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Chapter 30
Two Months Later
“Tell me the truth, Sherborne, how do I look?” Marcus asked, turning to stare at the mirror again. His elderly valet had now retired, and since he loathed to part with someone who had been so instrumental in his and Violette’s lives, he had offered the role of valet to Sherborne, who happily accepted the role. Though Sherborne had to go through a few more stages to be trained, he had already proved himself a more than capable valet.
“You look fine.”
“Fine? I do not want to look fine! Not today of all days.” Marcus flung off the jacket, deciding it was best to opt for another instead. Sherborne fell about laughing at this.
“You are as fussy as Lady Violette is with what to wear,” Sherborne said as he pulled another waistcoat out of the cupboard. “Maybe the waistcoat is not the best fit.”
“No?” Marcus asked, looking back to the mirror. “It’s dark green.” He adjusted it on his torso, pulling at the material a little.
“It’s puce green.”
“Ergh. Yes, all right, let’s swap it.” Marcus gestured back to Sherborne, who tossed him a new waistcoat of midnight blue. “That’s better.” He hurried to change the waistcoat before Sherborne brought over a new jacket too, this one navy blue. “Now, is that better?”
“Perfect,” Sherborne said, smiling into the reflection. “My mother always says you cannot go wrong with a blue suit.”
“Your mother must be a wise woman for all the life lessons she has to offer.”
“Oh, there is no one else in this world so wise, my lord,” he said with a laugh and clapped Marcus on the shoulder.
“Any lessons she has to offer for marriage?” Marcus asked, looking back at his own reflection. He had impatiently waited these last two months to marry Violette. Initially, the delay had been to ensure she could arrange for her mother to be settled in a new house in London and speak to solicitors about organizing provisions for her. Since then, the Marquess had insisted they wait an appropriate amount of time by society’s rules. The delay had left Marcus restless.
Violette had moved back into the house almost immediately, and though they had returned to spending almost every waking minute together, riding their horses, sailing, fishing, or playing cricket, it was not the same when they had to have a chaperone with them.
Thinking of the days that they had spent together, Marcus felt a smile tugging at his lips. On occasion, Violette even now was known to ride horses astride instead, saying it was much more comfortable. The mere thought of seeing her ride a horse made his blood heat and look forward longingly to the wedding night.
“My mother always said if you love the lady, the rest comes naturally.”
“Too right,” Marcus said with a sigh of happiness. There had been a time when marriage felt like something that was being forced on his shoulders, rather like a pair of shackles, yet marrying his best friend had shown how those shackles did not exist. He was simply earning a life with his closest friend.
“Are you decent?” a voice called from the closed door.
“Yes,” Marcus called back toward it. The door opened, and Walter revealed his face. “Will I do?” Marcus asked, gesturing down to the waistcoat and jacket.
“You’ll do very nicely indeed,” Walter said, walking in with two glasses.
“What’s this?” Marcus asked, pointing down at the glasses.
“Father tells me it is a tradition. A little courage for one thing,” he said as he proffered the small whisky to Marcus to take. “His brother did it for him on his wedding day, and our father returned the favour. You can return the favour for me someday too.”
“I’d be happy to,” Marcus said and took the glass.
“To you, brother,” Walter said, chinking the glass.
“To Lady Violette,” Marcus said with a glimmering smile. They both downed their glasses and smacked their lips as the burn hit the backs of their throats. Sherborne helpfully took the empty glasses away. “Is all set?”
“Everything is ready and waiting.”
“And you are sure that I am not leaving you in a lurch, Walter?” Marcus asked, shifting his weight between his feet.
“Would you stop asking me that? I have already told you it is fine. I’ll enjoy having the run of the estate and accounts to myself for a while,” Walter said, clapping his hands together. “I like doing it.”
“I know, I just feel cruel lumping it all on your shoulders whilst we leave for a bit,” Marcus said as he turned back to the mirror to check his appearance one last time. It was a surprise he had arranged for Violette, to take her away from England for a few months to travel. Maybe her father had not been willing to allow Violette to travel, as most young ladies were forbidden from doing so, but Violette was not like most ladies.
Marcus was eager to give her everything that she craved, and that started with travel, even if she didn’t know about it yet.
