The Second Son by Vonnie Hughes

Author:Vonnie Hughes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Published: 2011-12-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

The following day the bride and groom arrived, along with a contingent of their relatives. Spencer had brought Terence Ottley to stand as his attendant. He had not asked John or Edward.

The pall of gloom hanging over the house dissipated a little upon the arrival of the guests, but John did not come out to greet them.

“John will be here for dinner,” the marquess told any newcomers who asked.

“I look forward to seeing him again,” Mr. Blyth boomed. “Nice chap. Must ask him about his adventures on the Peninsula. Glad he made it home unscathed.”

“Not quite,” the marquess murmured sotto voce.

Mrs. Blyth, more sensitive than her husband, touched her husband’s arm. “No doubt he will tell you all about it later, my dear.”

She turned to Marguerite. “And who is this charming young lady?”

The marchioness smiled. “This is Miss Ninian, a good friend who is acting as my secretary.”

Marguerite blushed as all heads turned towards her. The lovely Miss Blyth gave her a very thorough going over. Mr. Ottley spared her only a passing glance but Spencer Trewbridge’s gaze settled on her breasts. She wanted to fold her arms, but of course she could not. It would show him that his prurient gaze was having an effect on her. She would not give him the satisfaction.

Marguerite had heard a lot about Spencer, Lord Brechin, future Marquess of Trewbridge, and none of it was good. Even her mother, who had made it her life’s mission to seek out marriageable men, had warned her daughters to be wary of Lord Brechin. “I might be ambitious,” Mrs. Ninian had told her daughters with masterly understatement, “but I draw the line at allying my daughters with a man of his ilk.” Of course, that had made them mighty curious about him. The ladies from the Grange had enlightened the Ninian girls about Spencer Trewbridge’s reputation.

Marguerite knew how to cope with people like Serena Blyth and Lord Brechin. All she had to do was limp exaggeratedly. Serena Blyth would laugh to herself that she had ever regarded someone like Marguerite Ninian as possible competition. And Lord Brechin — unless he was one of those odd noblemen who preferred unusual women for their sexual delectation — then he, too, would be disgusted by her.

What on earth was wrong with Serena Blyth, Marguerite wondered? Could she not see how honourable and trustworthy John Trewbridge was? Admittedly, he did not have the suave, polished manners of his older brother. Well, to be honest he was a little rough around the edges, but to Marguerite’s way of thinking, John was a far superior person than Spencer Trewbridge, and good heavens, Marguerite did not even see eye-to-eye with John!

She wondered how he would feel, watching the woman he loved become his brother’s wife. Her heart ached for him. He would put a brave face on it, of course. He was a gentleman. If one of her sisters married the man she loved, she would do the same thing. She could well imagine Helen taking especial delight in stealing a man from Chloe or herself.

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