Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

“Ican’t be here alone with you,” Marina whispered, her eyes flaming with fire. The duke gave her a perplexed look, cocking his head to the side but remaining close to the entrance to prohibit her escape.

“Don’t you understand? This could ruin my reputation in an instant, and I’m not willing to throw my future away like that,” Marina said as she grabbed the hem of her dress and approached the door. Griffin blocked her again.

“My goodness, move! If someone finds the two of us alone, behind a closed door we’ll both be entering a scandal we can’t escape,” Marina whispered.

“You haven’t even found a suitor yet, so what’s the worry if you spend a bit of time with me,” Griffin replied, with his back leaning against the door. He tried to plaster on a smile to lower Marina’s anger, but in reality, it only infuriated her the more.

“I am fighting desperately every day to ensure a future for myself, you’re not ruining this for me,” Marina said, a strong sense of desperation rising in her throat. “Let me go, and I won’t say a word.”

Griffin slowly started to part from the door, stepping closer to Marina. In a reflex, she jumped a couple steps back, nearly knocking into her uncle’s desk. She quickly turned to the large bookshelf, knowing exactly where to find the book she had initially been searching for. She grabbed it and scurried to the door before Griffin changed his mind.

As her fingers touched the doorknob, she felt his gaze fixed upon her, making her shift a bit. She looked up at him, their eyes interlocked with one another. For a moment she felt too stunned to say a word.

“You better find a way to explain this, Your Grace, if you want me to keep my silence. And soon,” Marina said, dropping her eyes from his before silently turning the knob and letting herself out. She felt Griffin follow shortly behind her, but she quickly gestured at him to stay so as to create a slight distance between the two, in case anyone ventured down the hallway.

Marina made her way back into her bedroom, and left the door slightly open as she saw Griffin return to the drawing room to Uncle Josiah and the family. Indistinct chatter followed amongst the family, allowing Marina to drop into her bed and ruminate over what had just happened.

What on earth was the duke up to? What was he searching for in those files? And the worst part, why couldn’t they keep their eyes off of one another?

“The first ball you don’t actively have to search for any suitors, hmm?” Charlotte asked Nancy.

Another ball was taking place that evening and, once again, Marina found herself preparing alongside Nancy under the sharp eye of Charlotte. A part of Marina wished she had kept the “headache” excuse for the ball so she could escape the night’s endeavors.

“Tonight, you just keep yourself close to the Duke of Darrington, and don’t allow any other man run around you,” Charlotte continued.

“Why, of course, Mama. My fight for a suitor can be considered as the past,” Nancy replied. Nancy had already gathered Penny to assist her in her preparations, leaving Leilah and Marina in their own corner of the room.

“Oh, and Marina,” Charlotte called in a blunt tone, causing Marina to shift all her attention to her aunt. “Make sure you put yourself out there a bit more tonight, otherwise your uncle and I will have to take the matter of finding you a suitor into our own hands.”

“Of course, my lady,” Marina nodded at Charlotte.

Marina’s mother stood silently against a wall, her eyes stretching out into a hypothetical distance. She hadn’t spoken to Marina in quite a while, and Marina was unsure if it was due to her grief or a growing disappointment towards her daughter. A mixture of both, perhaps.

“You must be excited for tonight?” Marina said to Nancy in an effort to break the silence.

“Indeed. I’ll be spending my night with the duke, so I can’t even imagine all the eyes the two of us will attract,” Nancy replied. “You must be hoping to find possible suitors tonight, don’t you?”

At this point, Marina was so exhausted hearing about “suitors” needing to be found, that she merely smiled at Nancy. Seeing that the conversation won’t lead to anywhere of interest, she sat down and allowed Leilah to make her hair.

“You’ll look splendid, my lady,” Leilah whispered to Marina, so Nancy would hear. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, the right man will find his way to you.”

“That’s easy for people to say, but hard to believe,” Marina whispered to keep their conversation private.

“Oh, my lady. I was also believed to be a hopeless case when I was near your age. I believed no single man in London would want me, but then, about a year ago, I found a kind and gentle man. Not a rich man, but I was also never a girl that came from riches,” Leilah said, a smile spreading across her face. “Now we are so in love and I couldn’t be happier.”

“Oh, Leilah,” Marina sighed, rubbing her fingers over her temples. “You know a true love story isn’t something made for me.”

“I know it works differently here, my lady. But a girl can always hope,” Leilah said.

Marina felt moved by Leilah’s story, but despised it simultaneously as she knew it was not a story destined for her. She had no option but to remove it from her mind to prevent herself chasing something she could never obtain.

After the preparations, Marina felt that she looked even prettier than on the first ball. She was pleased with her looks, even though she wouldn’t dare to vocally admit it.

