The Madcap (18 page)

Sarah gave a wide smile that took Marianne by surprise. “How could I not love Alasdair? Who doesn’t
love him? He’s handsome and kind and full of life. He’s
gallant and fun loving when he has the chance. He’s the
sun around which we all revolve. The truth is, I’ve been
worried for him the past few years. There’s a darker
edge to him than there used to be, and I can’t make him
happy. I can’t take that dark edge away. But you can. I
can see it when he’s with you, and you’re all he talked
about this past week.” Sarah gave her a beseeching
look. “I think, for the first time in his life, Alasdair is
discovering that he needs someone”

Marianne knew what Sarah meant about that darker
edge. She’d seen it too, that day at the Tower and here at
Highborough, for brief moments. “I’ve come to care for
Alasdair during our short association in London but I
can’t countenance the idea of my happiness being made
by stealing another’s,” Marianne confessed.

Sarah squeezed Marianne’s hand affectionately.
“Then you are as thoughtful as Alasdair told me” She leaned toward Marianne as they walked, as if they were
conspirators. “He told me that you went into a duck
pond in Hyde Park to retrieve a little boy’s boat because you couldn’t stand his tears. I thought someone
who did that must be quite kindhearted.”

Marianne blushed. “I ruined my stockings but it was
a small price to pay to see the little boy grin.”

“I’m glad Alasdair has found you, Marianne. Perhaps I am even a bit relieved. I’ve spent my whole adult
life living under the onus of knowing that I was expected to marry him. It was not an unpleasant burden.
He would never have been unkind to me and we would
have made a companionable go of things. But the burden was in knowing that Alasdair was merely settling
for me and that I could not truly make him happy, although he’d never admit it. We would have spent our
lives trying to do the impossible for each other and
never succeeding.” Sarah looked down at her hands.
“May I tell you something? Many might consider it
highly controversial. Perhaps you won’t.”

Marianne nodded, hardly able to imagine what
Sarah Stewart would have to say that would qualify as
scandalous.

Sarah’s voice dropped to a near whisper even though
they were entirely alone out-of-doors. “I think the day
of the aristocrat is fading. Alasdair thinks so too. I help
my father with the ledgers and I see physical proof
in those columns that estates can no longer maintain themselves living off the rents of their tenants. It’s not
a passing consideration that will be outgrown. It’s the
way of things now. What defines a gentleman’s lifestyle
is changing. I think you’re someone who can help Alasdair find a way to bridge that gap. In fact, I think you’re
exactly the person to do it.”

A thought crossed Marianne’s mind at Sarah’s resounding endorsement. Sarah had spent years thinking her adult life would come to a particular end and
now, relieved or not, that expected outcome had been
removed. “What about you? Have you given a thought
to your future?”

A slow, coy smile spread across Sarah’s face, making her look more lively, quite pretty in fact, in marked
contrast to the girl who had blended in with the
draperies earlier that week. “Perhaps I might travel after all. I should love to see your San Francisco. Then
again, I might find someone of my own to care for
without worrying if it’s good for the estate” The way
she said it, Marianne thought she might already have
someone in mind. It occurred to Marianne that Sarah
might have had someone in mind for quite some time
but could not act on it out of loyalty to Alasdair and
her father’s expectations.

“How will your father take the news?” Marianne
ventured to ask. She already knew how Alasdair’s
mother would react, how Alasdair’s mother was already reacting to her mere presence in the house.

“He’ll manage. It will be a harder adjustment for
him. He and Alasdair’s mother have had their plans
for quite some time. They’ve been quite keen to join
the estates and the families.” Sarah shrugged. “They’ve
both been alone for years and I understand how appealing it would be to create a whole family of sorts
again, to feel part of something. I think they thought
they’d have that if Alasdair and I married-their very
own country dynasty”

“If that’s so, maybe they should marry each other,”
Marianne said.

Sarah giggled. “Now, there’s an idea.”

The mood at the table that evening was boisterous,
the good cheer nearly palpable as they all sat down
at the table. Everyone had worked hard the past few
days, and the prince would arrive tomorrow along
with the other guests. The good cheer had a punchy
quality to it, no doubt from everyone’s weariness, but
Highborough was ready.

Linens were pressed; beds with their luxury sheeting were made up; rooms smelled fresh and clean. Carpets had been rolled out in public rooms and draperies
beaten dust free. For Marianne’s part, her good humor
stemmed from the walk with Sarah. She had not realized how heavily her concern over Sarah’s reaction had
weighed on her. It had been cathartic to hear Sarah’s
reassurances and to know that she was not merely stepping aside, but that she was relieved to get on with
her life in a happier venue.

After dinner, the men did not sit at the table for port
and the group did not seem inclined to linger over
the tea trolley, their efforts over the past several days
catching up to them. Marianne noticed that all Audrey
had to do was stifle a small yawn behind her hand and
everyone quickly rose and said their good nights before eagerly seeking their chambers.

“Might I have a word with you before you go up?”
Alasdair asked quietly at her side as the others filed
past them.

The soft, private quality of his voice sent a delicious thrill down her spine. “Of course”

Marianne’s mother kissed her cheek on her way up.
“Don’t be long, darling. It will be an early day tomorrow.”

When the last of the group had gone upstairs, Alasdair drew her outside to the terrace where they’d
walked the first night. He stood next to her, his elbows
resting on the carved-stone balustrade, looking out over
the gardens with their gaslights. “Do you like it here,
Marianne?”

“Your home is astonishing. It’s like a palace,” Marianne said truthfully. “But, like a palace, it’s not really
a place for living. It’s a place for showing.”

