The Marquess of Temptation by Claudia Stone

Author:Claudia Stone
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3
Publisher: 0
Published: 2018-02-13T18:30:00+00:00

It was rather a surreal experience, watching three people discuss her future as though she were not there. Mrs Actrol, Jane and the Marquess of Falconbridge had been going back and forth for the past half hour, arguing amongst themselves on the best course of action for Hestia's future.

Jane was adamant that Hestia stay with her, while the Marquess kept making dark noises about London and special licences, that Jane did her best to ignore.

The debate was chaired by Mrs Actrol, who would interject occasionally, to question the two on minor details that they had overlooked.

"Stockbow made you the executioner of his will, Falconbridge," the older woman stated, her blue eyes thoughtful behind her spectacles, "Did he leave Hestia anything of worth?"

"Just the cottage near Truro," Falconbridge shrugged dismissively, "Which would be better off condemned, than lived in. He left no money, just several small debts, which have been looked after."

Hestia flushed at this, who had looked after them? She glanced sideways at the Marquess, whose face was impassive, and knew instinctively that it had been him. Oh, she was already in his debt and she had no way of paying him back.

"Could you live there happily, Hestia?" Mrs Actrol questioned gently. "It has been your home for all your life, after all."

Hestia thought of the tumbledown cottage, where both her father and mother's lives had ended so sadly. She thought of the village, where she had few friends, and would have even fewer now because of the scandal, and shook her head.

"I think I would be best to stay in a large town or city," she decided firmly, "Your sister was right, Mrs Actrol, when she said that there was no future for me there."

She did not want to say it aloud, especially in front of the Marquess, but Hestia knew that one day she wanted to marry and have children, and nobody would offer for her with such a chequered family history.

"I don't know why we're even discussing this," the Marquess drawled in annoyance. His dark gaze caught Hestia's, leaving her slightly breathless at its intensity. "Miss Stockbow is my ward, as her legal guardian any decisions to be made on her future will be made by me."

"While dictating to the girl sounds nice in theory, my Lord," Mrs Actrol responded in a mildly amused tone. "It will not work in practice. Did you not see her bolt from the room today? She very nearly got away from you. Given an undesirable situation and time to formulate a plan, Hestia will disappear altogether."

The Marquess made a sound that was halfway between a grunt and a cough, clearly annoyed by the older woman's rationale. For a moment Hestia felt a thrill of victory, until the authoress looked at her sternly over her spectacles.

"That's not to say that I don't think what the Marquess is offering you is your best option, Hestia," she said grimly. "Your situation is most dire. The protection of his name would grant you leave to live a full life, which you otherwise may never be able to do.

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