He's No Prince Charming (Ever After) (26 page)

Marcus cleared his throat, tilting his face to hide his scar as he always did when he was uncomfortable. “You look…,” his hands clenched by his sides and his bright gaze snapped to hers. “You look lovely, Miss Strafford.”

Her stomach fluttered. She disliked his formal tone, but at least he’d spoken to her.

“Thank you. You look rather dashing yourself.”

Green eyes widened before he turned his head again. She could see his bravado. Suddenly her anger was gone. She knew why he had not come to her. A soft smile tugged at her lips. Such a silly man.

A throat delicately cleared. Danni shifted her gaze from Marcus to his companion, who was clearly his sister, Caroline. They looked so alike. A tall, willowy frame clad in a fashionable pale peach gown. Elegantly coiffed white-blond hair framed her face, a long braided strand escaping over her shoulder and down her body. Danni had never seen such long hair.

Caroline’s pale green gaze flitted between them. Her brow knit with confusion. “Marcus, please make introductions.”

He shifted restlessly. Looking everywhere but at her, he mumbled, “Lady Caroline Bradley, may I present Miss Danielle Strafford, daughter of the Baron of Seaton.”

Danni dipped her head in a curtsy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise. How do you know my thick-headed brother?”

Danni briefly met Marcus’s gaze, uncertain about how much he had shared.

She decided to keep it simple. “We recently met during a trip to the countryside.”

“Oh.” Caroline sounded perplexed for a moment, before her head snapped rapidly between them. “Oh! You’re from the Gretna Green place.”

“Yes, oh,” Marcus grumbled, resuming his study of the balcony.

Danni stared intently at Marcus, willing him to look at her. She tamped down her frustration at his evasion.

“I’d best be going,” Caroline suddenly announced.

Danni nodded, refusing to shift her gaze. If Marcus could stare at a balcony all evening, she could do the same to him. Her eyes would remain glued to his face.

Several heartbeats passed before Marcus sighed.

Danni crossed her arms. “Why haven’t you contacted me, Marcus? I’ve been waiting all week. If my father had not told me you were released, I’d still be panicking, trying to find a way to free you.”

He stiffened, his expression hardening. But did she see a flash of sadness there?

“I really can’t say.”

She ground her teeth. Could he still be upset about her deception? He must understand why she’d done that. “Fine,” she snapped, her anger returning in a rush. “Did you receive my gift?”

He scoffed. “Are you referring to that promissory note you forwarded to me?”

“So you did receive it! The funds have not been transferred. Why haven’t you used it?”

His profile darkened dangerously and immediately she knew his pride was wounded. She’d feared that might result when she’d sent it, but she had also believed he had to understand she intended only to help him, and Caro. “It was the only solution I could think of after…after that night at the Jacket Inn.”

His fists curled, whitening his knuckles. “Do you really think I’d take your handouts? Especially of that size. What did you do, empty your coffers?”

“Only on my mother’s side.”

Green eyes widened in the shadows. His head turned slightly towards her in surprise, but he quickly looked away again. She was beginning to lose her temper with this foolishness.

“You are truly worth that much?”

She shrugged. “Actually, much, much more.”

“That’s obscene.”

“I agree.” She bit her lip, pleading for the courage to say what she needed to. To convince him to accept her help, even if he never wanted to see her again after that. “Is there any way you would keep it? For Caro? As a loan, perhaps?”

He held still for a moment, his face set in stone.

She plunged ahead, hoping he’d listen. “If you can’t accept the money from me, then think of it as a loan from my father. We will draw up the legal documents with terms of repayment. It’s for Caro, not for you. Would that be acceptable to you?”

His head turned further away, until all she could see were the shells of his ears and the nape of his neck. Why wouldn’t he look at her? Dismay clenched her heart. Perhaps she was wrong. Perhaps he truly never wanted to see her again.

“You told me you didn’t want to drag Caroline’s name through the mud and make your tenants suffer the consequences of the broken engagement,” she reasoned. Drawing in a shaky breath, striving to keep her voice even, she continued, pain shooting through her chest.

