Chapter 22

" I s your plan to build an ark? Is there a flood coming, or are you intending on kidnapping your wife and sailing away if she does not accept your apology?" Adam placed his hands on his hips and stared at the mess of timber scattered across the grass.

Placing his hands on his knees and coming up straight, Aaron dusted his palms together and smirked. "Marina has always wanted a menagerie. I am going to build her one, albeit a small one, but it is something to start. I will go over plans for a bigger one to be built while we are away on honeymoon."

"And what do you plan on placing inside this small one? A few rabbits?" Adam continued to tease his brother.

"Well, for starters, that bloody bird can fly around freely in this one. I can't wait for him to be out of my house," Aaron grumbled.

Henry VIII had taken to cursing whenever Aaron walked past the cage. He had decided to give them a few days to sort out the funeral for the Baron of Wallace before making his grand gesture of love.

Love.

The word felt utterly strange to him, even if he had not said it out loud.

Adam threw his hands up in the air. "In the poor bird's defense, he is trying his best. This morning, he said ‘whole' and I am taking that to mean a whole lot of progress." He finished triumphantly.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Aaron looked at his younger brother with pity. "I think you misheard, Adam. He has taken to calling the butler a ‘whore'. I think he picked it up from your conversations with the footmen."

Blushing ever so slightly, Adam drew his lips between his teeth, stifling his laughter.

"It is not funny you know. The poor man has served our family for decades. He is a proud man. As you can imagine, he has not taken kindly to being referred to as such. I have had to increase his wages in order for him tostay."

Adam burst out laughing before sobering up beneath Aaron's glares. "I admit that I may have crossed a boundary by suggesting some of the more prominent establishments to some of the men, but I would give anything to have seen the look on the old man's face. He has always been a sour puss."

Shaking his head out of exasperation, Aaron turned back to the piles of timber. "You can give me a hand out here since you have nothing better to do with your time." He stepped over the boxes of nails and hammers and gripped the one end of a plank.

Doing as he was asked; Adam joined in and began to help. "Tell me, if I help you build this, am I entitled to half of Marina's affections?"

"Not unless you want to end up living out here with your beloved bird," Aaron shot back.

Allowing the corner of his mouth to curl into a smile, Adam went about measuring the parameters of the menagerie.

Taking a moment to watch his brother, Aaron noted the sadness in his expression. "Is something bothering you?" He ventured a question while laying out the planks.

"You are lucky to have Marina. I am glad that the marriage worked out for you, do not bungle it up again when she comes back." Adam carried on with his task, the sadness still not leaving his eyes.

Pausing for a moment, Aaron cocked his head to the side. "Not that I am complaining, but why did you jilt her at the altar?"

Adam froze with his hands on a log, running his tongue over his lips. "I was going to marry her, but I realized that I could never give her everything that she deserved. I may be a bastard, Aaron but I would not marry a woman I could not love. Call me a fool, but I think marriage should at least be based on fondness."

Deciding to let things go, Aaron gave his brother some space and went about working on the entrance. He had never thought of his brother as a romantic gentleman, far from it. Adam had always been somewhat of a rake. Yet he had realized that Adam had not frequented the brothers since he had come back home.

"Your Grace, there is a letter for you."

The brothers looked up to see Marina's maid holding a silver tray with the letter. Her bright green eyes sought Adam for a moment before focusing on the duke.

Cleaning his hands on an old rag, Aaron came forward and took the letter from the tray, his pulse racing as he undid the wax seal.

To whom it may concern,

The funeral of the late Baron of Wallace shall be held in two days at the London chapel. A private morning service shall be held afterward for the friends and family.

Kind regards, the Wallace family.

A frown creased his brow as Aaron took note of the lack of sentiment. It had been addressed in such a formal manner that he was not even sure if Marina had written it. Or perhaps it meant that she had. The hurt look in her eyes on the night of the ball still haunted him. She had poured out her heart in defense of him, and he in turn had turned her away.

"Is it any news?" Adam interrupted his train of thought.

Placing the letter back on the tray, Aaron turned back to his task, leaving the maid where she was. "It is the notice for the funeral, it will be held in two days."

Adam nodded, resting his chin on top of the post he had planted.

"Will that be all, Your Grace?" Isolde asked stiffly, making Aaron frown. She had always been a jovial girl, yet her demeanor had changed quite drastically since Marina had left.

"You may bring us some tea in an hour." He dismissed her with a nod.

Isolde curtsied and turned, making her way back toward the house.

"She seems to be quite distracted since Marina left. I wonder if I should not send her there to be with her mistress." Aaron watched the maid leave, her bright blonde hair shining in the early morning sun.

Adam's gaze remained fixed on her back as he answered somewhat distractedly. "I think she will be fine, there is no use in sending her away now. Your wife will be home soon."

Shrugging in agreement, Aaron fixed his attention on the entranceway that was just beginning to take shape. There were only two days for him and Adam to pull off a miracle, yet he was determined to have it done by then.

Two days later in London…

Aaron and his brother stood across from Marina with her mother and sister as they stood outside the tiny chapel where the mourning service had been held.

