Gentleman's Guide 02 - His Contrary Bride) (21 page)

“I’m ruined.”

He walked to the table to poor his own
brandy. “Not if you marry Marius. I know he has asked.”

Sabrina looked between the two men. He was
right of course, but that didn’t mean she would agree. “So now I
should marry Marius to salvage my reputation?”

“Yes,” Marius answered.

Sabrina was torn between just giving in and
sticking to her own values. She would be miserable if they married
under these conditions.

“I still cannot marry you. I don’t care if
society shuns me but I will not marry to save my reputation.”

Marius turned to Ramsey. “May I speak with
Sabrina alone, please?”

Nodding his head, Ramsey left the room,
shutting the door behind him.

“I’ve given you three excellent reasons why
we should marry.”

“They are
not
excellent reasons for
me,” Sabrina argued.

“Does another hold your heart Sabrina? Is
that why you reject me?”

She smiled at him sadly. “No other holds my
heart, Marius. Until you can understand why these are not
sufficient reasons, then you’ll not understand why I must
decline.”

“Then explain it to me.”

Shaking her head. “No. It is not something
that can be explained.”

Rising on her tiptoes she kissed him on the
cheek and left the room. Sabrina didn’t expect to see Marius
again.

*

Once dropped at his own home, Marius didn’t
enter. Instead, he walked, needing to clear his head. Sabrina had
been cryptic in her answers to him. What could possibly be so
difficult to explain? Was it possible she had no feelings for him?
No, not after the fiasco of her kissing experiment. If anything, it
should have proved the truth of his words. He had courted her the
best he knew how and was at a complete loss as to what to do now.
This was one problem he wouldn’t share with even his closest
friends, though the married ones could possibly offer insight.
Shaking his head Marius decided they would be a last resort.

It was early morning before he finally fell
into bed and was able to sleep. Three hours later a summons came
from his parents. They had returned to town and insisted on him
attending them at once.

His parents were enjoying their breakfast
when Marius arrived. He helped himself to eggs and kippers and
poured a cup of hot coffee.

“Your mother and I returned to town a few
days ago,” his father began.

“It didn’t take long for the gossip to reach
us, even without leaving the house,” his mother explained.

Marius raised a skeptical brow to his father
and waited silently for him to continue.

“Lady Sabrina is a lovely girl and I can see
why you were taken with her,” his mother added. Of course they
would be happy. It was time he married and produced an heir.

“Of course now, we have our misgivings as I
am sure you understand.”

Marius’s irritation began to rise. “No, I
don’t.”

“We were only slightly concerned after
hearing that she was showing attention to so many, the kissing.
Amazingly society forgave her. The question of her innocence will
not be as easily overlooked.” His father tried to explain as both
parents watched closely.

“Were you serious about her son?” His father
finally asked.

“Of course he was,” his mother answered. “He
missed Christmas with the family to be with her.”

“I intend to marry her,” Marius stated
bluntly waiting for their reaction.

“But her reputation. They say she traveled
with a man alone and spent the night with him at an inn.”

“I am well aware of the gossip. Further, it
is true.”

His mother gasped. “She admitted as much to
you?”

“She didn’t have to. I was the gentleman
with her.”

“Oh. This certainly changes the
circumstances,” his father coughed and gulped down the milk before
him. “My question, Son, is why haven’t you done the proper thing in
marrying her?”

“She has refused me.” Pausing, he looked at
his mother. “Three times.”

“Surely after she hears the latest gossip
she will change her mind,” His mother suggested.

“No. That was her most recent refusal.”

“Oh dear.”

His father shrugged and returned to his
meal. “Then there isn’t much you can do about it, son. Best to just
move on.”

Marius looked between his parents. Their
attitude toward the topic was odd. “On the contrary, I intend to
convince her to marry me.”

Rising he stalked from the room to think.
His parents were acting very strange. He had expected his father to
take the situation in hand and somehow force Sabrina to marry him.
After all, his father always did the right thing. This man said to
let it go. This is the first time in Marius’s memory his father
hadn’t pushed for the purpose of propriety.

