How to Heal the Marquess by Sally Forbes
Chapter Twenty-four
Tobias was not aware that he was not alone in the hallway until he heard a soft gasp from behind him. He finished closing the door to his bedchambers quickly and turned to see Daisy staring up at him, her mouth opened ever so slightly and her emerald green eyes wide.
Despite the fact that it was he who was dressed for an evening out, Tobias could not help finding himself getting lost in the young woman’s beauty. The fixed stare of her eyes, in that lighting, gave them a blue hue, and a soft flush tinted her olive complexioned cheeks as a warm hearth fire might.
Time seemed to stop as the pair looked at one another. Tobias found himself instantly pulled into the young woman’s gaze. And in that moment, there was nowhere else he would rather be in all the world. Then, as though possessing a mind of their own, his thoughts rapidly began to drift.
In his mind, Daisy was not wearing her simple blue dress. She was wearing a ball gown of a matching shade of midnight blue as his suit. They were not merely standing in the hallway, looking at one another. Rather, they were twirling around a dance floor, of which they were the only two occupants. And, instead of a slack-jawed expression, Tobias was smiling fondly at her, and she was smiling the same in return. The details felt so real that Tobias took a step forward toward Daisy, who mimicked his movements exactly and simultaneously. Instinctively, Tobias raised a hand, intending to reach out to her cheek and give it a gentle caress with his gloved hand.
“Daisy, dear,” the dowager marchioness said, shattering the vivid dream that Tobias felt sure he had just been sharing with Daisy. “It is wonderful to see you again.”
Both he and the young woman whirled around to face the marchioness, grinning too widely and blushing deeply, respectively.
“Mother,” Tobias choked, feeling as though he had just been caught acting on the scandalous thoughts that had taken place in his mind, despite knowing well that he had not. “What are you doing here? Should you not be getting ready for the ball?”
The dowager marchioness looked at Tobias strangely before laughing.
“I am ready, dear,” she said. Then, she looked at Daisy. “I merely wished to check in on Bertram before we leave for the ball.”
Was that a glint of sad envy that Tobias saw in Daisy’s eyes at the mention of the ball? He could not be sure, but nor could he continue staring at her to decide. She seemed to be as anxious to look away from him as she quickly and widely curtseyed to the dowager marchioness and smiled.
“How is he, your ladyship?” she asked softly.
The dowager marchioness clasped her hands together and beamed.
“I dare say he is almost his old self again,” she said. “In fact, he has been insisting that Tobias and I attend all the upcoming social events of the Season on his behalf.”
Tobias glanced at his mother with tense empathy. He understood she did not wish anyone to think they did not care about the duke’s health. And, suddenly, that was just as important to him as it was to his mother, especially since it was Daisy to whom they were speaking. He looked at the young woman, relief filling him when he saw she was smiling at the two of them with fond sympathy.
“I completely understand, my lady,” she said gently. “And I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. I will take the best of care of Lord Berbrook while you are away. You have my word on that.”
The marchioness looked at Daisy with a fondness that, Tobias observed, she only reserved for dear friends and relatives. She reached out and embraced the young woman, who looked surprised but pleased by the sudden show of affection.
“I believe there is no one better to care for our dear Bertram,” the dowager marchioness said. “You have our eternal thanks for being so good to him and to us.”
Daisy released Tobias’s mother, blushing deeply. Tobias’s heart thudded wildly as he once more noticed just how beautiful she was. It was all he could do not to pull her into an embrace of his own, and another fleeting thought of kissing her crossed his mind.
As the young woman curtseyed to him and the dowager marchioness, Tobias forced himself away from such thoughts. He did, however, give her an affectionate smile of his own as she looked at them once again.
“Thank you for trusting me,” she said, her eyes sparkling with humble pride. “I hope you both have a lovely evening. I should get back to the duke and see if he needs anything.”
Tobias and his mother bade her farewell and a good evening and watched as she disappeared into the duke’s bedchambers. Tobias, however, lingered for a moment rather than escorting his mother down the stairs. The dowager marchioness noticed her son’s hesitation and looked up at him with a furrowed brow.
“What is it, darling?” she asked.
Tobias sighed.
“I truly do feel guilty about attending the party tonight,” he said. “I know Grandfather wishes it so, but it still feels as though I am abandoning him.”
His mother shook her head gently and stroked his cheek.
“You just said it yourself,” she said, “your grandfather wants us to go. He is set on you finding yourself a wife, after all.”
Tobias nodded, biting his lip.
“I am well aware of that,” he said. “But how am I supposed to enjoy myself and focus on such a task while he lies bedridden and so terribly ill?”
The dowager marchioness hugged her son, rubbing his back gently with her hands, as she used to do when he was a child.
