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* * *
Marion sighed, drawing herself out of her memory with a sharp breath.It does no good to think of them now,Marion scolded herself, opening her eyes and looking at her loving best friend beside her, bathed in the morning light.Time to make the best of a bad situation!
“Forgive me, Ellie, if I am unable to be as excited as you are about this,” Marion sighed. “It is hard when you know that the whole of society must be discussing you constantly. It all feels rather…exposing.”
“Oh my dear, I know.” Eleanor squeezed Marion’s hand. The year before, Nathan and Eleanor had been embroiled in a scandal concerning his nefarious twin brother—they were more than familiar with how biting the Ton could be with their comments and suspicions.
“But you are to be married, so there is no actual scandal! And the whispers will die away as soon as you are wed.”
“Will they?” Marion questioned glumly. “Or will the gossip simply turn to how the Earl of Reading has no love for his new wife?”
“Why would you suggest that?” Eleanor gasped, staring at Marion intently. “He is a kind man, and a generous one. You have no reason to suspect he will not be generous with his heart too.”
“He still loves his wife.” Marion sipped her coffee, remembering Simon’s discomfort last evening whenever his wife was mentioned—the tortured expression on his face. “He can’t be generous with his heart when she still has it.”
“But he likes you,” Eleanor insisted. “He enjoys your company, he respects you. Many marriages start with less. And you like him too, don’t you?”
Marion knew that Eleanor wasn’t really asking. She already knew in the way that best friends often do, that Marion was partial to Simon. Perhaps she’d even seen Marion’s desire in her eyes last night as she saw her in Simon’s arms on the terrace. Even so, Marion felt she could not reveal the truth of her heart to her friend, not yet.
“He is kind to try and protect my reputation,” Marion conceded.
“God save me, Mari, for a girl who was always reading romance novels you are full of pragmatism!” Eleanor shook her head in wonderment. “What happened to your romantic soul?”
Marion shrugged dismissively, despite the clenching of her heart. She knew that she was still very much that romantic soul; that she had dreamed of her perfect husband since her teenage years and the moments in Simon’s arms the night before had been like the fulfilment of an adolescent fantasy. But she refused to let herself get carried away. There was no dignity for her in falling head over heels in love with a man whose only love was immortalised forever.
“I guess I grew out of it,” Marion lied. “Now all I want is to be safe and comfortable.”
Eleanor raised her eyebrows as if she didn’t believe her.
“Well, Simon shall certainly ensure your safety and comfort,” she said. “But I think he might be able to provide much more, if you are able to let him.”
* * *
“Well, that was quite an eventful ball, if I do say so myself.”
Simon groaned at Nathan’s words, accepting the cup of coffee his friend offered him as he sat ensconced in Nathan’s library, hiding from the world.
“How do you feel now you are engaged?” Nathan asked, sitting opposite his friend with a satisfied grin.
“You look at me as if this is the first time. I have been married before, you recall.” Simon gave him a dour look, taking a sip of his coffee.
“I do recall.” Nathan settled back, his wicked grin not diminished. “How does it compare to this time?”
“It was a lot less stressful the first time around,” Simon said bitterly. “Cards and notes and callers have been arriving at Reading house all morning. I had to get away from it all.”
“Well-wishers are bound to be expected!” Nathan laughed. “Even under unusual circumstances.”
“They are not well-wishers.” Simon shook his head. “They are carrion birds, swooping for gossip and scandal.”
“Well, if you don’t want to have scandal, don’t get caught canoodling with a lady on my terrace!”
Nathan slapped his hand to his thigh. He found it all most amusing, and Simon almost couldn’t blame him; it was so absurd that a man like Simon would even be caught in spurious circumstances with a woman, yet here they found themselves.
“You know that wasn’t what it was.” Simon sighed heavily. “She was a little intoxicated, she needed support…”
“And now you are getting married.” Nathan shook his head. “What a twist of fate.”
“It’s not fate,” Simon argued, “it’s - it’s simply a need to protect a kind woman from an unfortunate scandal due to a connection with me.”
