The Temptation of a Gentleman (15 page)

Finally she sighed, “I do believe that.”

“Good.” For a moment he only held her gaze then leaned down and gently brushed his lips against hers.

When he pulled away, Marion blinked a few times to cast away the haze before her eyes. Here she’d just been telling herself how Noah only desired her, and then he kissed her in a tender way that made her heart melt. Before his kisses had swept her away on a wave of heat. This one made her truly confront the fact that she loved him. She loved him. It was as simple and as complicated as that.

“Your-your fort?” she choked out, dropping her gaze from him as the power of her emotions rocked her.

“Yes.” His voice shook. “It was through this clearing over here.”

Noah cleared his throat as they passed through a cluster of trees and saw the dilapidated shadow of his former playhouse before him. He released Marion’s arm and went over to the area, pretending to examine the spot in a fit of nostalgia. In reality, he needed a moment to himself to digest what had just transpired between the two of them. One moment he’d simply been comforting her, the next kissing her. And not a lusty kiss he could dismiss as desire-driven, but the kind of kiss that claimed her in more ways than even a night in his bed would have.

“You must have had a great deal of fun here as a child.” Marion climbed up the slight slope to lay a slender hand on what was left of the fort’s front wall.

“We did.”

Noah suddenly wondered if his own children would play here. He could almost picture his hellions revamping the place. Only instead of having Charlotte’s pale looks, his image had Marion’s brown eyes and sweet smile.

What the hell was wrong with him? Obviously his mother’s lectures about marrying for love, not convenience were beginning to addle his mind. He needed to get back to London where his friends would renew his sanity.

She ducked under the doorway of the dilapidated fort to get out from under his stare. The roof of the little building was long gone so her head stuck up above the walls.

He blinked. “Really? I’m impressed. That didn’t take you long.”

“No. I already liked her and I believe I remind her of Georgina, who she apparently cared for a great deal.” Her voice grew sad. “Everyone says I remind them of Georgina.”

The last comment trailed off with a twinge of fear. Noah touched her arm. “Your end will be a much happier one.”

Marion’s nostrils flared as she looked down at his hand against her skin. “I hope so,” she whispered. “Because Sally doesn’t believe Georgina Ross fell down that flight of stairs.”

Noah’s breath caught in his throat. “She told you that already?”

He wasn’t sure why he was surprised. Marion inspired trust in other people. He certainly trusted her even though he’d only known her for a short time. A frightened young maid with a secret she longed to tell might easily see Marion as an outlet for her fears. But could the maid have some ulterior motive to sharing her secrets?

“She told me Georgina was too elegant to trip and fall. She also warned me to get away because of Lucas. Even she can see his plans for me.”

Noah winced at the tears that gathered in her brown eyes. Marion had felt very alone in the past few days and he’d done nothing to assure her he was making sure she was safe.

“Did I tell you I have a man watching the house?”

Her eyes lit up with surprise. “You do?”

“Yes. One of my footmen has connections to Lucas’s footman. They’re… brothers I believe. So I’m always aware of what is happening at Toppleton Square.” Her quiet smile relieved him.

Marion swallowed hard. Lucas had only given her father until the month’s end to convince her to come to his bed willingly. A few more weeks would be far past that deadline. August was fast waning and September would soon be upon them.

“Noah.”

She was determined to tell him the whole truth about what Lucas truly planned to buy from her father. Even if Noah was angry she’d kept the truth from him, he would understand why she needed his timetable advanced.

Marion rubbed her eyes in frustration. Once again, she couldn’t tell Noah about Lucas’s planned seduction. At least for the time being. And there was little time left. She had no doubt Lucas was tired of waiting, not just for his lunch, but for her. And whatever it took, she wouldn’t allow that.

Chapter Twelve

Noah watched through narrowed eyes as Josiah Lucas strolled around the lake’s edge with Marion on his arm. If only he wasn’t on a case he would…

Well, there were a good many things he would do. None of which he could even consider since he
was
working for the War Department. His one consolation was that with him sitting just feet away, Lucas wouldn’t dare touch Marion again.

But what about when he wasn’t around? Marion shared a home with Lucas, even if it was temporary. Noah had thought her father would protect her from the man’s advances until she was legally wed. Obviously, he’d underestimated Hawthorne once again. After all, the man hadn’t been ten feet away and allowed Lucas manhandle Marion like she was already his.

He shifted his gaze to Walter Hawthorne. The other man was stuffing his great, red mouth with chunks of venison Mrs. York had put in Noah’s lunch. He had to wonder how the man didn’t choke. But fate was never so kind.

“What kind of business interests do you and Mr. Lucas share, Mr. Hawthorne?” Noah watched the other man’s face carefully even as he maintained a bored expression.

Hawthorne coughed and his piggy hazel eyes widened at the question. When the man was quite purple, Noah leaned over and pounded him on the back a few times, sending a chunk of meat flying across the lawn to plop into the water.

“Thank you, Woodbury,” Hawthorne wheezed as he took a long draught of ale from the flask by his side. “Now what was that?”

