Page 68 of The Duchess He Couldn’t Resist

Marigold sobbed, unable to control her tears and her fear. The words were caught in her throat, unable to stop shaking.

“Do not break this promise,” she said finally, “or I will come down to the docks myself and drag you back.”

He chuckled, his breath warming her cold body.

“And here I was thinking that Johnny’s gang was the most dangerous thing crawling across the docks.”

She hit him lightly on his chest with her fists for mocking her. He caught her wrists and kissed the knuckles of her hand.

“I mean it, Marigold,” he said softly. “I may not have been used to having someone to go back home to, but now, I do.”

She looked back at him, his words settling in like balm on her pain. She exhaled, and this time it was not out of anger or grief or pain or anguish. It was something deeper that she couldn’t even name.

Her hands moved up from his chest, gently around his neck. Brandon leaned in, his look dropping from her eyes to her lips. And then he claimed them. It was the softest of kisses, not hungry or needy. Just a promise sealed as their lips found each other.

Her arms anchored around his neck, needing to feel him closer, not as a physical need anymore but as a reassurance that his warmth, his scent, would always accompany her. And he too breathed her in, as if bottling deep inside the reason he needed to come back.

As they broke the kiss, his arms tightened around her waist, pulling her to him. He just let her nestle into his chest, and for a while, all they could hear was the fire crackling.

Marigold realized with terror that felt so sweet that she could no longer imagine her life without that hug.

CHAPTER 20

CHANCE ENCOUNTERS

If Marigold were to truly be asked, it took her some time to get used to her new room, the soft bedding, the expensive sheets, and the maid attending her. But this morning, as she woke up early looking at the morning light streaming through her curtains, for the first time in her life, she realized that this was home.

It had less to do, of course, with the silk sheets or the soft sounds of Verdant House around her or even Duck snoring softly at the foot of her bed. It had more to do with him.

“How is my girl?” Marigold pet Duck, who had no intention of waking up just yet.

Beth knocked on the door and came in.

“Good morning, Your Grace,” the maid curtsied.

Marigold was especially giddy today. It was nothing special, but for her, it meant the world. She was going to meet Lily, go out shopping, and share a sorbet. Perhaps for other ladies of the ton, this was just a typical day of spending their husbands’ or fathers’ money, looking at bonnets, and walking around flaunting their gowns, but for Marigold, it was a milestone in her life.

There was someone out there who wanted to see her for no other reason than for the pleasure of her company. Marigold couldn’t believe that she had a real friend.

She dressed carefully, choosing a gown that both Beth and Mrs. Hodgins agreed made her look radiant. She pinned up her curls and looked at herself in the mirror. Marigold had never been vain. There was actually no money and no time for it. But somehow, she felt like she deserved as much.

She went down and entered the breakfast room where Brandon was already there reading the paper. Marigold suddenly felt a rush coming over her, waiting for him to look up. What Beth and Mrs. Hodgins said mattered little if Brandon didn’t find her positively radiant.

His eyes snapped up the moment she entered, and he looked at her slowly, taking his time, focusing on the few curls that escaped down her neck to the dip of her waist.

“You look lovely,” he said. “Is that all to have breakfast with me?”

“I am meeting Lily.” She couldn’t hide the smile.

“I’m not sure I should be delighted or truly worried,” Brandon chuckled.

“I’m so happy that I wouldn’t care either way.”

He shook his head and kept drinking his coffee. Marigold smiled even more and had her breakfast. This was going to be a good day, the beginning of a new life.

London seemed to agree: bright sun and clear skies, a slightly gentle breeze just enough to carry all the gentle scents of blossoms in the spring. She was quite used to walking around the streets of London in her shabby gowns and unchaperoned due to lack of staff.

And now, here she was walking alone again in her brilliant, beautiful gown, and unchaperoned because she was now a married woman. In fact, she was to be Lily’s chaperone, so they could have some privacy and talk together at their leisure.