Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

“Marina,” Uncle Josiah called in a rather stern voice as they awaited their carriage for the ride back home. Before he could continue, however, Nancy appeared in front of him, causing him to switch his stern tone to a softer tone, as he congratulated Nancy on her successful endeavors of the evening.

“I’m sorry, Mama,” Marina said, walking toward her mother. Her mother stood in silence, keeping her gaze in front of her as she waited for the carriage. “I’m sorry tonight didn’t go as well as planned.”

“How about the man you danced with? It was a marquess you said?” Marina’s mother asked.

“But, Mama, I really don’t like him,” Marina replied, the thought of the man slightly repulsing her. Besides, he ventured off quickly after the dance, not showing much interest either.

“It’s not about who you like,” was all her mother hissed before returning her gaze to the approaching carriages. “You aren’t in a position to be picky regarding men. They are the ones who choose you and you accept their decision, regardless of whether they are ‘dreamy’ or not.”

“I think he intended to have a dance with Nancy rather than me,” Marina commented. She didn’t want to admit it to anyone, but felt compelled to defend herself. “The current daughter of the Earl of Lyford is far more interesting than the mourning daughter of the late one.”

The carriage ride home was silent. This deafening silence gave Marina plenty of time to think, but every thought became more pessimistic than the previous. How was she to find a good man who didn’t completely repulse her? Even worse, why were the repulsing ones not showing interest for more than three minutes? The tiniest crumb of male attention came from the Duke of Darrington, and he’d already fixed himself upon Nancy.

By the time they arrived back at Lyford House, Marina had sickened herself with thought. She thought that if she had enjoyed just a couple more glasses of the pungent punch she might’ve returned home in a more content state of mind.

After putting on her night gown and struggling to untangle her hair, Marina found herself restless and unable to fall asleep. Josiah had Marina moved to the lower floor’s open room, the only resident to linger at the bottom of Lyford House. Lonely in her setting, she didn’t hesitate to move up the stairs. Drifting through the corridors, she spotted candlelight subtly flickering from within Nancy’s room. Marina stepped wordlessly into the room to lay down on the chaise lounge that was tucked into the corner. Nancy’s eyes followed her cousin who intruded unannounced into her bedroom.

“Well, the Duke of Darrington had a rather fixed eye on you tonight, wouldn’t you say?” Marina asked Nancy, stretching herself out to find a comfortable position. Nancy’s cheeks started to flush, her lips curling into a shy smile.

“Yes, he was quite a charming gentleman,” Nancy said, her voice carrying a touch of bashfulness. “He is quite interesting.” Marina noticed Nancy was being careful with her choice of words and couldn’t help but wonder if Frederic Lambourne still lingered in her mind.

“Do excuse me if this is too personal, but have you been able to leave behind your crush on Frederic? I know you were quite fond of him,” Marina asked carefully, not wanting to upset her cousin with old memories. The blush started to fade from Nancy’s cheeks. She turned to Marina with a saddened expression and a hopeless sigh.

“Oh, Frederic. He was such a dear man and I swore we would’ve been perfect together, but Papa was always strongly opposed. Frederic doesn’t have the best station and Papa regarded him as lower class, so the day he came to ask to court me, Papa chased him away with his harsh ways and I haven’t seen him since. But I do still have the lingering thoughts of him in my mind. I can’t seem to erase it. Have you ever felt that way?”

Marina shook her head. “I’m sorry, Nancy, but my advice runs empty on that question. What I can promise you, however, is that you made a great impression tonight, despite being left unsure about Frederic. I just hope that whoever you court will provide you with a happy, fulfilling life,” Marina said, well aware that her words had the power to serve as a great comfort to Nancy.

“Frederic was truly so good to me,” Nancy said, her glance turning gloomier. “He is like a cherished melody people keep telling me to forget, even though I struggle to do so. If you love someone, you can’t just forget them in such a small amount of time.”

This made Marina think of her own mother, who couldn’t help but wallow in grief after her father’s death. Her mother and father were one of the rare instances she might proclaim to be true love, but now her mother was in a shattered state. That made her feel an even deeper empathy toward Nancy, as she couldn’t even say that Frederic had passed away; he was simply shunned for his attempt to love a girl.

“But that will have to be left in the past. The duke is a really charming man that Papa would approve of,” Nancy said, quickly shifting her thoughts away from her past heartbreak. “What did you think about him, Marina? Wasn’t he intriguing?”

“Oh, he sure was,” Marina replied, thinking about the odd, prolonged stare they shared between them. “Intriguing is a good term to describe your duke.”

“He isn’t mine quite just yet, but I hope something comes out of tonight. I think it’ll please my mama and papa, and the duke is admittedly good looking,” Nancy commented, her eyes shining a little as she spoke about him. Marina couldn’t deny that the duke was striking and a pleasant sight, but she just chuckled about it with Nancy.

“How about you? Were you able to find any good options tonight?” Nancy asked. Marina was unsure if Nancy asked this question with good intentions, but it hurt nonetheless. She didn’t want to appear disappointed, so she opted to answer in a joking manner.

“Oh my, I had to run from this strange Marquess. He’s a bit old, but mostly he had an odd smell to him that I couldn’t stand. I think he threw me off my tracks a bit, tonight,” Marina laughed, raising herself from the chaise lounge to avoid further conversing about her failure to find a suitor.

“You’ll find one, I’m sure,” Nancy mindlessly replied. Marina took this as a signal for her to go back to her own bedroom. She left Nancy after biding her goodnight. Marina passed a mirror placed in the corridor, the candlelight reflecting on her chestnut hair. She couldn’t help but comfort herself with the words that Leilah had said prior to the ball.

