Page 62 of No Ordinary Lady

“Oh, well,” Amy said brightly. “Her loss. This beef is so exquisitely tender.”

Daniel’s loss, too. Having Marian nearby always made him feel at ease, especially around Amy Wilson.

Daniel turned his head to regard his grandmother. He’d heard nothing of any plans for Marian to be excused from tonight’s dinner, and there had been many opportunities for him to be informed. Her absence made him feel incomplete.

After Marian had fled from his chambers earlier that day, he hadn’t actually seen her again. Perhaps she was feeling uncomfortable or shy about kissing him, although he couldn’t imagine why she would.

The impulsive and reckless kiss between them had come as a surprise but had not been too shocking, though it had seemed rather desperate. He was starting to feel the same way about Marian’s absence.

Because he wanted another kiss just like it.

He wanted Marian back in his arms again, where she belonged. Marian Trill had become a constant surprise and secret delight of his, and he wished to know all there was to know about her. Steal more time alone together.

He gulped and set his glass of wine aside and tried to devote himself to the contents of his plate. But he ached to know what Marian was doing, eating in her chambers, and found he had little appetite tonight for filling his own stomach. He pushed his plate aside, signaled a servant to take it away and then picked up his wineglass again, but didn’t want to drink, either.

He’d hoped that coming home would have ended his reckless pursuit of inappropriate women, but it seemed he remained unchanged in his preferences.

But today it had been Marian who had sought him out, in his own chambers, even after he’d warned her not to flirt with John Kimble or him. It had been a possessive weakness on his part to feel the pinch of jealousy over a rival for her affections and smiles. He’d known he’d behaved badly then…but he’d envied Kimble the right to respond favorably to his woman.

His woman?

Yes. That was how he thought of Marian, even now.

After she’d rushed away, he’d regretted that he’d not apologized for being an ass. He could hardly complain about her seeking the attention of another man when he was seeking the hand in marriage of a different woman.

He’d felt some guilt over it all until well after she’d fled. He’d moped, regretting he couldn’t pursue Marian to find out what was wrong.

He believed Marian’s past as a thief had been left behind and that she had taken an honest turn with her employment here with Granny. But she hadn’t changed her plans. The fact she’d found a way to avoid dinner tonight, when she’d appeared promptly at every prior meal, concerned him.

She was preparing to leave.

Daniel could not let her go yet. She could not leave him to his fate to marry a woman he wasn’t at all attracted to half as much as he was to her.

That worried him a lot still.

How that kiss had seemed final between them.

A parting.

Had she already gone?

He glanced at the dark windows and then over at Granny, who seemed unconcerned about not having Marian by her side tonight. As much as he longed to go in search of the paid companion to reassure himself that all was well, he was constrained by the Wilsons’ attendance at dinner.

“Have you had much interest in the London town house yet?” Mr. Wilson suddenly enquired.

“What sort of interest could there be in my London town house?”

“Well, my daughter said you had no plan to return to Town,” he replied. “I could be persuaded to lease it from you for the right price.”

“I’m not leasing the town house. I may not have a pressing need for London at the moment, but of course Mother intends to go to support Miss Kimble in her first season next year.”

Amy turned her gaze on Mother. “You are far too generous.”

Daniel was taken aback by Amy’s disapproval.

Mother clearly heard it, but her expression remained unchanged as she answered. “I gave my word to help her, and I have high hopes for her making an excellent match,” Mother said, patting her lips with a napkin and then setting it aside. “Would you excuse me? There’s a matter that requires my attention.”

“Might I be of assistance?” Amy asked, half rising from her chair.