AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 8
John felt a tinge of guilt and elation. He knew that it was risky entering Pelham Downs to return the meat, but John could not merely leave it on the front doorstep. He could have handed it to the footman, but he was desperate to see Margaret again, and doing so filled him with satisfaction.
Still, he couldn’t shake the disbelief in Jane’s expression. It was becoming all too apparent that John had feelings for Margaret, and if Jane saw it, then so be it. There was nothing he could do. It would be considerably difficult to hold back his feelings now, particularly after sharing the remarkable kiss. He had longed to steal another, and then another, but John wished to be respectful in regards to Margaret.
As he walked along, John had a spring in his step, and he considered what he might do next. He could return to the inn, but seeing as it was such a beautiful and triumphant day, he saw no sense in that. So instead, John treated himself to tea at a local teahouse in Farthington. As he sat there, looking around at all the various customers, John found himself desperately longing to have Margaret by his side. It had been wonderful sitting with her in the park.
Once his appetite was satiated and energy coursed through his veins from the strong tea, John received the bill and noted that it was considerably expensive. This did not matter in the slightest. Money was no object, as he had expressed to Margaret, but she did not understand just how little of a thing it was for him.
If he were to tell her the truth about his wealth, would that provoke Margaret to consider him as a candidate to take her hand? If he told the viscount this, might he do the same? No, so much of Margaret’s predicament did not seem to pertain to money so much as control. Her father wanted to control her; body and soul. John cringed as he thought of it.
Once tea was done, he considered that it was a ripe time to return to the inn so that he might rest. In the comfort of his room, John could not shake Margaret from his mind, and this caused him to massage the bridge of his nose, wondering if Margaret would always be on his mind. Despite the difficulty of the situation, it was perfectly acceptable if she remained in his thoughts, for these thoughts were sweet and delicious.
Oh, but these thoughts also bore a tremendous amount of heat. John was ever so fond of Margaret that he wished for the best of her, but he had to admit to the craving that she made him feel. In fact, heat emanated throughout his body as he thought of her. Would she be offended if she knew that she affected him that way? John desperately hoped that she might feel the same.
***
Margaret sat at the tea table, chin quivering. The situation was worse than Margaret suspected. Her father, still inebriated, pulled out a list that he perused. “These are the gentlemen that we can rely upon should Lord Darkmoor refuse your hand.”
“You have made a list?” Margaret asked in disbelief.
“Indeed.” The viscount cleared his throat. “These are men that I often… play cards with.”
Things went from worse to worse. Was that where her father had been? Whilst she waited to enter the butcher’s shop, had her father been going around to the people that he owed money to, seeing if they would be willing to marry her? The situation was considerably awful, and Margaret wished to flee at once.
“You owe money to these men,” Margaret stated plaintively.
“Not all of them. But some of them.”
“Father, can you not see what a pernicious game you are playing?”
His eyes still bloodshot, the viscount looked away and considered Margaret’s question. “This is necessary, and you know it. Lord Darkmoor did not seem immediately keen on you, and the situation being what it is, I had to make other arrangements if that were to fall through.”
“I am nothing but a pawn to you, and this is my prison!” Margaret said with great feeling, hating the emotions that her father instilled in her.
“And the only way that you are to escape this prison is by doing as you are told, Margaret. I am tired of having this discussion endlessly.”
“As am I.” She folded her arms in front of her chest. “I suppose that you shall give me plenty of freedom now, hoping that all the men of Farthington will see how free-spirited, and happy I am as I walk about town!”
The viscount asked darkly, “Who brought the meat to the cook this afternoon?”
“What?”
“The meat. I am told that it was delivered by hand, and I wish for an explanation.”
Margaret was in shock. Was it the cook who had informed her father of this? Clearly, there would be some need for explanation, and Margaret did not know where to lie or not. “That was Jane’s brother.”
“Why did he return the meat? Why did you not have it in your possession?”
“Because… I lost it.”
“How did you lose it?” her father asked in disbelief.
“I suppose that I must have stopped at the park on the way home, and I left it upon a bench.”
“And he just so happened to find it and know that it was yours?”
“Father, you left me unaccompanied!” Margaret protested. “John so happened to be nearby, and he assisted me.”
