Chapter Twelve

Martha tried to read the passage in her book for what was now the third time, only to find herself barely taking in the words. She had attempted to take some time to sit alone, reading with a cup of tea on the table beside her, but try as she might, her thoughts continued towards Lord Granton. She could not seem to remove him from her mind, to the point that even the book she was reading was not enough to capture her.

Sighing, she set the book down and picked up her cup of tea, taking a sip of it and hoping that the thought of Lord Granton would soon pass. Yes, he had been defensive of her, to the point that she had found herself quite overwhelmed by just how kind he had been to her in front of the others present. Lady Kelling had been sharp in her words and icy in her demeanour and yet Lord Granton had come swiftly to Martha's defence. The way he had spoken to Lady Kelling, the way that he had practically demanded that she did not speak in such a way again, had made Martha's heart leap with a gentle delight.

And that troubled her.

"My lady?"

Martha started in surprise, seeing the footman at the door with an apologetic expression on his face.

"I knocked but… forgive me." He inclined his head but Martha waved one hand.

"No, no, it is quite all right. What is it?"

"You have a visitor, my lady. Miss Stockton?"

Thrilled that her friend had come to call, Martha nodded and got to her feet, instructing the footman to bring another tea tray. When Miss Stockton came in, Martha hurried to greet her, finding a great relief in her friend's presence. "Oh, how glad I am to see you! Come in, come in!"

Miss Stockton smiled. "Goodness, what an effusive welcome! Are you quite all right?"

"I have just been thinking about Lord Granton," Martha explained, sitting back down beside her friend. "My thoughts have been rather tormented, in fact, so I am very glad to see you. You can distract me!"

Miss Stockton's eyes glimmered. "You were thinking of Lord Granton?"

Hearing the note of curiosity, Martha laughed and shook her head. "No, no, that is not what I mean. I am not distracted by his handsomeness or his flirtations – though none of the latter has been offered to me, you understand."

"Then what?"

Briefly, Martha told her friend all that had taken place the previous day, in connection with Lord and Lady Kelling as well as Lord Billington. "He told me afterwards that it was done so that society would believe the charade we are presenting to them, but I found myself greatly appreciative of it regardless. I did express that to him but he brushed it off."

"I see." Miss Stockton looked back at her steadily. "And now that is making you think well of him?"

Martha hesitated, relieved when the tea tray was brought in so she could have a few more minutes merely considering what her friend had asked. "I do not think well of him, no," she said, slowly. "How could I? He is just as much a rogue as he has ever been, though he now hides that with a guise of commitment and devotion. It is only that I found myself wondering as to why he would be so very defensive of me. After all, what Lady Kelling said was quite true." She reached to pour the tea, recalling how Lord Granton had looked down at her with those clear blue eyes of his, his dark hair falling lightly over his forehead – and how she had felt herself soften inwardly towards him.

"If I were you, I would just take it as he has said," Miss Stockton said, as Martha handed her a cup of tea. "He says it was to promote the story you want everyone to believe and I would simply accept that. You know very well that Lord Granton wants to be nothing but admired by all of society, that he wants to flirt and tease and capture as many ladies as he can. Therefore, you cannot take anything that he says or does with any great amount of seriousness."

Martha found herself a little deflated at her friend's words, though they did speak of truth. She frowned heavily, biting the edge of her lip as she nodded slowly. "You are quite right," she admitted, picking up her tea. "I confess that my heart did warm to him a little after he had said such things but now that I have told you of it and you have spoken with such wisdom, I realise that I was foolish."

"You were not and are not foolish," Miss Stockton stated, firmly. "It is a very peculiar situation and you must be on your guard."

Martha sipped at her tea. "On my guard?"

"Against any… well, against any feelings that the Marquess might bring up within your heart," Miss Stockton explained, a slight flush in her cheeks. "I do not want to tell you what to do and mayhap you are already aware of this but given the sort of gentleman he is and the sort of things he is used to doing, he might very well attempt to encourage your own affections to rise. He will have no real use for you, of course, but given that he is currently unable to flirt with any other young lady, it may well be that he chooses to set his attentions upon you instead."

"I do not think he would do such a thing." Martha shook her head and set her tea down. "We are doing our best to end the engagement, not prolong it."

"Ah, but you are also seeking to play a part, are you not? You must appear to delight in his attentions, though you need not proclaim yourself in love with him, of course. That is his requirement, not yours."

"Because otherwise, no gentleman will think that he has even a chance of success if I declare myself as devoted to him as he seems to be to me," Martha said slowly, as her friend nodded. "You are quite right, Anna." Closing her eyes for a moment, she let out a small sigh. "I am much too caught up with thinking about what his words to me meant. I ought not to be doing any such thing. Instead, I ought to be thinking about which gentlemen I might be able to convince to consider me."

"Precisely." Miss Stockton did not smile, however, but leaned forward in her chair, looking hard at Martha. "You must be on your guard, my dear friend. I can see a slight softness about your eyes when you speak of the Marquess and I would not like to see you with your heart broken."

Martha wanted to tell her friend that she had no such concerns in that regard, that there was not any softness about her heart for the Marquess, but choosing to stay truthful rather than covering herself with lies, she merely remained silent.

"He is unused to being a gentleman devoted to one young lady," Miss Stockton continued, when Martha said nothing. "His flirtations and his charms are now all going to be directed solely upon you and you must be able to withstand them. You must not permit yourself to think of him in any other way but that he is: a rogue masquerading as a gentleman."

Folding her hands in her lap, Martha offered Miss Stockton a small smile. "I thank you for your caution," she said, quietly. "It is offered in friendship and I am grateful for your concern for me." She winced. "I had not thought about what he would do in that regard. I see now that there is certainly a danger there. I will be more aware of it now." Inwardly, Martha berated herself for letting her thoughts linger on Lord Granton, relieved that Miss Stanton had come to talk to her at the very same time as she had been fighting to remove him from her mind. I must remind myself that he is dangerous, Martha told herself, reaching to pour more tea for Miss Stanton and herself. And I must do all that I can to protect my heart.