Chapter 21

Dominic watched Christopher and Marie from across the table as she laughed at one of his jokes. His grandmother had insisted Marie sit next to his friend as it would have been impolite to seat Dominic beside someone he already knew so well.

He speared his fork into the thinly sliced roast beef and chewed begrudgingly.

"How are you enjoying the food, Lady Webster?" Elizabeth turned to her guest with a smile and sipped her wine.

Realizing that she was being spoken to, Marie turned away from Christopher, her cheeks pink from laughing. "It is very good, thank you, Your Grace. I don't think that I have ever had such succulent meat before." She lifted her knife and fork and cut off a piece of the meat.

"Good to hear it, I keep a very tight grasp on all the goings on of the mansion. I will teach you how to do it when you are a lady here. You must not let them get away with anything, or they will run wild. The butler presented me with the meat that was to be served this evening, and it didn't meet my standards. I made them go straight out and shoot a fresh deer." Elizabeth winked at Marie over the rim of her glass.

Dominic watched as Marie's blush deepened; she didn't seem to shy away from his grandmother referring to her as the future lady of the house, yet she corrected him every time he mentioned it.

"You know you shouldn't be drinking so much wine; it can't be good for your ailing joints." Elaine popped a piece of steamed asparagus into her mouth and chewed daintily.

"And you should consider opening a practice if you know so much. I will take your advice on salves, but I will not have you interfering with my drink, thank you very much." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at Marie's grandmother before taking another sip.

The butler smirked from the corner of the room with his hands behind his back. It wasn't often that anyone dared speak against the dowager, yet the two older women seemed to have built a strange kind of rapport with one another. They were worlds apart in character and social standing yet so similar in many other ways.

Marie lifted her glass and gingerly sipped before glancing at Dominic from across the table.

His heart skittered at the breathtakingly beautiful hue of her eyes. Something about the candlelight and the sapphire dress brought out the lightness in her eyes. They were almost hauntingly green as she laughed at something Christopher said. The sound traveled to his ears and captivated him, much like the first time he had heard her laugh.

There was something freeing in the lightness of the sound that made him want to hear it for the rest of his life.

Elaine interrupted their banter. "You know, Christopher, Marie feeds the homeless animals of London every Sunday all on her own. Perhaps you could use some of your connections in parliament to get more people involved. Funding could help her efforts greatly."

"Grandmamma, let's not impose upon Mr. Wyre's good nature. We've only just met him." She turned to him with a warm smile. "Please don't feel obligated to do anything at all. It's only a hobby." She sipped her wine and placed it back beside her plate before eating again.

The sound of Christopher's name on her lips grated on Dominic's nerves, causing a muscle in his jaw to jump.

"That sounds intriguing; there are a few of the members of parliament whose wives care greatly for the wellbeing of animals. I'm sure there is at least something that could be done if I put in a word. I'm not promising anything, but I'm sure we will be able to garner interest."

Dominic's jaw clenched in anger when Marie's face suddenly lit up.

"Do you honestly think that you could? I have gotten most of the small businesses involved; everyone donates scraps, but we could honestly do so much more if others cared." Her eyes sparkled with wonder as she turned to Dominic with a stunned expression.

His heart clenched again at the look of happiness on her face.

"That would be a wonderful thing if you can manage it." Dominic raised his glass begrudgingly and exchanged a look with his friend. It didn't sit well with him that Marie seemed to have taken quite a liking to him, but he wasn't about to deny her an opportunity when he knew how happy it would make her.

"Oh, I think I can more than manage it." Christopher's smirk challenged him as his friend lifted his glass and shot him a look of bemusement.

"Have you ever thought about advocating for the soldiers, Elaine Webster? Wars would be won if all of the generals were as forward as you are," Elizabeth asked then directed her attention back to her plate and cut off a piece of fatty meat before taking a bite.

"And all of us would be dead if we ate as you do, but now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind taking up a position as a general. I know I would last longer than you would," Elaine shot back before taking a small sip from her glass.

"Huh! If you ate like I did, then you wouldn't look like a scarecrow that's just wandered in from the fields!" Elizabeth practically snorted with derision as she sawed off another piece of meat.

Wine spilled over the rim of her glass as Marie choked mid-sip.

Dominic failed to hide his smirk as he listened to the lively banter. Although his grandmother's comments were more than just a little inappropriate, he rather enjoyed seeing the women challenge one another.

Elaine tilted her head back and burst into a fit of laughter that had them all joining in. "You know I haven't ever come across someone as free as I am with my thoughts; it's refreshing to be in such honest company."

"And I can't recall the last time I've been around another woman who doesn't care whether or not the glass she is drinking from is real crystal or not. We should get together more often," Dominic's grandmother nodded in approval.

"You should come for tea at our home; it would do you good to see how real people live. I'll even have you make the tea yourself, expose you to a useful skill that doesn't involve you barking orders." Elaine's eyes sparkled with delight as she offered the invitation.

"I shall look forward to it, but only if you promise to come with me to Hyde Park. I will show you off to all of my friends like a sort of pet."

It was Dominic's turn to choke on his wine as droplets of red liquid sprayed the white linen.

The older women carried on unperturbed, ignoring the horrified expressions on the others' faces.

"I shall be delighted, Your Grace." Elaine seemed satisfied with their little arrangement and turned back to her plate.