Hawthorne remembered the question perfectly well, but Noah gave him a bemused smile and repeated, “I simply wondered what business interests you share with Lucas. It seems odd to me that a textile man and a coal baron have something in common.”

Hawthorne opened his mouth, but Noah continued, “Some kind of business so pressing that it required you to travel all the way from your home with your daughter and stay with Lucas for… how long has it been now? A fortnight, at least.”

Walter nodded. “Er, Mr. Lucas and I have… that is we’re both invested… that is we have some mutual interests.”

“Which are?” Noah picked up a ripe, red apple and tossed it in the air only to catch it just before it hit the dirt. He repeated the action over and over while he waited for the other man’s response.

“I say,” Hawthorne said after a moment of being mesmerized by Noah’s action. “There are some things, even in business, that are too delicate to be discussed in the open.”

Noah barely held back a growl. Obviously selling his daughter was one of those subjects too delicate to speak about, but not too delicate to do. It made Noah sick.

She and Lucas were nearly all the way around the lake now, heading back toward them on the opposite side from where they’d started. Hawthorne followed his line of vision and started when he saw Noah look at his daughter. His gaze immediately narrowed in thought. Noah was sickened that Hawthorne was now trying to find a way to use Noah’s relationship with Marion to his own advantage.

“I-I might be willing to negotiate with other parties if they made it worth my while,” Hawthorne said after a long pause.

Noah swallowed back his rage. “Perhaps. First I’d need to know the amount being asked.”

“Understood,” Hawthorne said with a grin. “What I’m offering is a rare commodity. I couldn’t settle for anything less than its worth. We could talk about specifics later, if you’d like.” His eyes shifted to Lucas. “I wouldn’t want the other party to catch me bargaining with you.”

Noah bit back a retort. “I need time to think about whether the investment was worth the price.”

Hawthorne nodded. “But don’t wait too long. You never know when what you seek may be lost to you. Especially if other investors make their decision first.”

The muscles in Noah’s shoulders twitched with the anger that boiled within him. Though he’d learned Hawthorne had a price for Marion’s freedom and her body, somehow that didn’t make him feel better. The man had no scruples. But why did he have so little feeling for his own flesh and blood?

“I wonder if you might be able to put your other interested parties off for a while.” He hoped to buy both Marion and himself some more time. He was sure they could uncover the evidence he was looking for if they just had a few extra days. “Until I make my decision.”

Hawthorne shook his head. “Oh no, my lord. Mr. Lucas has made it clear that he wants M-, that is to say, he wants what he’s earned by month’s end. I was pushing my luck by asking for that long. If you want what I have to offer, you’ll have to make your decision quickly.”

Before Noah could utter the curse about to escape from his lips, Marion and Lucas reached the picnic blanket. Immediately, she released the older man’s arm and edged toward Noah.

“Thank you, Mr. Lucas. I enjoyed our little walk. You know so much about the history of Woodbury.”

She met Noah’s eyes. He could see by her pained expression that she’d heard an earful of nonsense, but nothing that could help them on their mission. Poor girl, he’d have to school her in the fact that most of the time spy work was frightfully boring.

“What were you two talking about?” She looked from her father to Noah, then back again. “You looked awfully serious as Mr. Lucas and I approached.”

Noah frowned. It was bad enough Marion knew her father was willing to sell her to pay his debts. She didn’t need to hear he was now auctioning her to the highest bidder.

“Mind your business, girly,” her father growled as his eyes shifted to Lucas with an uneasy smile. “What Lord Woodbury and I were discussing is none of your affair.”

“Yes.” Noah rose to his feet. “It wasn’t important, Miss Marion. But the afternoon is growing late and I’m sure we should all be returning to our respective homes. May I escort you all to Linton Green at least?”

Lucas frowned, but propriety gave him no choice but to agree. “Of course, my lord. We welcome your company.”

Noah acknowledged the man with a nod, but his attention was still focused on Marion. How the young woman had come through life with her father and still maintained her sanity and sense of humor was more than he could comprehend. But it made him all the more determined to help her in whatever way he could.

***

Noah strode into the foyer and started down the hall. He needed to write a letter to Lord Golding explaining his situation with Marion and ask for his former superior’s advice. Seemed Noah could no longer trust his own judgment.

“Of course.” He placed a kiss on her cheek and motioned her back to the parlor. Sitting down, he smiled at her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t share luncheon with you.”

She waved his apology away with a smile. “Nonsense. I’m perfectly capable of eating on my own. But I wonder if
you
ate alone?”

He smiled at her arched eyebrow and the knowing twinkle in her eye. “I did not, but I can tell you’d already guessed that. I was lucky enough to bump into Mr. Lucas, Mr. Hawthorne and Miss Marion while I was on my ride. We ended up picnicking together at Lake Perchta.”

Tabitha smiled again. “Bumped into them, eh?”

He gave one shoulder a noncommittal shrug. He knew better than to lie to his mother.