“I’m ready, Mama,” Marina said as she went close to her mother. Her mother smiled, not bothering to comment on Marina’s appearance. Marina had never been someone to seek approval on her looks, but tonight she yearned for a kind word from her mama.

Marina did, however, notice Charlotte’s gaze jump between Marina and her cousin.

“Ask Penny to add some pearls to your hair, Nancy,” Charlotte told Nancy in an icy tone.

Nancy looked over at Marina’s pearl embellishments in her hair and developed a furrowed brow. “But Mama, Marina is wearing pearls.”

“Do as I say,” Charlotte barked, causing Nancy to scurry back to Penny. Penny quickly looked over at Marina with pity in her eyes.

The ball had Marina mostly staring at her cousin and the Duke of Darrington as they danced throughout the night, leaving Marina alone at the side. All eyes were focused on the new Earl’s daughter, leaving Marina to once again be forgotten by the men in attendance.

She felt gravely disappointed, especially after her extra effort put into her appearance for the evening. Heartbroken, she stared off into the crowd, her thoughts biting at her.

“My Lady?” a deep voice called Marina back into reality. She was shocked to see Griffin standing a small distance from her, his hands placed behind his back. The dance had finished and Marina had barely noticed the duke approaching.

She looked around in search of Nancy and finally found her cousin, Charlotte, and her own mother with confused expressions. All their eyes were fixed on her.

“May I offer you a dance?” Griffin continued, holding out an arm for her to latch onto.

“Of course, Your Grace,” Marina replied, linking her arm with his.

As they walked in the direction of the dance floor, she quickly turned around to find Charlotte’s eyes grow larger. Marina knew she had to take this dance with the duke carefully, as all eyes from her family were fixed solely on them.

“I must thank you for your discretion,” Griffin started. His eyes remained averted from Marina as to avoid any suspicion from the familial crowd staring at them. “I don’t know much about your relationship or feelings toward your uncle, but if I may be frank, you don’t appear fond of him.”

“Not in the slightest,” Marina responded, mostly to herself than to Griffin. “You’d better explain your actions in my uncle’s study, Your Grace.”

“Allow me to get to that first,” Griffin said rather sarcastically, causing Marina to glare at him.

“First, I must admit that I have no interest in your cousin, Nancy, whatsoever. She’s rather dull and I’ve found little liking toward her, but I had to court her in order to obtain access to her father, your uncle,” he continued, Marina’s attention was now fully hooked. “You see, I need to collect evidence, thus I was in search of it within your uncle’s study.”

“Evidence of what, Your Grace?” Marina inquired with a perplexed look on her face.

“This may seem hard to believe, but I deeply suspect Josiah Bosley of killing my father. It could only have been him who could commit such a barbaric crime,” Griffin said in an oddly monotone voice.

The news shocked Marina so deeply that for a moment she found herself tumbling backward. Her feet had completely lost balance, and gravity nearly brought her tumbling down to the ground. But Griffin was quick to put an arm around her and bring her back into the dance.

“My Lady, I know this is shocking news and I never intended to drag you into this turmoil, but you need to keep your composure, please,” Griffin said, looking away from Marina as he twirled her around.

“Why on earth would you suspect such things?” Marina asked, desperately trying to get back in step, so as not to attract any more eyes than those already on them.

“This dance is too short to explain everything, but I promise if you vow to keep your silence, I’ll give you anything you want in return. Anything you’d like at all. I just can’t afford for this secret to be out,” Griffin said, a hint of desperation in his voice.

“You can’t possibly expect me to come up with anything just now, Your Grace. You’ll have to allow me some time to think about this,” Marina said, her thoughts already running through possibilities of what she could ask for.

It was a big favor Griffin was asking of Marina. If his true intentions were unveiled, it might ruin the family, and if Marina’s unspoken knowledge was discovered, it would surely ruin her once and for all. Uncle Josiah would make sure of it.

“Of course, I understand that you’ll require time to think about my offer. The dance is starting to come to an end, anyway,” Griffin said, finally locking eye contact with Marina.

“You’ll just have to find a way to get my answer in a couple of days,” Marina said in a surprisingly calm tone for the situation, undoubtedly intriguing Griffin.

The dance came to an end, and the two of them parted ways. An agreement finally stood between them, leaving the only task to be their mutual silence of the matter.

“Oh my! When last did you have a dance?” Nancy laughed as Marina walked over. “You had quite a stumble, did you drink too much of that potent punch?”

Marina heard Nancy clearly, but she was so focused on the matter Griffin had told her that she barely made the effort to respond.

Could Uncle Josiah truly commit such a crime? The hard truth was that it was difficult for Marina to put anything past her uncle, but murder?

“Marina?” Nancy called in a worried tone after Marina walked past without replying.

Marina desperately needed to take a seat in fear that she might faint. One moment she was worried about finding a suitor, and the next she had to worry about her uncle been a murderer.