Gentleman's Guide 02 - His Contrary Bride) (15 page)

“I find myself entirely free this afternoon,
Sabrina, so take your time. I’ll be happy to wait.” Marius’s smile
widened and his eyes glinted with mischief as if he knew she was
making excuses. Well, Sabrina wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of
thinking he was right. He couldn’t begin to guess why she wanted to
suddenly avoid him.

“Then I’ll try to be quick.”

In her room Sabrina scrubbed quickly and
allowed the maid to repair her hair. When it came time to dress,
she faced another dilemma. She could wear the walking gown that was
most flattering, a pale blue that the seamstress insisted
complimented her eyes, hoping he would take notice. Or, she could
wear the most modest and dull gown of sage, proving that she didn’t
care what he thought. In the end she settled for dull. The
situation was bad enough and how much more could her heart take if
she wore the flattering gown and he failed to acknowledge her as an
available woman.

When she finally descended downstairs Marius
stood in the foyer, waiting. “Do you not have a chaperone?”

The thought had never occurred to her. This
was Marius and he was the last person she would ever think to try
and take advantage. “I didn’t think we needed one.”

“Do you always accompany gentlemen outside
the house without a chaperone?”

“Of course not. They are different. They are
courting me.”

Marius raised an eyebrow at her. “I
appreciate your faith in me, Sabrina. However, we will be walking
in the park where a number of people could see us. What would they
think if you didn’t have a maid trailing along behind us?”

Her face heated with embarrassment. Of
course he was right. She just hadn’t considered how it would look.
Turning to the footman, she had him summon her maid.

*

They walked without any conversation between
them because they were constantly greeting acquaintances. Marius
steered her further into the park until they came to the
Serpentine. Her simple comment that the other gentlemen were
courting her meant she did not realize he was. An error on his
part. While he hadn’t wanted to be obvious at first, he still
wanted her to know he had some interest.

Turning, he studied her profile. He would
like to chisel away at the polite wall she had erected but first he
needed to find out why. “I couldn’t help notice all the gentlemen
that are constantly at your side.”

“They are all charming, I suppose.”

“Are you taken with any of them?” He asked
with slow contemplation, hoping he hid the edge and concern in his
voice.”

“I hold no deep or lasting interest in any
of them, if that is what you are asking.”

Inwardly Marius sighed with relief and
quickly turned the topic of conversation to the people she had met
and their perceptions. By the time he was escorting her from the
park her formal attitude had disappeared and they were both
laughing. Marius enjoyed seeing her dimpled simile again and wished
he hadn’t insisted on the maid. If they had been alone, he knew he
would have been able to find a private place where they could share
another kiss.

*

Marius finally located one of the two
remaining men who had been in close vicinity to Jonas Chester at
the time of his death. Or, he actually found Marius. Prior to the
war, Timothy Shields had been fairly wealthy and owned a nice piece
of land. Rumor had it that Shields had since let the place fall to
ruin, surprising those who were acquainted with him. Now, he lived
along the docks and Marius was told to look for him in the back
corner of this pub. The years since the man’s return had not been
good to him and he looked much older than his five and twenty
years.

After taking a seat across from Shields,
Marius ordered them each a pint of ale. The young barmaid exposed
her assets as she set the tankers on the table, practically
brushing Marius face with her breasts. Lovely though they were,
Marius could raise no interest in what was being offered. Strange,
since it had been months since he had been intimate with a woman.
Stranger yet was that a smile from Sabrina brought his entire being
practically to attention. Any doubts about marrying her in the past
were now at rest. These last few weeks in London had proved beyond
a doubt they belonged together. They suited each other perfectly.
No woman had ever interested him to the point that he would not be
satisfied until he had her. He just never expected that he would
cease to be aroused by other women.

He shook his mind from the current train of
thought to focus on his purpose at hand. Besides, he didn’t want to
examine the reasons why Sabrina was the only woman who interested
him in the most basic sense.

