The Temptation of a Gentleman (7 page)

Noah looked at her again. He was just beginning to understand what a lonely existence this lovely young woman had experienced. All the love in her life had faded with her mother’s death, leaving behind an uncertain future guaranteed by the ugly man who she called father.

“
What are their names?” he asked, hoping to keep her in whatever state of happiness the subject brought her.

She smiled. “Lavinia and Hester. Hester is the one who tells me the most about my Mama. Lavinia writes far less, but she’s always very kind to me. They’re unmarried and live in a little cottage by the sea that was provided for them in my Grandfather’s will. He’d made his fortune in shipping, so they seem to live comfortably.”

Noah barely resisted the urge to touch her cheek. “And why didn’t your father allow you contact with these women?”

Again Marion’s face grew sad. “He doesn’t want me to have anything to do with my mother. He doesn’t even know I correspond with my aunts. I enlisted our cook’s help in getting the letters in and out. I’m fortunate to be able to communicate with them at all.”

“
But how will this provide for your future if I…” he paused as a quick picture of Marion across his bed flashed into his head. “If I do as you ask?”

“
My aunts have told me many times that if I could escape my father they would provide for me, but I’ve never been able to do so.” She took a sidelong glance at Noah. “But if I were ruined he would have nothing to gain by keeping me with him. I could escape to my aunts and be free of his schemes.”

“
Are you sure he’d release you?” From the sound of her description, Marion’s father might keep her just out of spite.

“
He would be so angry if I was ruined.” Her voice grew soft and her eyes lit up with just a twinge of fear. “I would ruin all his plans, but I think he’d be more than pleased to send me away. The idea of me rotting away on the streets would probably appeal to him.”

Noah gritted his teeth. He was going to have to work very hard at making Walter Hawthorne’s life hell after Marion was safely away from him.

“
Why hasn’t he tried to make a match for you earlier?” he asked. “After all, you’re very beautiful. I’m sure other men have been interested in your hand.”

Marion blushed. This man who had probably been with a hundred far more lovely women called
her
beautiful. Suddenly she wished he would touch her hand again, or that she was brave enough to take his.

She gave a shake of her head to clear her foggy mind. “I’m not certain why he hasn’t made a match with me before. He’s never encouraged me to court. In fact, he’s always discouraged it. I believe he liked having a free servant and hostess. But I know why he’s selling me now.”

“
Why?” Noah leaned forward as if this piece of information was very important to him.

“
When I overheard him making his…
arrangement
with Mr. Lucas, they said it would settle a debt.”

Noah nodded. “I thought as much. Cads.”

He said the damnation with such heat that Marion jumped. The man with the flashing blue eyes and dangerous look wasn’t the same one who’d teased her as they walked through the rolling hills of Woodbury. He seemed much darker now.

“
Will you help me?” she asked.

He shook his head as if he’d forgotten her existence for a brief moment. “I’m not certain.” He looked her up and down as if sizing her up. “What would
I
gain from this arrangement?”

Noah could name several benefits from pretending to ruin Marion. At least he’d get a few kisses from the deal, and that should have been enough. But there was something more. The chance to free her was just as powerful a draw as any physical one.

She blinked at him, stunned. “I don’t understand.”

“
I mean, if I’m to help you, I would expect repayment in some way.” He smiled. “You said it yourself, I’m a rake. I’m not a respectable man.”

Her surprise turned to humor as she realized he was teasing her. “Isn’t helping a lady enough repayment?”

Noah paused. Looking at Marion with her dark eyes focused on him, her slender hands resting so close to his own and smelling her intoxicating fragrance, he could almost believe helping a lady would be more than enough. But his promise to Lord Golding gave him pause. If he thwarted Josiah Lucas’s plans, Noah would certainly lose any chance he had of proving whether or not Georgina Ross had been murdered.

Then he thought of the vow he’d made to Charlotte Ives, and his pause became greater. He’d sworn he wouldn’t behave in a way that would embarrass her once she was his Marchioness. And publicly ruining an innocent… a very beautiful innocent… even if it weren’t real, would certainly embarrass Charlotte. He was torn.

But perhaps there was a way.

“
I’ll have to consider it,” he said.

Her face fell. “But I thought…”

“
I just don’t know, Marion. You don’t know what you’re asking of me.” With a frown, he rose to his feet. “Give me a day or two to think it over and I’ll return to you with my answer.” He couldn’t bear to look at her disappointed face. “Goodnight.”

“
Ye-Yes. Goodnight, my lord.”

Marion watched him go, trying to hold back tears of disappointment until he was gone. She’d been so certain Noah would be her salvation, but he’d suddenly turned much colder, as if she’d asked him to do something that tried on his soul.

But Noah was a rogue, well known for his behavior with women. How could pretending to ruin her harm him in any way? Unless…

Her mind flitted back to Lucas’s mention of Noah’s fiancée in London. Noah seemed loath to talk about the young woman. Perhaps
she
was the reason he couldn’t pretend to ruin her. Perhaps his days as a rake were over now that he’d found love.

Choking back a sob, Marion hurried back to her room. She could only hope the friendship she’d forged with Noah over the short time she’d known him would be enough for him to help her. If not, she was on her own and her chances for escape were very small indeed.

Noah paced his office like a tiger in a cage. The ice in the tumbler in his hand tinkled against the crystal as he spun on his heel. Since the previous night when Marion asked for his help, he’d been unable to think of anything but her. Yet he couldn’t do as she asked, or at least, not without a great deal of consideration.

