Page 30 of To Tempt Lady (Victorian Outcasts #10)

twenty-eight

That morning, Marcus’s puff tie didn’t want to cooperate.

He’d been standing in front of the wall mirror in his bedroom for a while, trying to fix his attire with little success. His encounter from last night with Emma had calmed nothing and fuelled his inner turmoil. A turmoil that didn’t need more fuel.

His determination not to be involved with her was threadbare and flimsy, like an old cobweb. The truth was he couldn’t stay away from her.

Leaving Emma’s house would be the right thing to do, for her sake. With Lady Beaumont and Lady Redfern pestering her and rumours circulating about her, he should find somewhere else to live. At least the ladies would pester him directly, instead of talking to Emma.

He gave a sharp tug at the tie and sod it. The fabric was all askew, but he didn’t care.

“Sir.” Neil, the footman, entered the room. “You asked me to tell you if a message arrived for you.” He handed him an envelope.

“Thank you, Neil.” He opened it, already dreading what it might be.

It was Lady Beaumont, as he’d feared. She wanted to see him alone, or she would barge into Emma’s house and demand to see him immediately. She’d given him a place and a time.

The park wasn’t the spot he would have chosen. Anyone could see them.

He worked his jaw. He hated having to be at Lady Beaumont’s beck and call, but it was better to confront her outside of Emma’s house.

Jesse entered the bedroom. Flour stained his shirt.

Marcus brushed it off. “Helping Mrs. Daubney in the kitchen?”

“I want to earn my keep.” Jesse finished the job, brushing another flour stain from his trousers. “Is there any news about Sir Horace?”

“Not yet.” He undid the tie for the umpteenth time. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” Jesse waved him down. “You seemed worried about him.”

“I am.” He bent over.

Jesse knotted the tie quickly. “If things go well with Sir Horace and turn bad for us, what will happen to us?”

He straightened and checked his reflection. Jesse had done a good job. “Don’t worry. We’ll never go back to Seven Dials.”

“But what will happen?”

“We’ll find a nice place to live.” He ruffled Jesse’s hair. “I have to go now.”

“May I come with you?”

“It’s better if you stay here.”

Jesse didn’t ask questions. Habit, likely. “I’ll go back to the kitchen then.”

“Don’t get too tired.”

They went down the stairs together. At the bottom, Jesse headed for the kitchen. The boy was preoccupied. So was he, but with the money he would earn from his job for Trevor and Emma, they would never have to return to Seven Dials.

He was donning his coat in the hallway when Emma and her lady’s maid came down the stairs. She looked beautiful in a tight pink gown that turned her hazel eyes green.

He could still feel the softness of her skin under his fingers and her sweet taste on his lips. His body tightened with desire in an instant.

A light flush coloured her cheeks. The smile playing on her lips held the secret of a night encounter in the library.

“Are you going out as well?” she asked. “Lovely. We could go together. I need a walk. Where are we going?”

Damn. He was shocked back to the present. “I have a private errand to do. Apologies, but it’s important.”

Her expression lost some of its radiance. “I’ll see you later.”

“My lady.” Feeling like a scoundrel, he bowed and left the house.

Hiding his former profession forever wasn’t possible, but he’d be damned if he let Emma learn the truth from someone else. He had only to wait for the right moment to reveal the truth. Then she would be horrified and order him to leave her house.

A chilly gust blew to his face like a quick slap. Maybe it was a sign he should talk to Emma. But on the other hand, his work was almost over, and after that, he wouldn’t need to tell her anything about his past because he would leave anyway.

He rubbed his forehead, wishing he could wipe all those thoughts from his mind. The constant back and forth on his decision was consuming him.

He found Lady Beaumont sitting on the bench under a weeping willow with her lady’s maid. When Lady Beaumont saw him, she talked to the maid, who stood up and walked a few yards away.

“I knew you would come.” Smiling, she patted the empty spot on the bench.

“You blackmailed me. I didn’t have a choice.” He didn’t sit down.

She narrowed her large eyes. “We’re starting this conversation on the wrong foot, and you’re standing.”

“What do you want?”

“A short time ago, you wouldn’t have dared talk to me with that tone.”

“A short time ago, I wasn’t as tired as I am now.”

