A Marquess for Miss Marigold (A Wallflower's Wish #3) - Maggie Dallen Page 0,1
“Mother, I have only just returned home. There are mountains of correspondence and legal documents waiting for my perusal. There are solicitors and caretakers and servants and workers to meet with, there are estates to assess and finances to review...” He sighed as the mounting weight of his new responsibilities slammed into him. “A bride can wait.”
“Yes, but heirs cannot,” his mother shot back.
Max let his head roll to the side so he could face his grinning sister head-on. “How do you put up with this?”
Sarah laughed as their mother gave an irritated sigh at his rudeness. His sister leaned forward as if to let him in on a secret. “I’ve developed something I like to call selective hearing.”
Max let out a sharp laugh as they both ignored his mother’s protests. “Selective hearing, you say? How does this work?”
Sarah’s dark eyes, so like his own, widened in innocence. “At the sound of the words husband, wedding, marriage, and match, I merely...” She snapped her fingers. “Drift away.”
He was laughing outright now, and the feel of it was at once novel and familiar. How long had it been since he’d laughed like this?
Too long.
It was definitely the first time he’d felt any urge to laugh since he’d received word about his father’s unexpected passing.
He reached for Sarah’s hand and she clasped it with a small smile of understanding. “We’re so happy to have you home, Max.”
He nodded, taking in the sight of the girl who’d grown into a young lady while he was gone. She still had the same thick black hair and dark gray eyes—the coloring they’d both inherited from their father. But now her hair was pulled up like his mother’s rather than hanging down her back in braids and those eyes held a hint of sadness and grief that he’d never seen there before.
His voice was gruff. “And I am glad to be here with you and Mother.”
He shot his mother a sidelong, teasing smile to break the tension. “I just wish there weren’t so many guests around, that is all.”
His mother rolled her eyes, but she was smiling as well, her eyes soft with emotion. “We have missed you, dear. Your father would have been so proud to see the man you’ve become.”
His smile faded to a grimace at her well-intentioned words. Would he have been proud?
He had no idea.
All he knew was this nagging guilt that had been plaguing him from the moment he’d read the missive about his father’s death.
Their last parting had been tense. They’d both been recovering from the harsh words they’d slung at one another in anger. As he’d left his father to enlist for a second tour, which his father was adamantly opposed to, he’d thought little of it. He’d been so sure that they’d see one another again, that there would be time to make up, to make things right.
He’d been wrong.
He scrubbed at his eyes now, weariness and exhaustion making the thought of any more talk of marriage and heirs too tedious to bear.
Luckily his mother seemed to understand. “Why don’t you get some rest, dear? I’ll keep the guests busy today. You won’t have to worry about entertaining until you are ready.”
He went to protest. After so long away, he wanted nothing more than to spend time with his mother and sister, but he knew she was right. He was tired and no doubt covered in dirt and grime from his time on the road. What he needed was a bath and some sleep.
However, after he took his leave, he reached the bottom of the staircase leading to his room and had a change of heart.
Or rather, his feet had other ideas when he heard the sound of strange female voices heading in his direction.
It wasn’t that he was scared of ladies. On the contrary, he liked women very much.
And perhaps just as importantly...they liked him.
But right at this particular moment, the idea of making small talk and answering the inevitable questions about his travel, his time with the military, his plans for the future.
The thought was unbearable.
And so he did what no good soldier should do.
He ran.
Well, he walked as quickly as his injured leg could carry him. Once outside, the glaring sun beat down on him and there were voices everywhere he turned. He heard male voices talking and laughing near the stables. The sound of high-pitched voices drifted from the gardens.
He picked up his pace as he headed away from the great house.
People were everywhere.