Protection (10 page)

Intent on questioning Hugh further, Nathaniel opened his mouth, but a movement caught
his attention. Margaret, Rebecca, and Lisa appeared at the top of the landing, and
he took an involuntary step forward.

“I’m not sure what she’s worried about.” Hugh chuckled. “Careful. You’ll start drooling
any minute.”

Hugh elbowed him in the side, and Nathaniel snapped his mouth shut. While all three
ladies looked splendid, dressed as they were in the height of current fashion, his
eyes remained fixed on Lisa as she made her way down the sweeping staircase. Her rich,
red curls were piled high upon her head, the betrothal gifts he’d given her a few
days prior complementing the elegant arrangement. The diamond and pearl tiara, pearl
drop earrings, and pearl bracelet matched the necklace that had once belonged to her
mother. It gleamed against the creamy expanse of her chest, drawing his eyes to the
décolletage revealed by the low neckline of her ivory gown.

She looked astonishing, every bit the princess she might have been had circumstances
been different.

Nathaniel had never expected marriage to him would be a step down
for Lisa. He didn’t want to add depriving her of her true place in society to his
list of sins, but she’d assured him she wanted nothing more than to be his marchioness.
Considering the uncivilised direction of his thoughts, it was a good thing, as he
feared for the safety of any gentleman—prince or otherwise—who dared try and claim
her for his own.

“Good evening, my lady.” He bowed over her hand when she met him at the bottom of
the stairs. “You look beautiful.”

“Why thank you, Lord Marsden. So do you.” The faint pink blush he adored graced her
cheeks. “I mean, you look very handsome,” she added with a shake of her head.

He offered her his arm, and they turned to greet the other couples. Nathaniel made
sure to compliment both his sister, who looked lovely in her light green gown, and
Margaret, who wore the renowned Worthington diamonds to stunning effect. The King’s
cleverly worded announcement, inviting the cream of society to a ball in honour of
a new addition to his family, was thought by most to be referring to the latest royal
duchess. A gracious lady, Nathaniel’s new stepmother had assured them she wasn’t concerned
about sharing the glory of the occasion with her soon-to-be daughter-in-law
or
the fact that once news of Lisa’s relationship to the crown was announced, her own
introduction to society would be overshadowed.

“I’ll be glad to step back and allow Anneliese centre stage,” she had said when the
matter was raised.

Lisa had smiled wanly and looked to her father for comfort,
not
Nathaniel. A telling response.

While the uncertainty of their situation meant a degree of anxiety was inevitable,
he had known for a while that something
else
was bothering Lisa. They’d had no problem communicating when sharing a bed every
night at Worthington, but now it was as if they were both walking on eggshells, each
afraid of offending the other. Hopefully, Hugh had the right of it. If Lisa was feeling
insecure regarding his marital expectations,
not
because she was apprehensive about him making inappropriate demands but because she
was worried he would not meet
her
physical needs, putting her fears to rest shouldn’t be a problem.

After assisting her to don the cloak that matched her stunning gown, Nathaniel took
his place beside Lisa in the carriage with Sir George. Lisa’s father had arranged
to collect Penelope on their way to the palace, having made no secret of his interest
in his friend’s younger, widowed sister. Nathaniel was quietly hopeful Sir George’s
preoccupation with his aunt would work to Lisa’s and his benefit, allowing them the
opportunity for some much needed, if necessarily clandestine, time alone.

After collecting Penelope, they made their way to the palace, the carriage forced
to wait for some time as they queued with the one hundred or so guests invited to
the pre-ball dinner. In no hurry to be parted from Lisa, as he expected would occur
upon their arrival, Nathaniel edged closer. She moved restlessly in her seat, pushing
her cloak back from her shoulders and fanning her face.

“You’re not worried, are you?”

