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“Yes, it is a lovely building,” Cecelia replied.
Marcus looked down at her, his dark eyes sparkling. “I wasn’t referring to the building.”
Cecelia’s heart dropped toward her toes. Allen made a gagging sound with a finger in his throat, which made Ainsley laugh loudly.
“Quite nauseating, isn’t it? Unrequited love?” Ainsley asked of Allen.
“I have a feeling this love isn’t unrequited,” Allen whispered back, but he was close enough that Cecelia could hear him.
“It should be after what he did,” Ainsley said. She was nothing if not stalwart in protecting Cecelia’s heart.
“Men make mistakes, my dear,” Allen informed her. “It’s the unfortunate nature of the beast. Particularly aristocratic men. They’re unfortunately addled when it comes to things not pertaining to titles, land, and fortunes. Matters of the heart trip us up much more than transfers of holdings or a bet on the books at White’s.”
Ainsley snorted. “Aristocratic men are imbeciles, you say?” She rocked her shoulder into his. Shock crossed his face at her audacity, but he quickly hid it. He was raised to be such a gentleman. And a gentleman did not correct a lady. Particularly not one whose only fault so far was a familiarity with his person.
Allen adjusted his jacket. “Not imbeciles, I’d say.” He leaned closer to Ainsley. “Although my brother might fall into that category if he doesn’t marry that lady as soon as possible.”
Cecelia heard him this time and cringed. That would never happen.
“When the two of you are finished with your flirting, let’s go and see if we can find Mayden,” Claire said to Allen and Ainsley, and Ainsley’s face reddened prettily. The tops of Allen’s ears turned pink.
Lord Phineas coughed into his hand to cover a laugh. Marcus turned away, but not before he grinned at his brother.
“If we could be serious for a moment,” Claire scolded, as she held out two miniatures, keeping a third for herself. “This is what the Earl of Mayden looks like. In case you need to show him to anyone.”
“Is that safe?” Cecelia asked as she looked down at the miniature.
“Probably not,” Lord Phineas said. Claire and her husband knew Mayden’s sordid history personally since the earl had made an attempt on Finn’s life the year before. “So, be careful.”
“I think we can cover more ground if we split up,” Claire said.
“I’m going with you,” Lord Phineas said to his wife as Claire slid her arm into his. She smiled up at him.
Allen bowed to Ainsley and said, “Shall we take a stroll about town?” Ainsley flushed again and laughed lightly as she curtsied.
That left Cecelia with Marcus. Oh, joy. Cecelia looked over at him and grimaced.
“Don’t worry. I promise not to bite.” He held out his arm for her and arched a brow in question.
“I learned to walk when I was a year old, Marcus. I don’t think I’ve forgotten how.” She started in the other direction.
***
Good God, the woman would drive him absolutely mad. First she wouldn’t let him put her into the painting, and now she wouldn’t even take his arm. She was angry, and she had a right to be. But would she ever get past it? “Do you even know where you’re going?” he called to her retreating back.
“Somewhere you’re not,” she called back.
“We’ll all meet here at dusk,” Claire called to the group. Cecelia didn’t slow down to answer. But Marcus called back his agreement, and then he ran to catch up with Cecelia.
“Where shall we start?” he asked. She was walking so fast that he was finding it hard to breathe.
She turned to face him. “A better question is where we should end. Here looks to be as good a place as any.” Marcus’s gut clenched. “Stop trying to open the door to the past. Your future is much more important, Marcus.”
It wasn’t. The only thing that was important was her. “Can’t I have both?” he asked. He waited on tenterhooks.
“I don’t see how.”
Marcus looked at the crowd in the street and took Cecelia’s hand in his, pulling her between two buildings. She tried to step around him, but he pushed her back with the size of his body. This might be his only chance to talk to her. He wasn’t going to give up the opportunity.
