Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Marie hadn’t realized Edward’s touch was so warm, nor did she recall the pleasant tingling sensation his hand brought as it cupped her elbow.
After she took her seat, he settled next to her. She had to take a deep breath to quell her excitement. This had to be what love felt like. Or, at the very least, what being around the right person was like. She hadn’t experienced this with any of the suitors Tove had given her.
Mindful of Tove, she searched the room but didn’t see her. It looked as if Tove was going to give her some privacy.
“You asked me about autumn,” Edward said.
She nodded. “Yes, I was wondering if you have any plans for what remains of the season.”
“At the very end of autumn, my cousin wants me to go with him and his family to Greece. They plan to spend Christmas there, and they want to arrive at the beginning of December. They won’t be returning for a month.”
She had to force down her unease. Miss Carter was from Greece.
No doubt, this was his cousin’s way of playing matchmaker.
“That’s a long time to be there, but if you’re going to another country, you might as well make it worth your while.
” She paused so as to prepare herself for his answer. “Will you be going?”
“To be honest, I’m not much of a traveler. I only go to my family’s estate, and that’s every other year. I prefer to stay in London.”
“I prefer to stay in London as well. I find travel to be tiresome.”
“Yes, it is. Days and days of staring out the carriage window. My cousin says I can take a ship to Greece. He thinks I’d enjoy the water, and he says they have plenty of activities to keep a gentleman occupied, but it’s still traveling.
I hate to disappoint him, but I think I’ll end up telling him no. ”
Marie was glad to hear it, though it made her uneasy to know that his cousin seemed eager to pair him up with Miss Carter.
“It’s hard when you can’t give someone you care about what they want,” she chose to say.
He indicated his agreement.
She wished she could ask him if this cousin—and Miss Carter—existed in their other lives, but he had no memory of that other life. For him, this was the only one he’d ever lived. If this cousin and Miss Carter had been in the other life, had his cousin hoped to pair him up with Miss Carter, too?
“What about you?” he asked. “Do you have anything planned?”
She thought over everything the Duke of Carlisle had told her. He had so many plans for her that it was hard to keep track of them. Had it not been for Miss Parson, she would have been lost. Every morning, she would run over the list so Marie wouldn’t forget.
“I don’t have any plans to travel,” she began.
“My father has my social calendar filled up. I’m either going to a ball, attending a dinner party, having tea with other ladies, or getting ready for Christmas.
My father doesn’t care for All Hallows’ Eve.
This is the most festive autumn has been for me. ”
“That’s a shame. I think there’s something fun about wearing a mask at a ball or telling spooky stories when with other people.”
“This is fun,” she agreed.
“Of course, you don’t need anyone with you to enjoy the other things about this season.
It’s finally cool enough to sit by a fire and drink hot apple cider while reading a book.
Or you can go for a walk and see all the colors changing on the trees.
This is my favorite time to go through Hyde Park.
When those leaves fall to the ground, I like to listen to the noise they make when they crunch under my feet. ”
She recalled him making mention of these things when they’d first met. This time when he mentioned them, however, she thought it would be lovely to be able to share those experiences with someone like him.
“What about you? What is your favorite time of year?” he asked.
“I’ve always preferred spring. I like seeing nature come back to life after a long winter’s slumber.
I do enjoy all of the different colors of leaves on the trees.
That’s very pretty. I also like seeing the leaves coming in and flowers blooming.
” With a shrug, she added, “I probably enjoy the flowers more because I’m a lady. ”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. I happen to think ladies look especially nice when they are adorned with flowers.”
“What about colorful leaves?” she teased.
He chuckled. “Yes, I suppose they would look especially nice then, too, though I can’t think of any who’ve done it.”
“I think there are a couple of them who’ve chosen to decorate their masks with images of leaves.”
“Are there?” He scanned the room.
She found one and pointed her out to him.
Through the mask, she saw him blink in surprise.
So, he didn’t make it a habit of paying attention to ladies while at the balls?
She thought over his behavior at the dinner parties.
He had been polite and kind, but he hadn’t been flirtatious.
Then again, she hadn’t been, either. Was it possible he felt awkward around ladies like she felt around gentlemen?
Was that why he had agreed to an arranged marriage?
Had he struggled with bouts of shyness like she did?
The more she got to know him, the more she thought they were perfectly matched.
He shifted his mask. For a moment, she wondered if he was going to remove the mask and reveal his identity, but he simply let the mask fall back into place. As if he could hear her thoughts, he explained, “My face itched a bit. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. There’s no need to spend the evening uncomfortable. If you have an itch, you should scratch it.”
“These things are uncomfortable, aren’t they?”
“They are. You’d think with the windows being open, we wouldn’t feel so hot with these things on.”
“It makes you glad Lord Edon didn’t choose to do this in August.”
She laughed at the playful tone in his voice. “From what I hear, he hosts the best balls in London. Even the Cadwaladers grieve the fact that more people attend his balls than theirs.”
“Do they?”
She nodded. “My father was telling me all about it this morning. He thinks they might even be in attendance tonight since they can wear masks. They’d never be seen here otherwise.”
“I knew there was a feud between them and Lord Edon, but I didn’t realize it was that bad.”
“I’m not sure what started it. I’m not inclined to follow the gossip of the Ton,” she admitted.
