Kitty,” he said. “Not when it was something important to you.”
She led him over to her father and asked him for permission for Marcus to call on her. Papa got a steely look in his eye as he looked at both of them. Finally, he said, “Mr. Greggson, you may call on me tomorrow evening when you are done with your work.”
~~~~~
It took a week before the duke gave Marcus his permission, during which time Kitty was certain her father had sent his investigators out to learn more about him. The report must have been favorable, however, for a week later Marcus called on Kitty.
Without the pressures of a party, the two of them chatted easily, sometimes talking over old times and sometimes discussing the present.