“So, Son, tell us how you met Lady Sabrina
and how you came to stay at the inn and now be in London,” his
mother asked, after following him into the library, her husband by
her side.

For a moment he said nothing. Then slowly he
began to tell his parents the basics of his involvement with
Sabrina.

“Tell us of the proposals. Why do you think
she turned you down?” His mother prompted.

Whatever he said, he knew his secrets were
safe. His mother didn’t speak until Marius had explained the
circumstances behind the second proposal. “That explains why she
kissed so many gentlemen.” His mother laughed as if she
approved.

Eventually he finished with what had
occurred the evening before with his parents looking at him
thoughtfully.

“I only have one question, Son,” his father
spoke. “Do you love her?”

Dumbstruck, he looked at his parents. He
always acknowledged that he wanted her, but love her? It was a
feeling that had never really been discussed. “I don’t know.”

“That is the only reason a girl like Sabrina
would marry,” his mother explained.

“You’ll have to search your heart. Can you
imagine the rest of your life without her? Can you imagine living
with her every day, sharing meals, a bed, and children?”

Marius thought about what his father said.
No. He did not want to go through life without Sabrina. His
existence would be empty. Until this moment he had only
acknowledged that he desired her. It was so much more than that.
She was a part of him.

He left his parent’s home somewhat in a
daze. It was more important now than ever to convince Sabrina to
marry him. But how?

There was only one way he could think
clearly. Upon entering the house he went directly to the kitchen,
promptly giving the cook and the kitchen maids a few days off. The
remaining staff would eat whatever he prepared.

After five loaves of bread, two roasted
chickens and plum pudding, Marius was still no closer to how to
approach Sabrina. Finally he had to acknowledge it was fear. If he
confessed his feelings and she turned him down again, then he would
be forced to leave her alone, not ever bothering her again. It was
a future he didn’t want to contemplate. If only he had a clue to
her feelings for him, but he didn’t. Not once had she ever shared
how she felt other than she appreciated his friendship.

Perhaps he needed a woman’s perspective.

Those thoughts had him arriving on the
doorstep of a lady he trusted completely. He prayed Martin was gone
so he wouldn’t need to offer uncomfortable explanations. As it
turned out, Martin had gone off to one of his clubs with a few
other gentlemen and Janine planned to have a quiet dinner with
Phoebe and Simone, Richard’s reclusive wife due to her blindness.
This was working out better than he had planned.

What he hadn’t counted on was a total of
four women present. It was Sabrina’s presence that surprised him.
This was the first time he had seen her since he realized the depth
of his feelings. How could he have not known?

“Marius, it is good to see you.” Janine came
to her feet when he entered. “Martin and the others are at their
club.”

Quickly Marius formed an excuse for being
there. “I am aware of that and plan on joining them shortly. I only
came by to speak to your cook. She sent a message around
earlier.”

Though he spoke to Janine, he couldn’t take
his eyes off Sabrina. She hadn’t even looked at him.

“That is kind of you. Cook has been
struggling with some sort of sauce for weeks now.” Thank goodness
Janine played along. “Before you go, however, why don’t you join us
in a glass of brandy?”

“How can I refuse the company of such four
beautiful ladies?”

Sabrina was the only one who didn’t
laugh.

Marius accepted the glass and stopped
directly in front of where Sabrina sat. This forced her to look up
at him.

“You are looking particularly beautiful this
evening, Sabrina.”

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

“We were just assuring Sabrina of our
friendship so she wouldn’t be afraid she’d lost all her friends,”
Phoebe informed him.

“I appreciate it, as I am sure you know the
truth of the situation.” Wondering if Phoebe had said anything.

“Sabrina told us what happened. It is a
shame,” Mr. Lavin’s wife offered.

Deciding to gauge Sabrina’s reaction, he
changed the topic. “I would like to call on you tomorrow if that
would be convenient. Perhaps a drive through the park.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Parker. That will not be
possible.”

