Authors: Jennifer McNare
“Alright then.
The garden is this way,” she somehow
managed.
Her mind spinning, she nodded
to her father as she passed, leading Alex down the hall.
Exiting the house through a set of French doors a few
moments later, they stepped out into the sunlit afternoon.
In silence, they began walking along the
stone footpath that meandered throughout the rear garden.
Once they’d traveled a safe distance from the
house, it was Tiffany who spoke first.
“Did you really intend to call upon me, as you said?” she asked, casting
a brief sidelong glance at Alex.
Considering how they’d left things, how
he’d
left things, he could hardly fault her for being
skeptical.
“Yes, I did,” he
answered.
It was true, but even so, it
felt like a lie.
“Why?”
Despite the boldness of her question, her tone was
surprisingly hesitant.
Immediately
halting his slow stride, Alex turned to face her, guilt tearing at his insides.
Tiffany stopped too, raising her eyes to his.
“I’m sorry, Tiffany,” he began.
“I’m sorry that we didn’t have the
opportunity to speak before you left.
I’m sorry for the deplorable manner in which I behaved at the cottage,
and yet again, later that night.
And I’m
sorry for…” he trailed off, shaking his head, struggling for the right words.
“That’s why you wanted to see me?” she asked, not bothering
to wait for him to finish.
“So that you
could apologize?”
Her spirits plummeted.
Alex could see the hurt and disappointment in her eyes.
“Yes, I wanted to apologize,” he
admitted.
“But that is not the only
reason I wanted to see you.”
She regarded him questioningly, fighting to forestall the
tiny spark of hope that threatened to flare within her once again.
Now came the difficult part.
To be as truthful as possible without revealing anything about the
detestable wager he’d entered into with her father, for the last thing he
wanted to do was to hurt her any more than he already had.
“I came here today to discuss my intentions
with your father.”
Tiffany’s eyes went wide, her breath catching in her
throat.
Had she heard him correctly?
“Your intentions?”
“I know that I acted inexcusably before, flouting the bounds
of propriety with my indefensible behavior,” he began.
“But if you are amenable, I was hoping that
we might enter into a more
traditional
relationship.
A courtship,” he
clarified, a slight, beguiling smile playing upon his lips.
Though William had not been keen on the idea
of remaining in the city overlong, fortunately he’d been able to convince him
to stay long enough so that he could properly court Tiffany before announcing
their engagement.
She understood then, but instead of filling her with joy,
his words filled her with sorrow.
He’d
only come because he felt guilty about what they’d done.
He blamed himself, and now, filled with
remorse, he felt honor-bound to make things right.
Because of that, he was willing to make the
ultimate sacrifice.
“I appreciate the
gesture, but it’s hardly necessary.
I
was as much to blame for what happened as you were,” she said, trying her best
to appear nonchalant.
“You needn’t feel
guilty, nor should you feel as though you must now put the situation to
rights.”
“You think that I’m here, that I am doing this because I
feel guilty about what happened between us?”
“Aren’t you?” she replied, her tone matter of fact.
“Tiffany,” he said, his expression sincere.
“I assure you that
guilt
has nothing whatsoever to do with my presence here today.”
Though she wanted desperately to believe him, she wasn’t so
foolish as to think that he had suddenly cast aside his aversion to marriage
for some other reason altogether, such as love for instance.
“If not guilt, what is it then?”
Hearing the unmistakable sound of a door opening and
closing, Tiffany turned toward the house, as did Alex.
One of the housemaids stood just outside the
same set of French Doors she and Alex had exited from.
Catching Tiffany’s eye, the young woman
smiled self-consciously and then promptly turned her attention to her
shoes.
Tiffany felt her cheeks grow warm in embarrassment, for it
was patently clear that the petite brunette had been sent by the marquess to
serve as an impromptu chaperone.
“Shall we continue our walk,” Alex asked, turning his
attention back to Tiffany.
Nodding, Tiffany moved forward, her eyes focused on the path
ahead.
“You haven’t answered my
question,” she said after a while.
“I’ve been doing a great deal of thinking this past week,”
he replied, “about my future.”
Tiffany peeked at him from beneath her lashes.
“And I’m beginning to see things… differently.”
Was he suggesting that
she
had something to do with that, she wondered?
“Differently?” she prompted.
“I’ve been thinking that it might be time for me to make a
change in my life,” he began, “that it might be time for me to settle down and
look to starting a family.”
“Oh?”
Tiffany’s heart
seemed to skip a beat.
Looking down, she
nudged a pebble from the path with the toe of her shoe.
“Does that surprise you?” he asked, turning to look at her.
She could feel his eyes upon her.
“Yes,” she admitted.
Alex chuckled softly.
“To be honest, it surprised me as well.”
She looked up then, meeting his silver gaze.
“And now, Lady Tiffany, it is
you
who has not answered
my
question.”
She blinked in confusion.
“Your question?”
He smiled good-humoredly.
“Would you be amenable to a courtship between us, so that we might get
to know one another better?
In a
slightly more
orthodox
manner, that
is?” he added with a roguish wink.
Tiffany’s thoughts were spinning in a jumbled whirl.
Although she’d fantasized about this moment
time and time again, the reality of it was completely unexpected.
Struggling to find her voice, she answered
shyly.
“Yes, I’d like that very much.”
When Alex arrived at the appointed hour the following
morning, Tiffany was dressed and ready to go.