Christopher seemed utterly amused as he placed a forkful of meat in his mouth. "Well, I hope to be invited to more of these little dinners. If the conversation and company is as delightful as this evening, then I am sure I shall have a good time." He winked at Marie who offered him a pleasant smile in return.

Feeling his anger rising again, Dominic met her gaze from across the table. He wanted the dinner to end so that he could speak to her alone. There were things that he wanted to clear up before she responded to his proposal. The sinking feeling that she was ultimately going to reject him gnawed at the back of his mind.

Lifting his leg, he shifted back in his seat and searched for her foot, taking in the gentle surprise in her eyes when he brushed her ankle with his instep.

Marie parted her lips and gave him a questioning look.

Surely, she's attracted to me.

He felt his confidence rising again when her breathing deepened, evident by the subtle rise and fall of her chest. His confidence was short-lived when she turned back to Christopher to answer a question.

She may be attracted to me, but that doesn't mean that she wants to marry me.

He observed her as she listened intently to something that Christopher was saying. He could give her the life of her dreams, even allow her to keep her shop if that would fill her time as his wife. Yet the only thing he couldn't give her was the one thing that he was sure she wanted.

Children.

Marie pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders as she stared out over the vast grounds of the estate. The beauty did little to lift her mood as she thought of the difficult conversation that lay ahead.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Christopher almost startled her as he came up from behind and handed her a glass of champagne. "I didn't mean to scare you; it just seemed as if you could use some company."

She offered him a warm smile before accepting the glass. "There's no need to apologize; I was just wrapped up in my thoughts."

"Hence the penny." He shot her another charming smile before taking a sip and leaning against the stone banister.

"I'm afraid my thoughts are worth a great deal more than that. Have my grandmother and Her Grace settled down yet?" She looked over his shoulder at the empty dining room. The group had decided to end the evening with a nightcap before heading home.

"I doubt those two will ever settle." He glanced at Marie. "They're both quite feisty. They will start a war if they are left to their own devices for too long."

Marie giggled despite the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt comfortable around Christopher, as if he were a trusted brother or a cousin, yet the knowledge of facing Dominic plagued her mind. "I think I have to agree with you. The combination could prove to be quite deadly if we aren't careful."

Christopher turned his back to the banister and leaned on the stone with his elbows. "So, tell me, why is it that you are fighting the Duke's proposal? I know it's not for lack of being attracted to him."

Marie almost choked again before lowering the glass. "That was quite to the point."

"Let us not play coy with one another, Miss Webster. It wasn't my pretty face that got me my position in parliament. I can be very observant when I want to be. For instance, the fact that you paid little to no attention to my flirting all evening while you couldn't keep your eyes away from Dominic was fairly evident to me." He offered her a teasing smile.

Marie felt her heart warming even more to him. "You know that your flirting was bothering Dominic; you were doing it to see if he would be jealous."

"My favorite hobby is getting a rise out of him. Dominic can be the epitome of a gentleman and one of the most loyal friends that anyone could ask for, but the poker in his spine does provide me with an endless amount of entertainment. I can see that your reputation of being shrewd precedes you as well." He straightened and lifted his glass to her in a toast.

"One has to be observant when looking for suitable matches." She wondered if Christopher would ever allow her to find a match for him. He was charming and kind enough to make any woman a fine husband.

Yet I can't stop thinking of the Duke.

Her heart fluttered as she realized just how often her mind wandered to him. He occupied her thoughts more often than anyone else ever had.

"You know I was concerned about this change in behavior these past few weeks, but it all makes sense to me now. I can't say what his motives in pursuing you were at the start, but I can say that they surprise me now. I never thought I would see the day." His lips curled into a lazy smile as he stared past her head at the darkness engulfing the land.

She felt her mind filling with curiosity. "What are those motives?" She gripped the ends of her shawl and wrapped them tighter around her shoulders. A cool breeze was beginning to pick up.

Christopher seemed shocked by her question as he frowned for a split second and then smiled. "Do you truly not know?"

Her pulse quickened as she thought of his insinuation.

Is he insinuating, or do I want it to be the truth?

"Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself. I didn't take into consideration that you hadn't realized either. I will say this though, I have never seen Dominic so enthralled with a lady as he is now. There is something to that." He pursed his lips conspiratorially and winked at her.

"I don't understand, and I'm not a lady," she called after him when he gathered their glasses and began to make his way inside.

"Not yet, but you could be, and I would ask Dominic directly if you have any questions." He laughed under his breath before disappearing around a corner.

I still don't understand.

Her head spun with confusion as she shook her head. Everyone seemed to know far more about the situation than she did. Why was she not seeing what everyone else around her seemed to be seeing? Her grandmother seemed to think that they would make a brilliant match, and even his grandmother seemed accepting of her.

She heaved a sigh and walked inside, jumping slightly when she came face to face with Dominic.

"Will you walk with me?" He held out his hand and met her gaze with a veiled expression.

Marie couldn't tell what he was thinking when he closed his fingers around hers, guiding her from the dining room and out the front doors. Had he seen Christopher leaving the balcony, and if so, did he think that anything had happened between them? The dark look that had lingered in his eyes made the pit of her stomach coil as the cool evening air kissed her skin.

They were headed down a dark path that seemed to lead into the blackness of the night sky.