Chapter 12

M arina awoke alone in her bed, groggily looking around as she tried to recall what happened the previous night.

Aaron.

Heat suddenly flooded her cheeks as she spotted the silk scarf lying beside the bed. Her body had created a fine melody beneath the onslaught of his touches, yet he had left her again.

Confusion filled her mind as she sucked her lips between her teeth and wondered what had made him stop. There had to be something that made him withdraw, they had both been so in tune with one another until the very end.

There has to be something I am doing wrong…

Her mind reeled will all kinds of possibilities until her mind finally landed on Adam.

The doors to her chambers swung open, revealing a bright-eyed Isolde who came bounding into the room with a stack of fresh linen. "Good morning Your Grace," she chirped in a sing-song voice.

Having become used to the girl's wild and somewhat untamable ways, Marina rolled over and sat up straight. "Good morning, Isolde, has the breakfast been set already?"

"It has, Your Grace. His Grace has already eaten and gone for a ride, but breakfast and a fresh pot of tea are waiting for you in the breakfast room." She placed the stack of fresh linen on the dresser and looked around the room.

"Oh." Hope sank in Marina's chest as she had thought that Aaron would be waiting for her. Everything had changed for her in the space of one evening, yet nothing seemed to have changed for him.

"Were you planning on wearing your scarf this morning, Your Grace?" Isolde made her way toward the garment and picked it up.

Thinking quickly, Marina bit her lips, praying that she would not blush. "Yes, I am afraid I got a bit carried away last night when I was going through my dresses." Images of Aaron's body flashed across her mind in a dirty flurry.

Isolde did not seem to think anything strange as she carried the scarf back to the dresser before folding it neatly.

Feeling as if she had dodged a bullet, Marina decided to change the subject. "Isolde, do you know His Grace's brother, Mr. Adam Marner?"

The maid frowned at the strange question, busying herself with her back to Marina before responding. "Of course, Your Grace. Mr. Marner used to live here when I first started as a maid."

"Good, I have only met him briefly, once before we were supposed to get married, and once after I married the duke. What can you tell me of his character and the relationship with His Grace?" Marina swung her legs from the bed and flung the sheets aside, not caring that she was naked. Isolde had seen her naked so many times when she bathed that it hardly mattered at present.

Isolde seemed thoughtful for a moment before turning around and fetching the robe. "I am afraid that it would not be proper for me to venture an opinion on either of those questions, Your Grace." She held the robe out to Marina as she stood and slipped her arms in.

Now she wants to be proper.

Marina felt a wave of frustration come over her. The girl had ventured far worse opinions over subjects that did not concern her even in the slightest. Yet the relationship between Aaron and his brother was off-limits. "You do not have to give me your opinion, Isolde. I was just wondering if you knew about their falling out?"

"I can't say that I do, Your Grace. Both His Grace and Mr. Marner are very private men. They like to keep their affairs to themselves." She seemed a little stiffer than any of the previous times when the girl had let her mouth run away with her.

"Really? Mr. Marner does not strike me as the kind of man who keeps too many of his affairs private. I heard rumors of his rakish ways even before we were to get married." Aaron was by nature a very private and brooding man, yet the image was hard to place upon Adam.

The maid pursed her lips into a stiff smile. "That is why I said, Your Grace, that I could not venture an opinion. I am but a maid, these kinds of things are not for the likes of me. Servants like to gossip, but I have always been a bit of a pariah in this house."

Marina examined her face closely before taking a seat in front of her mirror. Isolde was right in a way; she was far too much of an outcast among the other servants because of her lack of propriety. If there was any gossip, then she was sure that none of them would have shared it with Isolde. "I suppose you are right, I just wanted to know a bit more about the man I married."

The girl's body seemed to relax a bit as she came up behind Marina and began to fix her hair. "That is only natural, Your Grace."

A sudden idea occurred to her as she watched the girl fixing her hair. "I know, I think I should invite Mr. Marner to stay with us for a while, perhaps I can mend the fences between them."

Isolde gasped as she dropped the brush on the carpet before mumbling something about being too clumsy and retrieving the brush.