“Finding a woman to marry with enough money who would agree to a match will take you time—time you’re not sure you have. Caroline’s blasted fiancé could come back any day now.”

Looking down at her feet, she hid welling tears. She hated the thought of him with another woman. She could not bear the thought of him laughing, or touching, or loving another. However, she wanted to see him happy. If giving him a loan and never speaking to him again meant he could have a chance to find another woman to love, she’d do it. But her heart would break.

“Just…please take it. In whatever form you wish.”

“You seem rather eager to marry me off,” he whispered. “Are you anxious to be rid of me?”

Danni snorted, swatting impatiently at the light rivulets brushing her cheeks. “Of course not. I just want you to be happy.”

His eyes flickered. It was the only change in his rigid posture.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to take a chance. “I—I’m not engaged.”

“I know. Your father told me when I was freed.”

Danni felt her heart break, as any last bit of hope she had for them vanished. She ached to be as they were once, with laughter and easy smiles. With passion and love between them. She wished she could convince him they could have that again.

“Damn it, Marcus! Why won’t you look at me?”

The air filled with heavy uncertainty. Finally, unable to bear his answer, she dropped her gaze to her slippered feet.

Suddenly, warmth washed over her, a ragged breath fanned from the top of her hair and down along her neck. Startled, she snapped her head up to find Marcus not only looking at her, but towering close, very close, over her. She tilted her head back, refusing to back down. His face was shuttered, but his eyes were scorched with need and pain.

“Because, if I look at how lovely you are in that dress, I will not be able to say what I need to.”

Danni found herself unable to breathe. As if unconsciously, he lifted his hand towards her cheek. Her heart skipped. But his arm dropped before he touched her. She bit back a disappointed cry.

“I don’t deserve you, Danni. Your father wants me to prove I’m worthy of you, but I’m not. We both know that. And he knows that. You are like the sun and I am a new moon, not even worthy of your light’s reflection. You deserve a man like Hemsworth. He doesn’t have a past. He is not haunted. He is a good man and can give you the marriage and children you want. He can help your father politically.”

He drew a shuddering breath, his eyes softening for the first time. His gaze swept over her, bringing heat to her cheeks. Danni opened her mouth to speak, but he wouldn’t allow her to. “I’m happy to see you one more time. Happy you wore my gift.” He smiled softly, sadly, revealing his dimple. “I love you, little one, but I can not be with you.”

He turned away then, hurrying into the crush. He merged with the gaiety and laughter, attempting to lose himself among the partners dancing across the middle of the black-and-white-checkered tiles. Periodically, bodies would part, giving her a glimpse of his rigid back.

Standing at the threshold of the ballroom, she met two pairs of eyes peeking, shocked, through a plum tree. One set brown, belonging to Annabel, the other a light green. Caroline and Annabel had spied on them. Of course they would.

She looked back at the love of her life, fast disappearing from her forever. He was halfway across the ballroom before she fully understood what he had said.

And she lost her temper. She clenched her fists at her sides as white-hot anger seared her lungs. Oh, how she wanted to pull a Ginny and kick him. Instead, she settled for yelling.

“You bleedin’ idiot!”

Heads snapped in her direction. Widened eyes fixed on her flushed face. Soft music screeched to a halt and dancers fell still. Marcus froze mid-step, his head whipping around to face her, his eyes open in obvious shock.

She ignored the titters of excitement as she stalked towards him, the crowd parting like the Red Sea. At the sight of her approach, Marcus’s gaze widened and he stepped back. Danni stopped toe to toe, refusing to give him a chance to speak. “Must you
always
try my patience? Honestly, sometimes I can not fathom the thoughts in that head of yours.”

His mouth parted, but no words emerged. His gaze flitted nervously about them. She knew the
ton
was riveted by the potential scandal and impending gossip. She didn’t care. Because she had something to say.

She caught his hand in hers.

He jerked in surprise.

“I built up my parents’ marriage into a standard for all love. I thought no one could be in love unless they were happy all the time. I believed that love and marriage were a fairy tale, glossing over the hard work of marriage. I convinced myself the only real marriage was one where the couple was always glowing with love and everything was perfect.