“Why did you want to talk to me, Parker?”
Shields finally asked.

Marius was surprised the man actually
remembered him. It had been years since they had seen each other.
“I need some information.”

Timothy Shields was quiet and studying him
for so long that Marius wondered if he was going to get any
answers. Shields had emptied half the pint before he finally spoke
up. “What do you want to know?”

Marius relaxed, sighing inwardly.
“Originally, my quest began to find out how Jonas Chester died on
the continent.”

“That has changed?” Shields raised his
eyebrows with the question, studying Marius.

“After obtaining a list of men who were with
Chester from the war department, I started seeking them out. You
are the first I have found who is still alive. I find the
coincidence a bit unsettling.”

Shields shrugged. “These things happen. How
many did you track down?”

“Of the eight who actually returned, six are
dead that I know of. They all died under questionable
circumstances.

“You think they were murdered?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps I should leave the country then.”
Shields pondered.

“May not be such a bad idea. But, first I
need to know how Jonas Chester died.”

Shields studied him a few moments longer.
“Tell me why you are so interested and buy me another pint.”

Marius summoned the friendly barmaid and
after she placed another tankard before Shields, Marius told the
man almost everything that had led him to the pub today.

“Jonas used to talk about his little girl. I
had no idea at the time his little girl was sixteen.”

“Fathers have a tendency not to acknowledge
their daughters becoming women.”

“She was all he really had.” Shields offered
sadly after a short pause.

“So,” Marius prompted him, “Are you going to
tell me what I need to know?”

“I’ll tell you what I know. After I do, I
will disappear again and you are not to seek me out.”

“I’ll try.” Marius answered.

Shields smiled for the first time. “There
are a few things I remember clearly about you Parker. You will
promise to tell no one where you found me and promise not to seek
me out again. If you need assistance, I’ll know.”

“Very well. I promise not to try to find you
or tell anyone where you last were.”

“Jonas Chester was murdered.”

Marius was stunned, though he shouldn’t have
been. Up to this moment he had hoped there were just some strange
coincidences occurring that had nothing to do with the others.
“How?”

“A knife in his throat as he slept.”

“Who?”

“A Dane was able to sneak past the
guards.”

“Then you were able to catch him?”

“A few of us, some of the names you
mentioned earlier, tracked him down. Suffice it to say we convinced
him to tell us why he murdered Chester.”

“Go on.” Finally everything was coming
together though he wasn’t particularly pleased with having to tell
Sabrina the truth.

“Apparently, his own brother is responsible.
It seems James was heavily in debt and his father had bequeathed
absolutely nothing to him.”

“The Dane told you all this?” Marius was
surprised the assassin would have so much information.

“No. We only got the name of the man who
paid him. I have been investigating and traced the original threat
back to James Chester and the reasons why since my return. As the
others began to be murdered, I decided to go into hiding until
justice could be done.”

“Some of these men have been killed
recently. Lord Chesterfield has been on the continent for
months.”

“He has a few men who take care of his
messes. I’m sure they are looking for me now. Nobody was in danger
until his daughter entered society.”

Marius could well understand why Shields
went into hiding and why it had been difficult to find him in the
first place. “How long have you known I was looking for you?”

“Since you discovered the second murder. I
have had people watching and wanted to see what you were about
before I alerted you to my whereabouts.”

Marius certainly couldn’t begrudge him that.
He would do the same if he were being hunted. “So you think James
Chester had his brother murdered so he could get his hands on the
family wealth. I’m sure obtaining the title didn’t hurt
either.”

Shields looked grim. “There is more. The
treachery of the man astounds me, even after living down here.”

The door of the pub opened and momentarily
the room was flooded with daylight. Marius glanced behind him for
only a second but when he turned around, Shields was gone. Muffling
a curse, Marius threw a few coins on the table and stood to leave.
Why had he promised not to look for him again? What more could
there be? Marius lifted his own tankard and drained it. As he set
it back down, he noticed the one Shields had been drinking from was
gone. In fact, there was absolutely no sign that Marius had been
sharing the table with anyone. No wonder Shields has managed to
stay alive.