“Me, worried?” Lisa’s laugh had an edge of hysteria to it. “I’ve only been to a couple
of country dances, and now I’m to be presented to the crème of society at a ball held
by the King in my
honour where he may or may not choose to announce our betrothal, potentially creating
a dilemma of mammoth proportions. Whatever would I be worried about?”

“You’ve been strong for this long. Don’t lose heart now.”

“I’ll try not to.” Lisa reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly. It was a bold
gesture on her part, one he sadly acknowledged she had not ventured in some time.
With her father engaged in conversation with his aunt, Nathaniel took the risk of
lifting her hand to his mouth for a brief kiss.

“I’ll be with you every step of the way. I promise
.
”

“What about when you’re dancing with all the sophisticated young ladies who would
take my place in a heartbeat?” Lisa’s attempt at a teasing tone fell well short, and
Nathaniel frowned.

Did she not understand the place she held in his affections?

“Since I have no desire to dance with anyone but you, I shall gladly stand on the
sidelines for the entire evening . . . other than for the waltzes you’ve promised
to dance with me and no other.” He eyed her with mock sternness, hoping to ease her
tension.

“But that wouldn’t be at all acceptable,” she said, her tone less than convincing.
“You have a duty to dance with other ladies besides me.”

“You wouldn’t
mind?”

“Oh, I’ll mind.” She looked up at him through her long lashes. “I expect to be eaten
alive with jealousy, but as long as you return home with me at the end of the night,
I shan’t complain.”

Nathaniel doubted Lisa’s words had been intentionally provocative, but the images
they inspired stole his breath. His found himself staring at the shadowed valley between
her breasts as memories of kissing them—and every other inch of her body—bombarded
his senses.

“Nathaniel?” she whispered, and he lifted his gaze to her parted lips. When she slowly
licked them, leaving a glistening trail on the plump, pink flesh, he found himself
thinking of all the other things he knew she could do with her very clever tongue.

“Lisa,” he murmured. Forgetting their location, he reached for her, the sound of her
father clearing his throat stilling Nathaniel’s hand.

“Waiting can be quite a trial, can’t it?” Sir George chuckled.

“Papa!” Lisa eyed her father pointedly before sending Nathaniel an embarrassed glance.

“These dratted queues.” Her father gestured out the window. “It’s one of the things
I hate about city life. Invitations to dinners and balls one would rather not attend
but can’t refuse and then interminable waits to get in the door.”

Penelope laughed. “Oh, come now, George. You were just telling me how much you’re
looking forward to seeing your daughter presented tonight and how you wished you were
up to escorting her out on the ballroom floor.”

“Another time.” He smiled at Lisa, and she managed a small one in return.

“You’re not nervous about the dancing, are you?” Nathaniel asked, risking a gentle
stroke of her arm once her father’s attention returned to Penelope.

“I’ve only danced in public a couple of times, and never the waltz. I’m worried I’ll
make a mistake in front of all those important people.”

“Sweetheart, you’re going to be fine.” He held her gaze. “I wouldn’t miss this opportunity
to dance with you for the world. And while I can’t say I’m looking forward to watching
you be partnered by other gentlemen, I can assure you they will be so mesmerised by
your beauty they won’t give a thought to whether or not you make a mistake.”

Lisa’s smile stayed with Nathaniel throughout the King’s dinner. While disappointed,
he was not surprised to be separated from her almost as soon as they entered the palace.
The King wished to speak with his new cousin privately before welcoming his other
guests, no doubt in one final attempt to convince her she could do better than a mere
marquis.

Adding weight to his concern, Nathaniel was seated towards the Queen’s end of the
hundred-seat table, while Lisa and her father were seated at the other end near the
King. As various foreign dignitaries, all ranked higher than him, vied for her attention,
he was reduced to watching on.

It didn’t take long for those seated around him to begin questioning the identity
of the beautiful red-haired lady at the King’s side. The most common assumption was
correct—that she was the heroine who had escaped the clutches of the nefarious Lord
Copeland—but not all were supportive in their comments. Nathaniel scowled when he
heard the murmurs of disapproval voiced by some of the more straitlaced matrons and
their hypocritical spouses when mention was made of Lisa having masqueraded as a servant
during her time at Worthington Hall.