“Now I can see I did that to hide from the pain of losing my mother and father. Now I understand that loving someone does not mean I will never be angry or frustrated with him. Marriage can be just as beautiful with a flawed couple, working together, choosing to build a life together.”

His eyes were riveted to her, vulnerability coloring them dark. He still did not speak. She took a deep breath and continued with her monologue. “Your demons are terrible things to bear. You’ve been marked more deeply than I could possibly imagine. When I first met you, I thought you were horrid. You manipulated and insulted me. And then I learned about you, and your past, and all the kindness and love you have firmly encaged in your heart. I admit, your troubles scared me. I was convinced you could never give me what I wanted. I could never have a perfect marriage with you. But I was looking at fairy tales all wrong.”

His face clouded with confusion and he visibly gulped. His voice was soft when he spoke, his eyes glancing uneasily around them again. “I don’t understand.”

Squeezing his hand in hers, she smiled up at him. “You are not perfect, Marcus Bradley, but neither am I. You are rash, stubborn, overbearing, and refuse to see the good in yourself.”

He snorted, filled with disbelief. “What good, Danielle?”

She brushed her lips across his knuckles. Audible gasps echoed around them, followed by a rustle of skirts as women quickly escorted young misses from the room.

Danni didn’t care. She wanted the world to realize just how wonderful this man was. “You may think you don’t deserve me, but every day, I wonder what I can do to deserve
you
—a man so kind, so fiercely loyal, and with so great a capacity for love.”

Marcus remained speechless, frozen in place.

Amusement twitched her lips, and she paused, memorizing his handsome features, scars and all. “We may not be perfect, but our love is perfect for me. I love you, Marcus. If I could be so lucky as to have you by my side for the rest of my life, I would be the happiest woman in the world. I want us to write our own fairy tale, Marcus.”

And then she kissed him. She kissed him with all the love in her heart and soul. With all her desire and with her fervent dream for a forever together.

He did not respond. His body was stiff and unyielding, and she felt a trickle of fear. Would he refuse? Would he decide she wasn’t worth the trouble?

But then, his arms closed around her, pulling her close and deepening the kiss shamelessly. Danni sighed happily when they finally broke free. A huge smile split his face.

“I love you, Danni.”

“I love you too, my beast.”

Marcus’s hands stroked her flaming cheeks. “You certainly know how to make a man listen, little one.” His gaze flickered about them, his green gaze dancing with laughter. “Rather spectacularly so.”

She scanned their audience, noting several collapsed women being revived with bottles of smelling salts by their companions. Danni felt herself flush. “I do, don’t I?”

“I have one question…”

“Anything.”

“Was that a proposal?”

She shrugged. “If you’d like it to be. I’m improvising here.”

He groaned with mock horror. “It will be a miracle if we reach the altar. Your last stint at improvising nearly killed me.”

“As I seem to recall, that fiasco was all your fault.”

“Mine?” He whispered furiously, “You’re the one who runs a business for that sort of thing.”

“Not for much longer. My father demands that I shut it down.”

A discreet cough interrupted. The two turned simultaneously to find the baron, lips turned in a disapproving glare. Her heart halted for a moment, afraid he’d cause a scene objecting to her choice of husband. Then she noticed the glow of happiness lurking in his eyes. Her eyes burned. For the first time since her mother died, her father looked himself again.

“Seems as if I raised quite the eccentric young woman,” he declared to the ballroom.

Marcus chuckled softly as Danni shot her father a murderous look.
So much for our sentimental moment.

The baron took a small sip from his champagne glass. The movement was oddly proper, as if he was trying to erase the scandal her scene had no doubt caused.

She could only nod politely, hyperaware of all the eyes on them.

His gaze shifted from her to Marcus, assessing him from head to foot. After a moment, his gaze returned to her. “Are you absolutely certain about this, Danielle?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation.

The Baron of Seaton sighed and muttered softly, “Best make the most of this, then.”

Turning towards the scandalized crowd, he lifted his glass again. “It would seem I have an announcement. Three cheers to my daughter, the Honorable Miss Danielle Strafford, recently engaged to Marcus Bradley, Marquis of Fleetwood.”