The following day, Marius reported his
findings to Ramsey. There were still too many unanswered questions.
Additionally, Marius couldn’t help but worry that Sabrina was in
danger as well. The uncertainty of how she played into Lord
Chesterfield’s plan convinced Marius to move his own plans along.
Sabrina had all the time she was going to have being courted by
others. Now, she needed to be protected. His formal courtship would
begin tonight.

Sabrina simply assumed Marius would be
leaving this particular gathering early. Never, in all these weeks,
had he addressed her so early in the evening. Tonight they had both
been invited to an intimate dinner of forty with various games to
follow. As he approached, Sabrina scanned the room and mentally
determined the rank of each guest, trying to figure out who would
be her escort. Half of the guests were of similar rank. How did a
hostess determine who was to be placed with whom in situations such
as these?

“You look lovely as usual this evening, Lady
Sabrina.” Marius bowed before her.

“Thank you, Mr. Parker.” Sabrina was at a
loss from this point on. Usually after such a greeting he would
lead her onto the dance floor. Since that first ball she had not
had to make polite conversation with him in public. Why did the
task suddenly seem so nerve racking and why were her palms
sweating. Thank goodness for gloves. Now she was beginning to
understand their necessity. Did anyone’s palms ever sweat so much
the gloves became drenched. Would she be the first?

Beside her stood Lady Rose, who wasn’t at
the same loss for words and quickly engaged Marius in entertaining
conversation. Sabrina only half listened, if that, and if asked,
would be unable to repeat the topics of conversation. With anyone
else, she could carry on a coherent conversation as Lady Rose
appeared to be doing and given their very short history, Marius was
the last person who should cause her to be nervous. Yet, he was the
only one who did and he seemed delightfully interested in whatever
gibberish Lady Rose was spouting. If that is what he found
attractive then they were welcome to each other.

Sabrina couldn’t imagine what was getting
into her or why she felt so mean-spirited toward the young woman.
She was one of the few ladies Sabrina genuinely liked. It was no
wonder Marius was taken with her. In truth, Lady Rose wasn’t silly
either. Actually she was very intelligent and Sabrina hadn’t heard
one word of gibberish from the lady’s mouth. At least, not the
parts she actually listened to.

Additionally, she was beautiful, charming,
wealthy, and her father was titled. No wonder Marius had been quick
to turn his attention to Lady Rose when Sabrina couldn’t manage to
form any words on her own. She really had to get a hold of herself,
not liking her nasty, jealous reaction.

Their hostess approached and on her arm was
Honorable Kinnsey. Sabrina inwardly sighed with relief, assuming he
would be her escort. The man was handsome and charming. Sabrina
knew a number of ladies in the room wouldn’t mind being his
partner. Besides, he didn’t make her nervous and uncomfortable like
Marius. She needed to analyze this new and uncharacteristic
development later.

Rumors had been whispered that the Honorable
Kinnsey would be seeking a wife this season and Sabrina believed
that whoever the lady was, she would consider herself fortunate. If
she hadn’t met Mr. Parker, perhaps she would have wanted to fill
the role herself. But no, it seemed he had spoiled her for any
other gentlemen. It just wasn’t fair.

As the hostess introduced Lord Kinnsey to
Lady Rose, it was clear he was to be the other lady’s escort. No
bother, there were a number of other gentlemen she wouldn’t mind
sitting next to. Sabrina was scanning the room when Marius tapped
her on the arm, then offering his own. Sabrina looked up at him
confused.

A smile tugged at Marius’s lips. “Didn’t
Lady Benedict inform you that I am your dinner partner?”

Sabrina was positive her stomach flipped
over and stammered. “No. No she didn’t.”

“I hope you aren’t terribly
disappointed.”