“Hmm, maybe.” Yet Theodore tried all the same, adjusting it another time before he stepped back and looked around himself once again. “The carriage is all set?”
“It is. It will take you straight to the Duke of Dummore’s house.”
“Excellent.” Theodore was hardly looking forward to Gabriel’s ball, but he had agreed to go and that was that. He supposed it was also a good thing for the ton to see him and Margaret together now that they were married. Maybe it would stop anywhisper of a scandal for good. “Maggie? I have no liking for lateness.”
“Let me guess, it does not appeal to the perfectionist side of your personality?” Her voice was much closer than he had anticipated it being.
He turned to find Margaret was halfway down the stairs.
She was wearing one of the new gowns he had purchased for her, this one a light blue. There was white lace across the bust and brushing each hip, down to the hem of the gown. With her dark hair curled behind her head and pinned high, it emphasized the curve of her neck and the delicacy of her collarbone.
“I think Mrs. Sinclair has outdone herself with this gown,” Margaret said, running a white silken gloved hand down the skirt as she reached the bottom step. “Do you approve?”
Theodore was rather distracted. Not only did the dress suit her perfectly, he was also taken by just how much she was smiling. He was not sure he had ever seen Margaret smile in this way before.
It is a full smile! Could it be this is all just because someone has taken the care to buy her something nice?
He made a resolution not to shy away from buying her other nice things in future, if this was the response it go.
“Is there something wrong with it?” She looked up with concern at his silence.
“No, no, nothing wrong,” he assured her, clearing his throat. He had to pull at his cravat, his neck feeling suddenly tight. “It is a very fine dress indeed.”
“Thank you for buying it for me.” She took the pelisse from Betsy behind her, who was smiling just as much, then walked forward. Margaret stopped in front of him as she pulled on her pelisse. “This isn’t like you,” she remarked, pointing at his cravat.
“What isn’t?” He angled his head to the side, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror. In being so flustered, staring at her, he had ruined the position of the cravat.
“Here, allow me.” She reached up and adjusted it for him.
Theodore felt heated once more. Margaret’s fingers were very close to touching his skin. It didn’t quite happen, but it was enough to give him palpitations, his heart thundering in his chest.
“There, shall we go?” she offered, turning to the door.
“Have a good evening,” Yates wished them well and they both thanked him for it as they left the house and ascended the carriage.
The night drew in fast on their journey, so it was dark by the time they arrived, and it was not the only thing to change. Margaret went from happy smiles to chewing her lip excessively.
“What is wrong?” Theodore asked as he stood to descend the carriage, opening the door for the two of them and offering his hand to her.
“Nothing,” she obviously lied. He caught her arm before she could walk away and tucked it through his.
“Maybe we are growing to know each other better, Maggie, for I know you are lying. What is it that worries for you?”
“It does not matter.” She shook her head sadly. “I do not want worries about my father to affect this evening. Tonight, we are here for my sister and your friend.” She pinned a smile in place.
Theodore was torn between his admiration for her forbearance and his annoyance that her father once more had tarnished the air between them.
The Viscount has a lot to answer for in his life.
Theodore was shocked by the feelings swelling inside of him, reminding him of the conversation he had shared with Margaret a few days before outside of her bedchamber.
For so long in his house, he had shut down all emotion. He didn’t feel happiness, sadness, fear or excitement in that building, forhe had blocked it out long ago. He made it a cold and lifeless place for it was easier to live that way, but Margaret had changed all of that.
In the month she had been there, she had indeed annoyed him, intrigued him, worried him, and infuriated him. Occasionally, he’d wanted to smile, though he didn’t understand that feeling.
Did it all start that night we met in the library with her gown torn?
“Come, let us go inside,” she urged, apparently sensing his hesitation, though she evidently did not know the reason why.