"What do you think of the idea?" Marina asked her gently when she came up straight.

"I beg your pardon, Your Grace?" She went back to combing a loose strand of hair.

"I want to invite His Grace's brother over to stay for a while. It may just be the thing to heal their broken relationship if they are forced to spend more time together."

Taking a deep breath, Isolde forced a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. "I can understand why you would think that, Your Grace, but it may not be the best of ideas. Although I do not know too much about the relationship between His Grace and Mr. Marner, I do know that their competitiveness reached a dangerous point. Mr. Marner has not stayed here at the mansion since the passing of the late duke."

Her words struck a chord with Marina as she wondered what had happened. She knew that Aaron's scars had come from a battle, he had said as much. Yet she could not understand why he would be willing to talk about that, and not the situation with his brother.

"Be that as it may, I think that having someone like me to intervene, they may be able to place their differences aside." She offered her maid a reassuring nod in the mirror.

"As you say, Your Grace. One never knows what may happen. I am sure that Mr. Marner would appreciate an invitation either way." She finished trying Marina's hair in a bow and proceeded to fetch her garments from the dresser.

I think it is a very good idea. Perhaps it is his bad relationship with his brother that does not let Aaron be happy.

She began to make plans for all the ways that she would throw her husband and his brother together. She would have all three of them eat together for every meal, whether Aaron approved of it or not.

Surely, there was no way that her plan could fail.

"What are you doing here?" Aaron glared at his brother over breakfast the following day.

"I received an invitation from your lovely wife. Perhaps she has tired of your company." Adam offered him a triumphant grin before tucking into his kippers.

Turning to Marina, Aaron shot her an expectant look, raising his eyebrow in a question.

Marina quickly came to her feet, pushing her chair aside as she smiled at him. "I thought it might be a nice idea to have your brother over for a while. The two of you did seem to enjoy your spirited match of badminton."

Aaron clenched his fingers into fists at his sides, there was no way that she could have known what was truly going on between them. Yet he could not risk telling her the truth without going into great detail.

"I hope you do not mind?" She asked him more gently after a brief pause.

"Of course, he does not mind. Do you, big brother?" Adam winked in her direction before aiming the question at Aaron.

The grimace of displeasure that spread over her lips before she could hide it gave Aaron a great deal of pleasure as he pulled his chair back to sit.

At least she seems immune to his charms.

"How long will you be staying?" He grunted at Adam before pulling a loaf of bread and cheese closer to his plate.

"As long as the lady of the house wishes me to stay." Adam shot him another challenging look before sipping his mug of ale.

"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking?" Aaron shot back, wishing he had forbidden his wife from inviting any of their relatives to stay. The situation of siring an heir was already complicated enough between them without having to deal with Adam.

Licking his lips, Adam took another sip. "You may find that a glass of ale in the mornings loosens you up, something you are sorely in need of, brother."

"Being too loose can be something of a problem at times. You would know that if you had any real responsibility in life." Aaron lost his appetite as he dropped a chunk of bread into his plate.

Marina intervened by clearing her throat. "I was thinking that a picnic might be nice this afternoon. The weather is perfect, possibly even for a walk around the estate?" she offered cheerfully.

"Adam is not to be trusted to roam the estates, even with witnesses." He responded a little too sharply. Even from the corner of his eye, Aaron could tell that Marina winced at his rebuke.

"Come now, Aaron, a picnic is a good idea. It would also be a good opportunity to challenge each other to a good hunt! Or have you lost confidence in your aim after all of these years?"

Aaron's body suddenly froze as he looked into his brother's eyes. "I do not think that either of us needs reminding of the last time guns were involved." His voice dripped to a dangerously low tone.

Adam's dark eyes clouded over with a look that Aaron could not decipher. There seemed to be something lingering there, whether it was shame, resentment, or even pride, Aaron could not tell.

"Shit!" The deep squawk broke through the awkward silence.

"I thought I said that the bird is to be kept downstairs." Aaron turned to Marina with an angry frown, listening to the noise coming from the parlor beside the dining room.