After carefully perusing her wardrobe, she’d chosen a simple but stylish
muslin day dress in shades of pale green and blue that complimented her eyes
and a matching hat that now sat atop her upswept curls.
Tying the hat’s wide satin ribbon into a bow
beneath her chin, she descended the staircase, doing her best to appear poised
and self-assured as both her father and Alex turned toward her.
“Good morning, my lord,” she said, smiling at Alex.
“Good morning, Lady Tiffany,” he greeted warmly.
“You look lovely as always.”
“Thank you,” she replied, her smile widening just a bit.
“As my mother and sisters are currently on holiday, I have
asked my Aunt Rosemary, Lady Ainsley to accompany Lady Tiffany and me this
morning.
I hope that meets with your
approval,” Alex said, directing the question to William.
“Yes, of course,” the marquess replied, nodding his consent.
“Excellent.
She is
presently awaiting us in the carriage.”
Turning to Tiffany, he extended his elbow.
“Shall we?”
Grasping his arm, Tiffany murmured a brief goodbye to her
father and then walked with Alex out the door.
Stepping into the sunlight, she saw that an elegant, open-topped
barouche sat waiting at the end of the walk with a liveried footman standing beside
the open door.
As they approached, she
could see an elderly woman seated on the rear-facing seat behind the driver, a
lace parasol shading her from the morning sun.
“It’s such a lovely morning, I thought you might enjoy the
open air,” Alex said.
“But we can raise
the top if you’d prefer.”
“Oh no, down is fine,” Tiffany assured him.
“Good.
Up you go
then,” he said, assisting her up the step and into the vehicle.
Entering the barouche, Tiffany was surprised to see that
seated upon either side of Lady Ainsley was a small, multicolored pug.
Raising themselves onto their feet, the dogs
immediately started barking and wagging their tails in excitement as Tiffany
settled herself onto the forward facing seat.
Dropping onto the seat next to her, Alex gave Tiffany an
apologetic grin.
“Forgive me, for I
admit that I purposefully failed to mention our
other
traveling companions whilst we were inside, in fear that you
might bow out of our excursion.”
As the presence of the dogs made it necessary for her and
Alex to share the same seat, she truly didn’t mind at all.
“Hush now, Romeo.
Quiet, Juliet,” Lady Ainsley ordered, though her tone was decidedly
lacking in severity or volume.
As a
result, the dogs continued their frenzied yapping and tail wagging without
pause.
Tiffany merely giggled as Alex rolled his eyes.
“Romeo, Juliet, do shush,” Lady Ainsley chided as the door
swung closed and the footman resumed his perch on the back of the
carriage.
Once again, the dogs failed to
take heed.
“Quiet!” Alex commanded then, his voice stern and
uncompromising.
The dogs quieted at once, looking at Alex in surprise, as
did Lady Ainsley.
“Now sit.”
Romeo and Juliet complied at once.
“Now then, Aunt Rose, please allow me to introduce you to
Lady Tiffany Marlowe.”
“How do you do, dear?” the elderly lady replied, appearing
somewhat flustered as the dogs abruptly settled at her sides.
“Tiffany, may I present my aunt, Rosemary Spencer,
Viscountess Ainsley.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Ainsley,” she responded
with a warm, genial smile.
“Rose is my late grandfather’s younger sister, my mother’s
aunt” Alex clarified.
“Oh, I see.”
“I shall be seventy-two, next month,” Lady Ainsley stated
proudly.
“Four brothers and three
sisters and I have outlived them all.”
She smiled amiably, her tone simply matter of fact as she relayed that
random bit of information.
As,
congratulations
didn’t
seem altogether appropriate considering the latter part of her statement,
Tiffany said instead
,
“How
remarkable.
And seventy-two you
say?
Why I wouldn’t have guessed you a
day over fifty.”
Lady Ainsley nodded, beaming from ear to ear.
Then, promptly returning her attention to
Romeo and Juliet, she began crooning to the pugs in a high-pitched, babyish
voice.
As the carriage pulled into the street, Alex chuckled softly
under his breath.
When they entered Hyde Park, a short while later, Alex could
see that there were numerous other carriages moving in both directions along
the graveled roadway.
There were dozens
of riders traveling upon horseback as well.
With the Great Exhibition taking place, the park was far more crowded
than usual.
Since its opening in May, it
was reported that over four million people had already visited the
international exhibition of culture and industry.
“Keep to the east side of the park,” he
instructed the driver.
“The east side?”
Tiffany eyed him questioningly.
“With all of those attending the exhibition, that portion of
the park will be far less crowded,” he explained.
“Oh yes, I’d forgotten that the exhibition is still
underway.
Have you been?” Tiffany asked.
Alex nodded.
“Yes,
several times in fact.”
“And you?”
Tiffany shook her head.
“No, my father’s been of course, but I…haven’t had the opportunity,” she
said.
It was a rather embarrassing
admission, for nearly everyone she knew had attended the notable event at some
point during the past months.
Alex detected the slight hesitation in her answer and
quickly deduced the reason for it, mentally cursing William Marlowe once
again.
“Well then,” he began,” we shall
have to see about rectifying that, won’t we.”
“Oh no, that isn’t necessary,” Tiffany said quickly, not
wanting him to think that she’d been fishing for an invitation.
“Nonsense, dear, you must go,” Lady Ainsley said
emphatically.
“The Crystal Palace is
extraordinary.
Alex, you simply
must
take her.”