Marina barely glanced at him as she held her younger sister's arm. Even in her black dress, Aaron found her to be the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen in his life.

"Well, I guess there is no use in carrying on with tea and sandwiches at home; it is just the five of us." Lady Wallace said with a sigh. She had barely shed a tear during the service, and Aaron had not blamed her. The way that the baron had treated them, he was lucky that the five of them had even shown up.

"Did you hear from the family solicitor?" Aaron attempted to engage Marina but found his question being answered by her mother.

"We did," Lady Wallace perked up considerably. "Not to be disrespectful to the dead, but things are looking much brighter than they were before. Cousin Alfred has already written to inform us of his intentions. Prudence and I are to be looked after until she marries, and even then, I will have a place for life."

Prudence blushed slightly and almost hid behind her older sister as she glanced at Adam.

"That is good news, Lady Wallace, will you be moving back into the family home? You are of course welcome to keep the house that I gifted, it is yours and Prudence's for life." He added quickly, not wanting to seem as if he were kicking them out.

"I would like to keep the house." Marina's head shot up, meeting Aaron's gaze for the very first time. The hurt that he saw in her eyes tore at his chest.

Allowing his gaze to linger on hers for a moment, Aaron continued. "Of course, you are welcome to keep the house, although I would like it if you would come back home." He spoke boldly, not caring that the others were there.

A flash of confusion passed over her eyes as Marina's brow furrowed. "I think I would like to stay here in London, even if my mother and sister move back to our family home."

The silence that filled the air between them was almost palpable, making Aaron wish he could take her in his arms.

Breaking the uncomfortable silence, Lady Wallace spoke up. "I am sure that there will be plenty of time for all of those arrangements. Shall we all go back to the house for some refreshments?"

Marina tore her eyes away from his face and looked down the street, placing her arm protectively around her sister's shoulders as if she were a shield between them.

"If you do not mind us taking over your plans, Lady Wallace, Aaron, and I have arranged a little surprise for you all back on the estate. We did anticipate a rather small turnout today and thought you would not mind." Adam spoke up when the awkward moment between Aaron and Marina continued.

She hates me.

Aaron swallowed hard, refusing to look away from his wife. He needed to show her how wrong he had been in sending her away, even if it meant that he would have to force her to look at him.

Brightening up considerably, Prudence let go of Marina's arm and rushed to her mother's side. "Oh, can we please, Mama?! I would love to have tea with Mr. Marner… I mean the duke and Mr. Marner." She corrected herself quickly, blushing furiously.

"I do not know, dearest. Your sister might be very tired after such a long morning…" Lady Wallace bit the inside of her cheek and looked at Marina for an answer.

The hesitation in her gaze was almost painful as she looked at her younger sister. "I guess it would be all right, but not for the entire afternoon."

A small sense of triumph flooded his chest as hope sprang up. She may have been hesitant, but at least she had not said no.

"Great, shall we split up then? I could join Lady Wallace and Prudence in their carriage while Marina rides with you." Adam clapped his hands together triumphantly.

"No," Marina spoke up quickly, cutting off her sister's squeal of delight. "I think it is best if I stay with Prudence and my mother. The men can ride in one carriage, and the ladies in another." She hurriedly explained when everyone gave her a strange look.

"If you are sure," Adam added unsurely, looking at Aaron.

Swallowing his pride, Aaron forced a smile. "Whatever makes the ladies comfortable, we will follow behind on our carriage."

Lady Wallace curtsied and pulled their youngest daughter toward their carriage.

"But, Mama, I wanted to travel with Mr. Marner," Prudence whined.

"Hush now, you are far too eager for a young lady who is not even out." Lady Wallace bustled her into the carriage, leaving Aaron and Marina alone with Adam.

"I will wait for you in the carriage." Adam quickly excused himself and hurried off before Marina could protest.

"I had better…." Marina tried to escape but found herself being held back by Aaron as he gripped her hand. Looking at their hands, she took a deep breath.

"Marina, I know that you do not want to talk to me right now, but please give me a chance to explain. There is so much that I need to say to you." He willed her to look up at him, feeling his heart break when tears formed in her eyes.

Letting out a shaky breath, Marina composed herself. "I do not wish to keep my mother and sister waiting, Your Grace. There is nothing left for us to discuss. I am keeping my end of the bargain; I suggest that you do yours." She pulled her hand away from his and headed toward the carriage without looking back.

Watching her leave, Aaron remained rooted to the spot, wondering if he had gone too far at the ball. The woman he had married refused to even look at him.

"That was hard to watch," Adam said softly after poking his head from the carriage.

"You were not supposed to be watching," Aaron grumbled and made his way over, climbing into the carriage when a footman opened a door.

"You can't expect me not to listen when you have gotten me so involved. I helped you build an entire menagerie for goodness' sake!" Adam teased.

Tapping the ceiling in the carriage, Aaron signaled for the footman to start. "It was just a small one, it does not have glass walls as it should."

"Glass, netting, either way, you owe me. That was fine craftsmanship if ever there was."