‘Well, I have a confession to make. I have never shared my bed with another person—and I thought I never would. I hated the idea.’
‘But you said—’
‘I know. But it was more a manner of speech—I never meant the whole night together.’
‘And now?’
‘I have discovered there is nothing I like more than having you sleep next to me. So let us keep doing it.’
‘All right—as long as you don’t snore.’
‘I shall endeavour not to.’ He laughed. ‘You are lucky in your choice of husband. I am sure your fat suitor snores, the one I saved you from.’
Marguerite grinned at him. ‘What made you think of him?’
‘Because it was then I realised I could not tolerate another man touching you. If he had not desisted so fast, I would have blacked his eye. I could never stomach Barnfield or Crampton, either.’
‘Oh, what a drama! I never regarded them as more than friends. And I did not ask you to save me from the fat man. I was just about to kick him in the shins before you appeared, uninvited.’
Argyle burst out laughing. ‘I wish I had watched that, instead of interfering. He was not a handsome fellow, I will grant you that.’
She shuddered. ‘He even had a horrible name, Mr Potts or Mr Bloggs, something of that nature. After that night, he pursued another girl,Dieu merci.’
‘Enough of Bloggs. Come and kiss me good morning.’ He pulled her onto his lap, but she felt him flinch and jumped up.
‘Do not try to outdo yourself, Thomas. You will only have a relapse. You must still be patient.’
‘Why must you be so boring? It is bad enough facing your maid’s constant disapproval.’
Marguerite laughed, then bent and kissed him and went to pour herself a cup of coffee.
Chapter 19
This episode gave Marguerite an idea, which she soon put into action. Lord and Lady Lennox having expressed a wish to visit their daughter and future son-in-law, they were expected to luncheon in a few days. They arrived in their traveling chaise, amid the usual bustle in the courtyard, and were brought in by Curtis, who had been dispatched to lurk outside and wait for them.
Marguerite was overjoyed to see them, and they embraced warmly. Lord and Lady Lennox exchanged glances when they saw the parlour and Argyle’s pale face, but they said nothing. Lord Lennox said to his daughter, ‘You look lovely, my dear.’
‘Thank you, Papa.’ Marguerite had chosen a pretty muslin gown, primrose yellow with a lace collar, and Flossie had spent time on her hair. She looked at her father’s richly embroidered waistcoat, his silk knee breeches and stockings, and teased him. ‘And you are resplendent. One would think you had come to a wedding. Are you trying to impress the duke?’
Her father laughed. ‘Indeed I am, since I gather he is to be my son-in-law.’ He bowed to Argyle and the two men exchanged a cordial handshake before sitting down on the sofa.
Marguerite proposed to take her mother upstairs to her bedchamber so that she could refresh herself after the journey and Lady Lennox accepted with alacrity, more out of a wish to inspect the sleeping arrangements than anything else. As they walked up the stairs, she held her daughter’s hand and said, ‘I am glad to see you happy,ma chérie.’
‘I am,Maman. Tout va bien.I am to be married, as has been your wish all along. I have changed my mind about Thomas.’
‘C’est évident.And he asked you to call him Thomas?’
Marguerite laughed. ‘Yes. I refused at first, thinking it too…intimate. But he insisted so much, I gave in.’
In the bedchamber, her mother looked at the dark beams on the ceiling, the flowered curtains and the fire burning in the grate and said, ‘It is perfectlyconvenable. And where are His Grace’s rooms?’
‘Down the hall. Do not worry,Maman, we are being entirely proper. Flossie is a gorgon of a chaperone, I will have you know.’ She kept a straight face but smiled inwardly, thinking that at least that part of it was true—even if Flossie did not quite manage to have the effect she desired. She hoped her mother would not start giving her an embarrassing lecture on her future marital duties, but thankfully Lady Lennox was shy of alluding to such matters, as well as suspecting that her daughter was fully capable of acquiring any information she needed.
They came down to find the men engaged in easy conversation. Lord Lennox said, with a twinkle in his eye, ‘We have been arranging the marriage settlement, haven’t we, Duke?’
Argyle said, ‘It did not take us very long.’ He smiled at his beloved.
Marguerite laughed at them and thought they would rub along very well in the future. She bided her time until they were ensconced around the table where a feast was laid out, and her parents inquired about Argyle’s health.