Consideration he’d been unable to achieve while she stood only a few feet away. Her presence made rational thought completely impossible. He needed time alone to reflect on what she’d asked.

But a night of brooding left him with no new solutions. He had no idea how to assist her, yet still stay true to his case and keep his vow to his future bride.

Well, he had
one
idea, but it was dangerous.

While Marion had told her story about finding her aunt’s letters, a vision of her as a little girl spy had made him smile. Now it made him think. She was quick-witted and graceful, two qualities essential to a good spy. His own sister had demonstrated both, and Audrey had been a successful agent for the crown. Could Marion do the same?

If so, she might help him find the evidence he needed to prove Lucas was a killer. Instead of ruining her, Noah could free her from her father’s debts by arresting the man who held them. And even if it turned out Lucas was innocent of murder, Noah could easily buy Marion’s freedom. He was sure Walter Hawthorne could be persuaded to let his daughter go. For the right price.

Neither option would require Noah to ‘spoil’ her publicly, He wouldn’t have to kiss her or touch her to make their deception look real. Because if he started down that path with Marion, he wouldn’t want to go back.

Working alongside her would be difficult enough. They would have to meet in secret to exchange information and were bound to get into confined situations. But being pressed up against Marion Hawthorne in order to solve a murder wasn’t the same as humiliating Charlotte with some country tart.

Was it?

“
Noah, there you are.”

He turned to find his mother at his door. Normally Tabitha Jordan kept to herself during the day, tending to her gardens or her charitable works. She didn’t often seek out Noah’s company, or anyone else’s for that matter. Since his father’s death, she’d been reclusive, though Noah told himself it was natural for her to mourn. He could do nothing to ease her pain while his own was still so great.

“
Good afternoon, Mother,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see you until tea time.”

She arched one dark eyebrow with a smile. “But my dear, it
is
tea time.”

Noah flipped his pocket watch from his waistcoat. He hadn’t realized the hour had grown so late. “By God, Mother, you’re right. I’m sorry you were forced to seek me out.”

He offered her his arm and led her to that salon where their tea would be served. It was the same room where he’d shared tea with Marion, her father and Lucas a few days before. Marion had sat across from him, her eyes sparkling with mirth when he said something amusing…

“
You seem distracted, Noah,” his mother said as she smoothed her skirts and motioned for the maid to pour their tea. “Is anything wrong?”

He forced his focus back to his mother. “No, I’m sorry. I was just thinking about my tea with Mr. Lucas a few days ago.”

Her cheeks darkened with distress. “Yes, I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it down. The idea of facing a group of strangers was a bit overwhelming that afternoon.”

With a sad smile, Noah touched her hand. “I realize this is still difficult for you, Mama.”

She nodded. “I don’t know why. I did plenty of things without your father’s presence while he was alive. I hosted teas and ran charity guilds. But now that he’s gone, doing anything without him seems…”

“
Wrong?” Noah finished for her.

She nodded as their eyes met in sad understanding. “Wrong.”

“
I’m sorry you feel that way. I know he’d want you to continue with the things that give you pleasure,” he said, thinking about what his father would want for
him
. To fill his shoes, and Noah was doing his damndest to try. Whether or not he was a success was another issue.

“Perhaps in time that will get easier,” his mother said with a sigh. Then she seemed to push aside her sadness. “It wasn’t only Mr. Lucas who had tea here, was it?”

“
No, a Mr. Walter Hawthorne and his daughter, Miss Marion also attended. They aren’t from Woodbury, but are visiting Mr. Lucas.” He paused to appear indifferent. “Lucas has lived in the shire for over ten years hasn’t he?”

His mother nodded as she sipped her tea. “Yes, since he took over Toppleton Square from Squire Green. The poor man lost everything in some kind of gambling problem. Why do you ask?”

“
What kind of man do you take him to be?”

His mother knew most of the people who lived in his father’s shire…
his
shire. He doubted she had any useful information, but something was better than nothing.

“
I haven’t had many occasions to talk with him personally.” His mother’s voice grew cold. “But he’s always been pleasant enough when I have.”

Noah cocked an eyebrow at her tone. “Mother?”

“
I don’t like the man,” she admitted. “He married that poor young woman, Georgina I believe her name was. The girl seemed miserable. She died not long ago.”

Noah nodded. “So you don’t think their marriage was a happy one?”

“
No.” Tabitha’s answer was quick and firm. “Her parents made the match without any thought for her happiness. He was far too old for her.”

He shivered. Marion would face a similar fate if he couldn’t find a way to help her.

“
Noah?”

He glanced up. “Hmm?”

His mother set her teacup down and leaned over to look at him. “Why are you
really
here in Woodbury?”

With a start, Noah stood. He hadn’t realized his mother found his visit odd, though perhaps he should have. He hadn’t come to Woodbury since his father’s death. He’d certainly never asked in-depth questions about the inhabitants of the shire. It seemed sacrilegious, like he was dancing on his father’s grave.

“
I’m… I’m only here to take up the duties I’ve neglected for so long,” he said. “It’s time for me to behave responsibly, to take the mantle of the Marquis of Woodbury and put it around my neck.” He had a sudden vision of a noose slowly strangling him and amended his statement. “Er, around my shoulders.”