“You look like a Grecian goddess,”Marina silently repeated in her head.

She tried not to bother herself with unwanted thoughts anymore, and instead, made an active attempt to fall asleep.

The next morning, Marina awoke to the buzz of excited voices somewhere in the house. Still in her nightgown, she ventured toward the source of the excited shrieks and was met with a rather flushed-looking Nancy.

“Oh, Marina! I received quite an exciting letter from the Duke of Darrington! He asked to visit later today. Papa is currently arranging a letter to confirm his visit. Oh, isn’t this just exciting!” Nancy exclaimed, practically jumping on Marina as she shared the news. Marina was still fighting her way to full consciousness, but was able to give Nancy a proper congratulations before retreating to her room. Breakfast was in less than an hour, and her uncle wasn’t forgiving with any late arrivals.

After breakfast and a short walk through the garden, Marina noticed the evening approaching at a quicker pace than she expected. Before she knew it, everyone was sat in the drawing room awaiting the guest.

Griffin walked into the drawing room, removing his hat from his head to reveal the dark brown curls beneath.

“Your Grace, thank you for coming,” Uncle Josiah said in a rather nervous tone. Marina found it funny that Uncle Josiah sounded more nervous than the duke.

“My lord, it is my greatest pleasure to visit the Lyford House and all of its amazing inhabitants. Thank you for the kind welcome into your home,” the duke responded with an even tone and a large smile. Marina couldn’t help but find him slightly suspicious. He resembled a character in a book far more than an actual human being. He was almost too perfect for any of his acts to be considered real.

“Oh, what kind compliments you bring over,” Charlotte chipped in, making her way closer to the duke. “Come, have a seat.”

Requests for tea and pastries were taken by the kitchen maid before the room fell into complete silence.

Griffin stood up, taking a slight pause before facing Uncle Josiah. “My lord,” he started, his tone measured and deliberate. “I’ve come here today with a matter of great importance I wish to discuss with you.”

Marina was afraid Nancy’s heart might jump from her chest as she saw the anticipation eagerly grow on her face.

“My lord, your word holds all the weight and importance in this household,” Griffin continued, taking a brief pause as he faced Uncle Josiah. “Pray, continue,” Uncle Josiah responded.

“I have come with sincere intentions to court Miss Nancy,” he finally said, taking an annoyingly large number of pauses between sentences, according to Marina.

A silence fell upon the room and Nancy’s eye started to gain a tearful glimmer. For a moment it worried Marina, until she was able to see the accompanying smile that Nancy gave the duke. Nancy was in a state of pure happiness that she had to keep toned down in this setting.

“Your Grace, as you know, Nancy’s future and happiness is of the utmost importance to us. I sincerely appreciate your heartfelt honesty and respect. Therefore, I will allow you to court my dear Nancy,” Uncle Josiah responded in a rather monotone voice.

With that, the duke looked at Nancy, who was grinning from ear to ear. “Miss Nancy, would you allow me the pleasure of entering a courtship with you?” Nancy took about half a breath before responding, “Why, of course!”

Marina smiled at this moment that had so happily come across Nancy’s life, but she couldn’t help but feel a slight tinge of jealousy.

The conversation in the drawing room continued mostly between Uncle Josiah and the Duke of Darrington. Marina, however, was only able to listen to their conversation for about half an hour before feeling bored. She decided to retrieve her needlepoint from her room to keep her occupied.

She politely excused herself for a minute, leaving the drawing room and slowly walked down the corridor, prolonging the time she could spend outside of the drawing room. She took her needlepoint set from inside a drawer at her bedside.

It was a busy design with a bunch of pink, purple, and blue hydrangeas that she had forgotten about for a while. She took the work with her as she returned to the drawing room. But she was so busy staring up at the paintings scattered across the wall, in a bid to prolong her return, that she barely noticed the man standing before her.

“Miss Marina,” Griffin said as he met her in the hallway. He was unaccompanied, leaving Marina confused as to where he was headed.

“Your Grace. Excuse me, I didn’t notice your exit from the drawing room,” Marina said after recovering from the fright he gave her.

“No worries, Miss,” was all Griffin said, but he still stood in front of Marina.

“Might I be able to help with anything?” Marina asked, growing more curious as to his unaccompanied walk through the corridor.

“No, no, I’m quite all right. I just can’t help but admire the beautiful interior of the home. Your father did a great job with the Lyford House,” he commented, waving a hand around to indicate the vastness of Marina’s home.

She was surprised he knew this had indeed been her father’s work.

“I must get back to the drawing room, but might I inquire where you might be going?” Marina asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Griffin smiled at her still not responding to her question.

“Well, a true gentleman accompanies a pretty lady to her destination, so might I do the honor?” he asked, stretching out his hand in front of her to allow her to walk in front of him. Marina was shocked that he called her a “pretty lady”, but walked ahead of him, nonetheless.

They silently walked back to the drawing room, but just before the entrance, he stopped in his tracks, leaving only Marina to enter. Uncle Josiah turned around expecting to see Griffin, but looked rather disappointed to see Marina, instead.

She took her seat beside her mother, taking out her needlepoint to continue her hydrangeas. Yet, the duke waltzing down the corridor stuck in her mind and made her both curious and suspicious about him. What was he doing?

Before she could contemplate his actions further, a loud bang rang in Marina’s ears, followed by a shatter.