Page 85 of No Ordinary Lady

She looked around the room and at the occupants. “I sense nothing different.”

“Didn’t you notice how Lady Scarsdale and Miss Wilson keep disagreeing today? They are usually so in tune.”

“That is true.”

“Something has changed.” Gabby gave her a look of glee. “Amy was acting superior, and the countess wouldn’t let her for a change. That never happens, let me tell you. You know what that could mean, don’t you?”

Marian wet her lips and studied the countess, who was nodding to something Amy was telling her. She noticed nothing but the countess smiling at Amy as if she was her daughter already.

Danny claimed he didn’t want Amy Wilson, and she believed him. But the lure of the young lady’s dowry was a powerful incentive, as was the pressure of family expectations to make a respectable match. He’d said he only wanted Marian. A woman with no family, position in society or dowry. But it occurred to her that Amy Wilson might not let Danny go so easily. He was quite a catch, being titled and wealthy.

Thanks to Gabby’s shared confidences, she was more aware of what society women looked for in a husband, and it wasn’t what Marian believed important in any match.

Marian settled on the window seat and so did Gabby.

They chatted for a while until Granny sent Miss Kimble off to the pianoforte to play for her.

Granny urged Marian to come closer. “You look pale. What’s on your mind?”

“Will you still leave when your grandson marries?”

“Goodness, yes. I decided that long before he came home, too,” the old lady promised in a whisper. “There’s always been strife between my daughter and me. We have distinctive styles and opinions about, well, almost everything there is to disagree about. Add in a new wife, and I would rather not spend all of my days disagreeing over the smallest unimportant things. I think it is best if I make myself scarce until everything is settled down again. I’ll renew my friendships with old acquaintances and perhaps make some new friends.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“No, my dear. You can’t now.”

Marian bit her lip. “Why can’t I come with you?”

“We are very much alike, you and me. Neither one of us will ever be proper, nor truly fit in here.”

Marian wanted to weep, cut to the quick by Granny’s assessment.

“Besides, once Danny’s married, everything will work out for the best, I expect.”

“What do you mean?”

“My daughter is completely won over, and my grandson is obviously smitten. It’s only a matter of time before he pops the question.”

Marian lowered her gaze to her lap. Had Danny lied to her? “He said he wouldn’t marry.”

“Oh, he must someday soon, but if I were him, I’d jump now rather than be pushed to the altar.”

“He would never do that. He loves his freedom too much.”

“And he loves you, though I’m not sure he’s confessed what’s in his heart, judging by the shocked expression on your face.”

“He would never! Lady Scarsdale would hate him to…”

“Marry someone like you? No, you would not have been her first choice.”

She looked up to see the lady herself watching her with an odd expression. Marian’s face grew uncomfortably warm.

“You know, I sometimes think it a great pity my daughter ever loved the late Lord Scarsdale as much as she did.”

She glanced at Granny, surprised by her words. “What is wrong with loving someone?”

“Love hurts, and my daughter has never been comfortable with potent emotions. Danny is much the same. She found it difficult to go on without her beloved husband by her side,” Granny admitted. “That’s why I stayed as long as I have. For her, and for my grandson.”