The Earl Next Door (33 page)

Authors: Amanda Grange

BOOK: The Earl Next Door

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Luke burst out laughing. ‘What a tangle!’ he said. ‘You thought I was refusing to propose to
you
! Oh, Marianne, I was refusing to propose to Nicole!’

‘Refusing to propose to Nicole?’ she asked in astonishment.

‘Yes. The Comte felt protective of Nicole. They had escaped from
France
together, in fact that is how I managed to track him down. When Nicole at last managed to make her way to
England
she sought me out, and whilst telling me of her adventures she mentioned that she had escaped with a number of other people, two of whom matched the description of Adèle’s parents. I didn’t want to say anything in case I was wrong, but I made up my mind to track them down. Sure enough, they were Adèle’s parents, and we travelled back from
London
together. Once here, the Comte discovered that Nicole had been staying with me unchaperoned and he felt that I should marry her. He said that, as her father was not here - her father was sadly killed - he must make me see my duty.’

Marianne gave a gurgle of laughter. ‘So that's what he meant. I thought it was odd that he should say Papa wasn't there, but I assumed he meant that as Papa wasn't in the room he must make you see your duty himself!’

Luke threw back his head and laughed. Now there was a perfect understanding between them, it was clear he was able to find Marianne's mistake a subject for mirth!

‘But did you not hear the Comte saying that I must marry her because I had compromised her?’

‘I did. But I thought he was talking about you compromising me on our trip to
France
.’

Luke smiled. ‘Nothing so dramatic. He did not even know about your - our - trip to
France
. But I couldn’t possibly marry Nicole. She has always been very dear to me - I don’t have any sisters, you see, and Nicole, as my closest cousin, filled that rôle – but as for offering her my hand in marriage? No. I love her, but only in the way Kit loves you; with a protective and caring love. But not as a man loves a woman, not as I love you. And so I told the Comte. And when I had explained the situation fully he understood. It is just a pity that you didn't overhear the entire conversation. Besides, Nicole would not have had me even if she had not been my cousin, and even if I had asked her, because she is shortly to be married herself.’ He shook his head. ‘She will be mortified if she learns that she nearly came between us. It is only because she wanted to meet you that she has stayed in
Sussex
so long. She is eager to return to
Oxford
, where her betrothed is waiting for her.’

Marianne shook her head. ‘What a tangle it’s all been!’

‘And all because Jem interrupted us when I was introducing you to Nicole. Another moment and I would have told you she was my cousin, saving us both a painful episode.’

‘Poor Jem!’ laughed Marianne. ‘He was so determined not to miss the start of the dance!’

Marianne stepped over a piece of flotsam, holding up the skirt of her riding habit so that it would not get wet.

They fell silent. The tangled situation was at last unravelling, and their tensions were ebbing away. Above them the sun was shining with the promise of spring, and the sand was damp under their feet.

‘But why did you say you were going to marry Jem?’ Luke asked at last.

Marianne sighed. ‘I wanted to free you. I thought you were going to propose to me because you felt you had compromised me on our trip to
France
, and I could not bear it. I thought, you see, that my godfather had persuaded you to offer me your hand, and I wanted to free you from any feeling of obligation so that you could marry Nicole.’

‘And had you told Jem?’

‘That I would marry him? No. It was said on the spur of the moment.’

‘Good. I don’t want Mrs Cosgrove glaring at me over our wedding breakfast!’

‘As to that, I’m sure I hope Mrs Kilkenny will not look too sour,’ teased Marianne, matching his bantering tone.

‘Mrs Kilkenny has already left the neighbourhood, as well you know,’ he returned.

‘And will you miss her?’ asked Marianne, able to tease him about Mrs Kilkenny now that she was secure in his love.

‘Hussy,’ he said affectionately, giving her a playful squeeze.

‘Why
did
you pay so much attention to her?’ asked Marianne.

‘To try and take my thoughts off you, of course. I was not meant to be falling in love with you, you see. I was meant to be looking after you because you were Kit's sister. But it did no good. Nothing could take my thoughts off you. Because every time I saw you I wanted to take you in my arms and do this . . . ’

He suited his actions to his words and turning towards her he kissed her ravishingly, so that shivers ran through every part of her.

‘And every time I saw you, I wanted you to,’ she confessed as he let her go.

‘Did you?’ he asked wickedly.

She smiled provocatively. ‘Yes.’

And he kissed her again.

As his hands stroked her face he said to her, ‘Why
had
you never married, Marianne? You had had a number of Seasons, and a number of offers – you see, even before I met you I had heard all about you from Kit.’

‘Because I never fell in love,’ she said simply. ‘I met a lot of unexceptionable gentlemen. They were witty, charming, handsome – but they were also horrified by my unconventional nature. And even if they hadn't been, I could never have married any of them because none of them moved me in any way. I liked being with them but forgot them as soon as they were no longer there. Whereas with you – from the moment I met you I knew I could never forget you, not for as long as I lived. You touched parts of me I had never known I possessed. When you kissed me I felt I was melting.’

‘But then you had never been kissed before.’

‘Not so. Lord —. But I had better not mention his name. Suffice it to say that a young gentleman, carried away by the romance of a full moon, stole a kiss from me on the terrace of his
London
home. It was the last ball of the Season and I think he had decided that he must do something to try and show me that I would like to be married to him. But it didn’t have that effect at all. In fact, it didn’t have any effect. It seemed to me that if that was what kisses were like, I could very well manage without them.’

He raised one eyebrow. ‘And do you feel that way still?’

‘Not if the kisses are yours.’

He kissed her again. And then, unclasping her hands from behind his neck and holding them in his own he said, ‘Marianne, will you marry me?’

She smiled. ‘Yes.’

‘Even though I am anything but a gentleman?’ he asked her teasingly.

‘I think, perhaps,
because
you are anything but a gentleman,’ she said honestly.

He nodded. ‘A gentleman would stifle you, Marianne. We are both of us unconventional; we belong together, you and I. We will fit together, in every sense.’

She felt a shiver of anticipation as he drew her close, longing to be in his arms once more. As if he could read her thoughts he gave a slow smile, then tilting up her face to his he kissed her with a languorous sensuality that made her buckle at the knees.