“Fair enough. I’ll go straight to the point. Is Lady Emma your sole client now?”

“No.” Just thinking about Emma paying him for a tumble made him sick to his stomach. “I don’t work in that field anymore.”

“Don’t talk about work! Don’t you care about me? A little?” Her voice quivered.

He had to be honest. “You’ve always been kind and generous to me, and I appreciate that, but I don’t feel anything for you aside from gratitude.”

She leapt to her feet, cheeks reddening. “Is it Emma? She put you up against me.”

“Lady Emma has nothing to do with you.” Keeping himself calm required effort. “It’s me. Just me. I’m done with that life. I’m not going back.” He was growing tired of repeating it.

Without a word, she pivoted and strode away, followed by her maid.

He exhaled, hoping that was the last time he had to deal with Lady Beaumont. He had barely time to turn around when his heart skipped a beat.

Emma was watching him from the path.

When Marcus had told Emma he had an errand to do, she’d thought he would head towards the city, not the park.

Instead, he’d finished a rather spirited conversation with Lady Beaumont—judging by the way she’d marched away from him—and now he showed a stunned expression like a thief caught red-handed as she watched yards away from the path.

To his credit, when he noticed her, he didn’t pretend not to see her but walked over to her, straight and proud.

He was magnificent. The way he carried himself, his grey eyes, and his midnight hair were a powerful combination of charm and beauty. Their last kiss had changed their relationship forever.

Even though she was a bit annoyed by his behaviour—he’d claimed not to know Lady Beaumont—she couldn’t deny the warm, fluttery feeling in her chest as he walked over to her.

“I didn’t follow you,” she said, regretting it immediately. But seeing him talking with Lady Beaumont had been a harsh surprise.

“I didn’t think you did.” He offered her his arm, but the lady’s maid cleared her throat before Emma could take it.

Yes, probably walking arm in arm with him in public might be too much, considering rumours abounded. She nodded at Gibson for a bit of privacy. They walked side by side along the busy path.

“So you know her,” she started, finding it difficult to organise her thoughts and keep them separated from her intimate reactions. “Not a simple bowing acquaintance, I gather.”

She had no idea she could be such a wanton woman, but whatever beast Marcus’s kisses had awakened inside her, it didn’t want to go to sleep.

“I do know her,” he said. “I lied, and I apologise.”

She’d better be blunt. “Are you her lover?”

“No.” He stared straight at her when he denied that. “But the situation is complicated.”

“How did you meet her?” She didn’t need to tell him not to lie to her. She trusted him that much to understand she wouldn’t tolerate it.

He took his time to answer. A tendon of his neck stood out in sharp relief under the skin. “I worked for her. I don’t need to work for her anymore, and she has trouble accepting that.”

Finally, Lady Beaumont’s words made sense. More or less. She believed Emma had forced Marcus to work exclusively for her.

“Why didn’t you tell me the truth when I asked if you knew her?”

“I was ashamed,” he whispered.

“Why would you be? You weren’t doing anything illegal, were you?”

He flashed a sad smile. “Nothing of that sort.”

“I hope you’ll trust me from now on.”

“I do trust you.” He removed his hat, and the breeze ruffled his hair.

“Then why don’t you tell me the truth?” She couldn’t completely remove the annoyance from her voice.

“I will. Later today, if you have the patience to wait.” He sounded honest and a little desperate as if he were frightened by her reaction.

“Of course. We’ll talk later.”

He exhaled in relief and bowed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some research I must do.”

The conversation wasn’t over. “Don’t let me keep you.”

“I’ll see you later.” He sped up along the path until he rounded a corner and disappeared from view.

Gibson glowered as she walked next to Emma. “Someone might have seen him with you, my lady.”

“You don’t approve of Marcus,” Emma said.

“It’s not my place to say, my lady.”

“But I’m curious. Why are you upset?”

“I simply think a lady ought to be careful when dealing with a man like Mr. Kingston.”

“What kind of man?”

“He’s obviously a rake. Why would a married lady like Lady Beaumont talk to him and become so upset at him if not because she’s involved with him?”

“He told me he wasn’t her lover.”

“Begging your pardon, my lady, but isn’t that what rakes always say?”