AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was…sweet mercy, she was someone he wanted with every breath inside of him.
“You’ve met someone,” a voice said quietly to his left.
William had been so damn absorbed he’d not heard Wycliffe’s arrival.
“Yes,” he admitted gruffly.
“And you want to marry her?”
There went that hungry leap inside his chest once more. “I think I damn well do,” he said with an incredulous laugh.
Wycliffe offered him a lit cheroot and he took it, dragging its taste inside.
“You do know what you need to do, don’t you?”
William smiled. “I know it. Still, she might say no because I made a mess of it, ordering her to marry me by special license only yesterday.”
The earl chuckled. “This is the most important decision you will ever make in your life. Do not muck it up.”
A few weeks ago, he would have scoffed that marriage could be the most important decision a gentleman could face, yet something about Wycliffe’s words felt right. William bid his friendadieuand walked away. He fetched his horse and strolled along the streets with his faithful steedcloppingbehind of him. William needed to carefully plot his next steps.
He wanted his delightful little minx in his life; he now admitted that, though infuriating as she was, he wanted Pippa always.
Was this love?
He recalled her assertions that she knew the beginning of it. Had she meant with him there in the cottage? William took another drag of the cheroot. He would have to be patient; the duchess’s party at Hartford Hall was not planning to return to Town for another five days, but then he would put his plans into action.
She did not deserve to marry in haste with a special license like she was a dirty secret. William would damn well show her and the world that he did want to marry her. He would wait for Pippa’s return and then he would go about things the proper way… he would woo her.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Pippa was unsettled as she returned to her parents’ home. Her heart and mind were in turmoil after her refusal of William’s proposal and, despite her vow to remain buoyed, there was a melancholy upon her heart. The duchess’s party had returned to Town later than they had planned, partly because the roads were still so appalling, and the weather had been changeable. Her friends from Berkeley Square had done their best to comfort her, and she had practiced her smile and laughed at their jests. However, she had decided not to accept any more of their dares and, when the season was fully over, she would suggest to her mother that they return to Bath for a spell.
“Are you not looking forward to tonight’s ball?” her mother queried from where she sat opposite to Pippa in the carriage, which rattled along the cobbled streets of Mayfair, taking them to Lady Pinault’s midnight ball.
She smiled at her mother. “I am merely a bit exhausted, mama.”
The countess lifted her brow and pursed her lips. “Since your return from Derbyshire, you have been out of sorts. Confide in me, Pippa. My nerves cannot withstand the worry that something is wrong with you.”
A lump formed in her throat, and she yearned to hurl herself against her mother’s bosom. How could she confide to her mother how reckless and improper she had been? Thankfully, she was not with child as her menses had arrived a few days after the marquess left Hartford Hall. Pippa had wept with equal relief and sorrow, the duality of emotions wrecking her.
I am well, mama, she wanted to say, yet her lips would not form the words. Pippa would have to play the part of a young lady in Town who was enjoying all the entertainments and having a wonderful time. Most of all, she must hide her true feelings from her mother, who was too astute by far. It would hurt her to know that her only daughter’s heart was broken, and Pippa did not want her mother upset. William would not go out of his way to see her and would probably do his best to avoid and ignore her.And surely that is for the best. She hoped that she would be able to smile when she saw him flirting with other women, but that was what rakes and rogues did, and Pippa was not the woman who would ever tame him.
“Mama…” she began softly. “I cannot—”
“Please, Pippa,” her mother said, her eyes wide and anxious. “What is it, my dear? Even your father has noticed you are not your usual self.”
“I…there is a gentleman. You know of the heavy rains in Derbyshire.”
Her mother’s demeanor sharpened. “Yes, my dear?”
Pippa cleared her throat and quickly explained the marquess’s rescue and that she was alone with him for a few days.
“Pippa!”
How aghast her mother sounded? “There was truly no choice, mama. The rain was fierce and terrible, the riverbanks overflowed.”
“Lord Trent is a scoundrel!” her mother cried, briefly pressing a gloved hand over her mouth. “I cannot believe the duchess did not inform me of this right away.”