“You would have preferred she’d been imprisoned for crimes she had not committed or
forced to wed the rogue who tried to murder her father?”

“Nobody is saying that, Lord Marsden.” The placating tone of the dowager seated to
his right was at odds with her haughty expression. “But she did go to extraordinary
lengths, as did you in your efforts to
protect
the girl, or so I’ve heard?”

There was no disguising the salacious inference to her query, but Nathaniel addressed
it without flinching. “I was graced with the opportunity to offer my assistance to
a lady of quality who found herself in distress through absolutely no fault of her
own. Would you have had me do anything less?”

“The gal certainly seems to have a knack for collecting highly placed champions,”
a gentleman a few places away commented dryly.

Nathaniel didn’t dispute his assessment, offering assurance with his gaze when Lisa
looked his way.

“How is she holding up?” he asked Sir George when they were making their way to the
ballroom after the interminable dinner ended.

“A tad overwhelmed, as am I, but standing up to all the attention. In hindsight, I
believe I’ve done her a disservice by keeping her in the dark all these years. If
I’d realised there was going to be this much pomp and ceremony involved, I wouldn’t
have kept the secret of her heritage from her for this long. She should have had more
time to get used to the idea of being a part of this world . . . either that or we
could have hightailed it to the wilds of Scotland, saving her from it altogether.”

Nathaniel shuddered at the thought. Of course, he would have preferred if Lisa had
not been frightened or made to suffer in the process of their finding one another,
but he couldn’t help feeling grateful for the way things had turned out. His original
plan to keep her hidden from society had been wise, her charms a temptation he feared
would be difficult for many of his peers to resist. Now, that option had been removed,
and his muscles tensed when he recalled the way her dinner companions had looked at
her, like she was a tasty morsel they desired to sample . . . or consume. The sooner
Nathaniel made her his wife the safer she would be.

Chapter 10

Choice

“I may have said my blessing would be given if you held true to your desire to wed
Lord Marsden, but there is much at stake, Lady Anneliese. It’s not too late to change
your mind,” King William told Lisa during their private audience before dinner. “You
could be queen
of an entire nation. Can you imagine?”

She barely managed to suppress a shudder. “I fear I can, Your Majesty.”

One brow arching, he looked none too pleased by her reply.

“As the newest member of the royal family, you could help strengthen much-needed alliances
with your choice of husband. I don’t want it to come to this, but I could make the
decision for you.”

Gripping her hands tightly together, Lisa did the near unthinkable for a young lady
and argued with the sovereign. “As my great-grandmother married a foreign prince,
I
am not subject to the Royal Marriage Act. You would need my father’s support to see
me betrothed to a candidate of your choosing. Even then, I do not believe the Church
condones forced marriage. A willing bride is required.”

“When one is born to privilege, one has a duty to fulfil in these matters.”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I believe my duty is to Lord Marsden, to whom I have
already given both my heart and my body.”

The King scowled at the pointed reminder before declaring a large enough dowry—and
the right connections—could encourage a potential groom to overlook such technicalities.
Lisa had no intention of capitulating, but not wanting to further offend the man who
held the power to rob Nathaniel of his heritage and their children of legitimacy,
she agreed to at least consider
his preferred candidates, both mysteriously present. She did her best to be polite
to the visiting crown prince and foreign duke seated either side of her during dinner,
but her heart wasn’t in it. Whenever there was a lull in the conversation, her gaze
sought Nathaniel farther down the table, his smile bolstering her courage. Relieved
when the multiple course dinner was over, she braced herself to face the next obstacle
of the evening—surviving her introduction to society. Lisa silently prayed the King
would announce Nathaniel’s and her betrothal before
the end of the night, doubting her nerves could stand an extended delay.