Chapter 15 #3
“That is terrible. I am so sorry,” Alice said awkwardly. She felt for the poor boy, but this was hardly a worthy explanation for his hatred of her. “But why would that make him dislike me so much?”
“It is not you,” Marco said quickly, knocking on the carriage's roof to signal to his driver they were ready to depart.
“Then it is the Fitzroy name that he despises?” Alice pressed, jolting forward as the carriage moved, her knees pressing against Marco’s where he sat opposite her. “Is this about my father?”
“I never met your father,” Marco’s voice was quiet, his hands reaching down to caress her knees. Alice tried not to feel distracted by his touch. “Let us speak of other things. This is not something you need to worry about.”
“If we are to be married, then surely we should share everything, including our past,” she said hesitantly.
She did not want to push him. After all, she wanted to marry him, especially after their intimacies this afternoon.
Still, she felt he was deliberately withholding something from her, and she must understand it.
“Of course. But this is all just a matter of business. There is nothing to trouble yourself over," Marco said, smiling easily.
Alice looked at him for a long moment. He looked affable and relaxed, yet she could not shake the perturbing sensation that something was very wrong.
“Very well,” she said slowly, realizing that he would not reveal anything more.
Marco nodded, and she let a few minutes pass.
The day was warm, and she was beginning to perspire in the closeness of the closed carriage.
She reached into her pocket, thinking of wiping her brow with the handkerchief Marco had given her.
Her hand felt the edge of the card in her pocket.
She paused for a moment, thinking of how to broach the topic again.
“I was under the impression you did not care for Hackman,” Alice said abruptly, deciding to give voice to her thoughts. Marco’s eyes darted from the window her.
“I do not. He is an awful man,” Marco said vehemently, squeezing her knees tenderly before looking back outside. That confirmed her suspicions but did not explain the playing card.
“What of his friend Lord Fife?” she asked carefully. She thought she had spied Fife's name on one of the other cards that had fallen to the floor. She loathed the lord, not just for his close association with Hackman, but she wanted to see her future husband's reaction.
“He is just as awful,” Marco said flatly. “Why do you ask about them?”
Alice felt her stomach swoop; she did not want Marco to know that she was suspicious of his associations with the men she disliked. She searched for an excuse and landed on something her mother had said the other day about the proposed guest list for their wedding.
“They were both acquainted with my father and my mother thought to invite them to our wedding,” she said, shrugging casually. “It is good to know how you feel about them before any decisions are made.”
“Is that so?” Marco raised an eyebrow. “And how do you feel about them, dearest?”
“I find them both loathsome,” she said easily. It was true, for they were chief among the horrible gentlemen who had harassed and bullied her with their insistent demands of courtship. None of this explained the playing cards, though, and she still wanted to know more about them.
“Well, then we are in agreement about not inviting them to the wedding,” Marco chuckled. “Now, enough talk of those scoundrels. I have something much more pleasurable in mind for the remainder of our drive."
“And what might that be?” Alice raised an eyebrow.
“I was hoping you might allow me to kiss you breathless before I must leave your side,” he said, leaning towards her.
“I think I might allow that,” Alice whispered, happy to put her worries and fears aside for a few more blissful moments of Marco’s mouth against hers.
He encircled his arms around her waist and hoisted her onto his lap.
She squealed before his mouth descended on hers, stealing all her thoughts.
They were both breathless when the carriage stopped before her house, and they finally drew apart.
Alice patted her hair to be sure the pins she had secured it with back in the library were still in place.
At the same time, Marco adjusted his breeches to hide the bulge that had been pressing against her hip as they kissed.
“I only ask one thing of you, Marco,” she whispered, looking into his face before turning to leave.
Marco’s eyes were dark with desire, but he nodded and asked, "What is that?"
Alice observed him before continuing. She needed him to understand that she was giving him her heart and needed to be gentle with it, but she didn't know how to say it. “I only ask that you always be truthful with me,” Alice said. “Do not keep secrets. Secrets are destructive to everyone.”
“I understand,” he whispered, pressing a tender kiss to her cheek.
It was only after Alice climbed out of the carriage and it had driven away that she realized Marco had not actually agreed to her request. He had not promised to be truthful.