Marius kept his face impassive. “Very well.
Another time perhaps.”

Sabrina looked away without answering him,
placed her teacup on the table and stood. “Thank you for a lovely
dinner.” She directed the comment to Janine. To the rest of them
she added, “And I think each of you for your friendship. You have
no idea how much it means to me.”

Janine stood. “Surely you don’t wish to
leave yet?”

Sabrina smiled gently. “I am rather tired, I
apologize.”

“I’ll have your carriage brought around.”
Janine walked from the room.

Sabrina nodded her head to Marius. “Good
evening, Mr. Parker.” With that she turned her back and marched
from the room. Her posture stiff and head held high.

He strolled to the window and waited. There
was complete silence in the room. He watched her step into the
carriage and the door shut before he turned back to the group of
ladies. “I apologize if I ruined your evening.”

“Why are you here, Marius? I know my cook
didn’t send for you,” Janine asked. “Were you hoping to see
Sabrina?”

“No. It never occurred to me she would be
here. I came to see you and prayed Martin wasn’t here or I would
never hear the end of this.”

“Now this should be interesting.” Phoebe sat
back and crossed her arms in front of her.

“This isn’t easy and I would appreciate it
if you would keep this conversation from your husbands.”

“This is better than I hoped. I’ll finally
know something Richard doesn’t. After all, he is my source of
gossip.” Mrs. Lavin’s clapped her hands in glee. “Do go on.”

Phoebe and Janine nodded their heads in
agreement before Marius spoke. “How does Sabrina feel about me? Do
any of you have a clue?”

He was met with amused expressions, then
laughter. He should have known they wouldn’t go easy on him.

“Don’t you have any idea?” Phoebe asked.

“Would I have come here if I did?” His
irritation grew. Perhaps he should have just done this on his
own.

“To tell you the truth, she’s never really
said,” Phoebe finally answered with sympathy.

“Then I guess there is no help here.” Marius
stood ready to leave.

“However, that doesn’t mean we can’t hazard
a guess,” Janine suggested.

Slowly, he sat back down and waited.

“I would be willing to bet that she loves
you.”

Marius sat forward. “Then why had she
refused to marry me?”

“For the same reason I refused Taylor
originally, I suppose.”

Everyone looked at Phoebe. “I refused to
marry for propriety only. So I rejected him.”

Slowly what Sabrina had said was beginning
to become clear. Standing, he thanked the ladies and returned to
his own home. There he began making more chocolates, remembering
she had said that nobody
else
held her heart. He was too
blind, or perhaps simply stupid, to have seen it then.

Marius wasn’t sure how he should propose
marriage again. He just knew it wasn’t going to be in the same
manner as before. It most definitely had to special. What would be
special to Sabrina? Should he present her with a box of chocolates
and the latest romance novel as gifts?

No, he didn’t like that idea. But what else
did he know about Sabrina? He thought back over all the times they
had spent together. Kissing hadn’t worked in the past and knew it
wouldn’t work now. What else was there? She had been at the academy
for the past four or five years and he knew she liked to be busy.
Slowly, he began to smile. He wouldn’t propose to Sabrina. He
needed to propose to Cinderella.

Following breakfast Marius sent his footman
to the Sandlin residence for a particular book. Marius needed to
familiarize himself with the story one last time before he moved
forward with his plans. He paced in the library waiting for the
footman to return, impatient to read the fairytale. His future
would be decided on how he acted.

Finally the servant appeared and
relinquished the book to Marius. After thanking him, Marius sat
down to read. Immediately he stood up again and yelled for the
footman who came running.

“Who retrieved the book for you?”

“Lord Sandlin.”

“And he knew it was for me?”

“Of course, sir. Is there a problem?”

For a moment he thought to send the man back
but knew he wouldn’t get the right one until Taylor had his
questions answered. “Nothing. I’ll return this one myself and get
another.”

“Very well, sir.”