“I’m not, either. Besides, I’m sure most of it isn’t even true.”
“You’re probably right.” A moment of silence passed between them.
She didn’t want to lose his attention. She had to come up with something to continue the conversation.
But what? She couldn’t talk about Shifty Jack or the tree sculpture she’d seen him buy in the market.
He wasn’t supposed to know her identity.
Finally, she ventured, “Do you know Lord Edon?”
“No. I’m not anyone important in London. He wouldn’t even recognize me if I passed him on the street.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. You are very amiable. Certainly, you’re memorable.”
“I have a few friends. Everyone does. I’m just not someone a person like Lord Edon would notice. Everyone knows about him. If there’s anything new in his life, we know about it within a couple of days.”
She considered his observation and realized he was right.
For years, her real father had warned her to stay away from gentlemen of Lord Edon’s reputation.
“You want someone who’ll cherish you and only you,” he would then advise.
The warning was given because he loved her and wanted only the best for her.
“I prefer a quiet life,” Edward went on. “I get up around the same time each day and go to work. Then I come home, go to sleep, and do it all over again the next day.” He shrugged. “That probably makes me boring.”
“No, you’re not boring. I think it makes you dependable and honest. I’ve never been drawn to the likes of Lord Edon.” She led a life so much like Edward’s. She was beginning to understand why her real father had selected him for her. “What type of work do you do?”
“I’m a headmaster.”
“A headmaster?”
“There are far more notable jobs in London for a firstborn son to a nobleman, but I love education. Ever since I was a child, I loved the feel and smell of books. Then when I went to school, I fell in love with the institution of learning. Being a headmaster helps me pass on that love of learning to others. If it were up to me, everyone would always be seeking out ways to learn more, whether it be in regard to the sciences, mathematics, or literature.”
She smiled. She might not be as intrigued by those subjects as he was, but she could appreciate his passion.
Edward’s family did come from nobility, and they had a decent amount of money tied to their estate.
He didn’t have to be a headmaster. There was something impressive about a gentleman whose concerns extended beyond acquiring more wealth.
Her real father had done well in choosing Edward for her.
She ought to reveal her identity to Edward now, shouldn’t she? The point in going to this other life was to find a love match, and there was no doubt Edward was the right gentleman for her.
“I’m enjoying our conversation,” Edward said. “I’d like a chance to see you again. I am Mr. Edward Glover. My father is Lord Palmere.”
She was about to tell him her identity when it occurred to her that being with him in this life was wrong.
Yes, she wanted to be with him. She wanted it more than ever now that they’d had this talk.
But she also wanted to be Miss Marie Kiefer, the daughter of Lord Covenshire.
She wanted her real father back in her life.
She wanted him to be the grandfather of her children.
She wanted a quiet and peaceful life. She didn’t want to be entangled with ladies like Lady Diane who only thought of themselves.
She would rather have no friends at all than be associated with the influential ladies of the Ton. She needed to talk to Tove.
“Did I misunderstand things?” Edward asked when she didn’t respond. “Is the attraction not mutual?”
“It is mutual, Mr. Glover. There’s no doubt about that.”
She swallowed. How could she word this? If she told him the truth, he would think she’d lost her senses. Who ever heard of someone switching one life for another? Her situation was unique.
She caught sight of the Duke of Carlisle approaching her. She didn’t have much time left.
In a bold move she never thought herself capable of doing, she touched Edward’s hand and leaned toward him. “We will be together. I promise. But I must tend to something first.”
She released his hand and headed in the Duke of Carlisle’s direction so that His Grace didn’t have time to notice her indiscretion.
“Why are you hiding?” His Grace asked when she reached him. His voice was laced with disapproval. “I know you wanted some time alone this evening, but you are in need of a husband. I want to see you dancing with more than one gentleman.”
“I was just about to do that.”
“Good. You have a line of suitors wanting to marry you. You, of all ladies, should not sit along the side of the room all evening like some pathetic wallflower.” He gestured to a few gentlemen.
“I have it on good authority that they are connected with important people. The gentleman you were just dancing with is not. I asked about him, and no one even knows who he is.”
“No one knows who anyone is this evening. That’s the point of a masquerade ball.”
His spine stiffened. “Don’t take that tone with me.
I’ll have you know that I have my resources.
The common person in this room might not know who is worth talking to, but I am not common, and neither are those I associate with.
You were with Mr. Edward Glover. His family is beneath us.
You can do better. You will do better. I’m your father.
I get the final say in who you’re marrying, and you won’t be marrying him. ”
Now she was the one who stiffened. She had to resist the urge to respond. Her real father had raised her to watch her words. Even if someone was rude and obnoxious like the Duke of Carlisle, her real father would want her to be gracious.
The Duke of Carlisle is not your father.
He can’t make you do anything. As soon as she got home, she would call out to Tove.
She would spend the entire night begging the lady to return her to her other life if she had to.
Whatever it took, she would not spend one more day as Lady Marie, daughter of the Duke of Carlisle.
For the moment, however, she had to mind her manners. His Grace could think he was going to make her do whatever he wanted, but, in the end, he had no control over her. She forced herself to give a curt nod to him then sought out someone to dance with just so she could get away from him.