Marina opened her mouth to respond, but Adam cut her off.

"Come off of it, Aaron, I was the one who brought the bird upstairs. I went downstairs and found him absolutely fascinating. A gem like that should not be kept hidden from the rest of the world." His smile broadened as the bird let out a slurry of cusses."

"Shit! Shit! Bloody bastard!"

"For heaven's sake, does that bird know anything other than those words?" Aaron rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Well, he did know a very lovely lullaby before the new baron came to live with us. That might still be in there somewhere." Marina offered with an apologetic shrug.

Throwing his head back, Adam let out a laugh from deep within his chest, shaking his head when he caught his breath. "Where is your sense of humor, Aaron? I will adopt the bird from Marina if you really want to part ways with it."

"Marina? I did not realize that you and the duchess were on a first-name basis already." Aaron glared at him, feeling a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach.

Jealousy?

He quickly shook off the thought and clenched his jaw.

"Well, maybe one of us should be, she is as you said, the new Duchess of Harper." Adam seemed to be challenging him as he shoveled a bite of kippers into his mouth.

"Maybe I should ki-"

"The scandal sheet that you requested, Sir." The atmosphere was growing quite tense when a footman suddenly entered the dining room with a tray. He bowed respectfully beside Adam and lowered the tray.

"Splendid, I was looking forward to this." Adam seemed to forget all about the standoff as he rubbed his hands together, allowing a few loose crumbs to fall back onto his plate.

"Do you really read those things?" Marina beat Aaron to the question as she sipped her tea.

"Of course, he does. I would not have expected any less from him," Aaron grumbled under his breath and shook his head in disgust.

Taking the sheet from the tray, Adam ignored them all as he opened to the very first page. "You need to start reading them yourself, brother. It might shock you to learn that there is more going on in the world than what happens behind your closed doors."

Aaron noted the look of concern in his wife's eyes as she looked at him carefully, watching his every move whenever Adam spoke. He began to wonder if she was laboring under some silly notion of unity by inviting his brother over to stay.

"Would you look at that! It seems as if some monster has been terrorizing one of the nearby villages. A young woman barely got away with her life the other day. It says here that he tried to attack her in the forest when she went to pick berries. What is this world coming to…" Adam shook his head and winked at Aaron before turning the page.

The blood in his veins suddenly froze as Aaron gripped the fork beside his plate. His face flushed hot with shame.

Monster?

He had saved that young girl from a fate worse than death, yet the sheet said that he had tried to attack her. Did his appearance count for more than his actions?

"That is ghastly, I wonder if anyone has caught this beast by now? Did it say what kind of monster it was? Was it a bear or a man?" A very visible shiver ran down her body as Marina clutched at her arms.

"Excuse me, I feel as if I have suddenly lost my appetite." Aaron stood and pushed the chair back with his knees, causing the legs to scrape over the floor.

"Your Grace?" Marina stood as Adam's eyes followed him out the door.

Picking up his pace, Aaron headed for his study. Had his brother done it on purpose? They were, after all, both in the village at the same time as the attack. He could have gotten wind of the gossip and ordered the scandal sheet for dramatic effect. Marina's invitation had more than likely come just in time for Adam to conveniently deliver the blow.

"Your Grace, would you please wait!" Marina caught up to him just as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"What is it?" He snapped as he turned around to face her.

Marina stopped breathlessly in front of him as she frowned. "I just wanted to know what had upset you so. Was it something that your brother had said, or the scandal sheet? I personally never read them. They carry far too much gossip and not enough truth."

His eyes searched her face as he wondered what she thought of him when she looked at his scar. Did she think of him as a monster like the girl he had saved in the forest?

"Your Grace, I only want to get to know you better." She took a step forward, reaching for his cheek.

Backing away sharply, he pushed her hand to the side. "You know me well enough to have married me. There is nothing more that needs to be said between us. Now if you would excuse me, there is some business that I need to attend to." He whirled around and took the steps two at a time, leaving Marina standing at the bottom of the stairs.

I just wish that they would all leave me alone.