Alasdair made a good-humored grimace. “Ouch,
that’s quite a comment. I don’t think Highborough has ever endured such a blistering set down. But I won’t
say you’re wrong.” He reached for her hand, a gesture
he’d done so often since they’d met that Marianne
marveled it hadn’t become commonplace in its effect
on her. But, each time, she still thrilled to it, gloves
and all.

Alasdair looked down at her gloved hand in his.
“Highborough is like your hand, gloved and displayed
for all to see but not to touch, not really. For once, I’d
like to hold your hand, your real hand, and all these
conventions be hanged”

“I think that can be arranged” Marianne slipped her
hand from his and began to peel off her long gloves.
“What about Highborough, Alasdair? Can it take off its
gloves? Metaphorically speaking of course”

A wistful look crossed his features. “I think that’s
up to you. If anyone can make Highborough less of a
mausoleum it would be you,” he said, reaching for her
bared hand and tracing a delicate circle in the center
of her palm. Marianne felt herself give a silly tremble.
It seemed ridiculous to react so thoroughly to a simple
touch of a finger. But it wasn’t just any finger-it was
Alasdair’s-and his touch alone had affected her this
way since the beginning of their time together.

“I’m not certain I understand,” Marianne replied
honestly. It was hard to understand anything when the
whole of her body and mind were intent on what Alasdair was doing to her hand.

Alasdair flashed her a boyish grin. “Marianne,
there’s something I want to ask you.”

What an ominous phrase. Marianne’s stomach
flipped and she fought the urge to sit down. Oh Lord,
she thought. This is it.

GGDo you know why a gentleman invites a lady to
his country home? To see the `old pile,’ as it were?”

The question caught her entirely off guard. “No, I
am afraid not, unless it’s to help him clean house or
for pillow fights.”

Alasdair gave a small shake of his head, and Marianne immediately regretted her attempt at levity. With
a serious gesture, he drew a small, square box out of
his inner coat pocket. “A gentleman invites a lady to his
family seat to meet the family, the neighbors, to see
the house, to see if she could imagine being mistress
of such a place. In short, Marianne, the invitation is a
prelude to a marriage proposal” His fingers flicked
open the lid of the small velvet box. “I am asking you
to marry me, Marianne, to be my countess”

Marianne stared at the ring, utterly speechless.

“I am honored, truly I am,” Marianne managed once
she’d found her voice. She should have been better prepared than this. Since the day in the boat at Regent’s
Park she’d known there was a strong likelihood of facing his proposal. She should have been practicing
what she’d say, what she’d do.

Alasdair tried for levity, his tone lighthearted. “I
have to tell you that the English consider it bad form
to reject a proposal at this point in the game. Once we
get to the `old pile’ part of the courting process, acceptance is considered a fait accompli.”

Marianne laughed. “Oh Alasdair, no girl in her right
mind would consider refusing you. Are you sure you
want to do this, that I’m the one for all the right reasons?”

Alasdair was all seriousness again. “This is not about
money, Marianne. I didn’t come here and see the estate last week and think, ‘Marianne’s money would
save me. I’ll propose and all will be well.’ I came here
and I saw a cold, aging house with no life in it. I
thought, `What a waste this pile of brick and pillars is.
This is supposed to be a family seat. To me, that means
the place should be alive, stuffed to the ceilings with
the rowdiness of a family that likes to be together. It’s
never felt that way to me, not even when my father was
alive. But I’ve craved that in my bones for what seems
forever. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t dream
about the kind of family I wanted at Highborough.”

Alasdair shook his head. “But when I started looking
for a wife, and I was a man who looked in earnest, I
couldn’t find a woman who could or would share those
dreams with me. All they saw was my coronet and my
title. So I stopped looking until the night I saw you at
the ball. I knew immediately that you were the one”
Alasdair drew a deep breath. “I’m rambling. I suppose
it’s a sign of how desperate I am to have you say yes”

He was teasing her again in his delightful way, in a
way that she understood better now. It was something
of a shock to realize that she had the ability to unnerve
this most-confident of men. Sarah was right: Alasdair
had a personality, an easy air, about him that drew others naturally. But Marianne recognized tonight that he
was using that easy air to cover his nervousness. She
felt it was quite a testament to the truth of his statement
that this proposal wasn’t motivated by his need for a
fortune, but by his sincere regard for her, a regard that
she shared.

“I must confess I’ve not proposed to anyone until
tonight, as you may have inferred. Tell me, Marianne,
have I made a muddle of my proposal?”

“Not at all. I think it’s quite the finest proposal a
girl could ever receive.” She was still trying to wrap
her mind around the lovely image of transforming the
cold house into a place of warmth and laughter. “I was
just thinking that, with a little more beeswax, the banister would make a great slide.”

Alasdair threw back his dark head and laughed
wholeheartedly. “Redecorating already. Does this mean
you’ll say yes?”

Marianne pushed aside any remaining doubts and
arguments she could conjure up that would demand she
refuse. Those arguments and reasons had nothing to do
with the two of them. She recognized now, in a flash
of insight, that any of her objections and worries had
stemmed from concern over what others thought.
There would be people who would never admit that
she could live up to a certain standard simply because
they didn’t want her to. In many ways, she’d always be
the outsider. But that was their problem. Alasdair loved
her and she loved him-adored him, in fact. The two
of them would build a good life together and that was
what mattered most. Alasdair loved her for herself and
she loved him for something more than his title. In this
moment, it was all so simple, so straightforward, so obvious that it seemed silly to have worried about it at all.

With the stars as her witnesses, on the terrace of
Highborough, Marianne Addison said yes on the condition that Alasdair promised not tell anyone until the
royal visit was over, so as not to take attention away
from the prince.