“By keeping in mind you are doing it for him,” she said. “He would not ask you to attend if he did not want you to do so. And it is all for the purpose of finding yourself a bride, as he wishes you to do. You cannot possibly be failing him or letting him down when you are doing exactly as he wishes.” She released her son, taking his hands in hers and squeezing them. “Besides, I have a good feeling that your grandfather is going to be just fine. Dr. Gibson himself said that he is beginning to show improvement. I believe you will find that all your worry is for nothing, and that Bertram will be well again before you know it.”
Tobias nodded. He did not mention the duke’s sudden relapse, or Daisy’s hesitance to speak about whether she believed the duke would fully recover.
“I suppose you are right,” he said, completely unconvinced despite his smile. “Come. Let us be off, so we are not late.” And so we can get the evening over all the quicker, he added bitterly to himself.
Despite the talk with his mother, he still felt no better about attending the party by the time they arrived at Alwater Manor. The mansion’s intimidating appearance matched Tobias’s dark and stony mood to perfection. The gray stones were the color of the cloud Tobias envisioned was lingering above his head, and the windows on the upper levels of the manor were as dark as his temperament.
He was disappointed to see that the interior of the manor was the exact opposite of the exterior, with colorful streamers and flowers in bright pinks and yellows and purples all over, and freshly polished silver trinkets and candlesticks strategically placed to impress. Even the chandeliers seemed to be mocking him, illuminated with light that seemed impossibly bright to Tobias in that moment.
Begrudgingly, Tobias put on a smile and greeted people as he escorted his mother to the ballroom, which was the cheeriest room of all. Everywhere he looked, there were bright and festive decorations, clearly well planned and meticulously placed to promote the gay atmosphere among the guests, no matter where they looked.
All it did was sour Tobias’s mood further, and he wanted nothing more than to find some way to avoid socializing for the entire evening, until he could reasonably fetch his mother and get them back to Berbrook Manor.
The other guests at the party clearly did not share his sentiment. Everyone was happily chatting and laughing and helping themselves to the refreshments. Tobias decided that his best chance of not having a wholly miserable evening would be to partake of a great deal of the champagne sitting atop the long, ornate refreshment table.
Thinking to cling as closely to the table as he could all evening, standing so that he could see almost anyone who approached, he swiped one of the champagne flutes off the table and drank it rather quickly. For the first half hour of the ball, he noticed very few people even glanced in his direction.
Two more flutes of champagne later, he began to believe that his plan would work, and he would manage to avoid having to socialize with anyone present.
He just happened to glance over his shoulder to realize his luck would quickly run out. Approaching him with determination were the Duke and Duchess of Alwater, accompanied by their daughter. He stiffened, groaning quietly to himself as he buried his plan to remain alone for the night. He tried to smile at the trio, hoping his expression did not appear as much of a grimace as it felt to him.
“Lord Penwell,” Lord Alwater said, bowing elegantly to Tobias. “I am so glad you could come.”
Tobias bowed stiffly, taking a deep breath and holding it for a second before silently exhaling.
“Good evening, my lord, my ladies,” he said, bowing politely. “Thank you for inviting me. That is, thank you for inviting my grandfather and accepting my presence in his stead.”
Lady Alwater curtseyed, bidding him a good evening, before smiling sympathetically at him.
“How is your grandfather?” she asked.
Tobias’s smile became temporarily more genuine. It always warmed his heart when people asked after the duke. It made him feel as though not all the people of the ton were shallow and self-centered.
“He is still bedridden,” he said, hoping he was not giving away too much about his grandfather. “But Dr. Gibson says that he is slowly beginning to recover, so we are hoping for the best.”
The duke and duchess nodded, apparently pleased. Lady Selina stood between her parents, batting her eyelashes as she took her turn to greet Tobias. But beyond returning her greeting as etiquette demanded, he tried to not pay her any special attention. He prayed with all his might that they would go back to greeting their guests and leave him once more in peace.
But when the first strains of the first song of the evening began, the air around the quartet immediately changed. From the corner of his eye, Tobias could see the duke watching him intently, and he knew at once the reason why. Lord Alwater clearly expected him to ask his daughter to dance and, as he was the only gentleman standing near her as the music began, it was customary that he do so.
With another grimace, Tobias held out his arm.
“Lady Selina, would you like to dance?” he asked, unable to bring himself to request the honor of the dance with her, as gentlemen usually did.
She did not seem to mind, however. Nor did her parents as she batted her eyelashes once more and enthusiastically accepted his offer. As he led her onto the dance floor, he noticed she walked with her head a bit too high, as though she had already won his heart, and she wanted everyone to envy her prize.
The attitude made Tobias’s stomach turn and, as they began the dance, he noticed his heart felt very heavy. It did not take him long to realize he did not truly wish to be there alone. Rather, he wished desperately that he was there . . . but dancing with Daisy instead.
