It was no surprise that Heath was willing to regard a foray into matrimony as a potential positive rather than catastrophic development. Heath’s effortless charm made him a great favorite with women; he’d just never wanted to be tied down to only one of the adoring females who flocked to him in droves. Yet Heath was the most reckless and daring of the three, and the most open to new adventures, while Drew was the most guarded-and the most cynical.
Just now Drew ran a hand through his fair hair in a gesture of frustration. “You cannot have thought this through clearly.”
Yes, he had thought it through, Marcus reflected. But he was acting more on instinct than cold logic.
Arabella brought a much needed spark of fire into his life. She was warm and vibrantly alive…
Marcus smiled as he remembered the laughing gleam in her gray eyes last evening at the ball when she’d handed him the list of young ladies she wanted him to partner. And then later, the grateful emotion in her eyes when she thanked him for rescuing her pupil, her expression soft and giving.
He’d made up his mind then that he wouldn’t let her go. His decision, however, was difficult to explain to his closest friends, since they’d never felt such possessiveness toward any woman.
When he remained silent, Drew interrupted his thoughts with a sardonic drawl. “You cannot possibly fancy yourself in love, Marcus.”
Love? He wasn’t certain he even believed in the emotion. At least he’d never seen a true love match among his acquaintances, although he suspected the possibility did indeed exist.
He had never held out the hope, either, of finding intimacy and affection in marriage, but the prospect was highly appealing-and quite possible with Arabella as his wife.
At the very least, their marriage would be exhilarating. Far from the cold, dispassionate union his parents had known, or the bitterly antagonistic never-ending battle Arabella’s parents had reportedly perpetuated.
“No,” Marcus said slowly, “I cannot claim to be in love.”
“You relieve my mind,” Drew said, his caustic tone suggesting just the opposite.
Marcus gave the duke an assessing glance. Drew’s convictions would be difficult to sway, he knew. “You will be more relieved once you come to know Arabella, which is why I asked you both to join us at the theater tomorrow night. So you can meet her and judge for yourself. I am taking her to dine at the Clarendon beforehand, with her friend, Lady Freemantle, acting as chaperone.”
“Don’t tell me you require a chaperone to dine at a public hotel with your spinster ward.”
“Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be necessary, but with her reputation still under the cloud of her parents’ scandal, I think it advisable. I mean to reestablish Arabella and her sisters in society, so I’m prepared to do everything that is proper. I’ve invited Eleanor and Aunt Beatrix to share our box at Covent Garden, so they can also become acquainted with Arabella.”
Beatrix, Viscountess Beldon, was Marcus’s maternal aunt, and an amiable lady herself. All three men were fond of the elderly dame.
“Why not invite us all to dine at the Clarendon with you?” Heath asked.
“Because I am taking my courtship one step at a time,” Marcus explained. “A private dinner with family and friends would be too intimate at this point. I don’t want to push Arabella so much that she bolts.”
Heath shot the duke an amused glance. “Sounds as if her aversion to matrimony is as fierce as yours, Drew.”
“It is,” Marcus confirmed. “I had to coerce her just to get her to attend the theater tomorrow night.” He glanced between his two friends. “So you will come?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Heath said at once.
“And you, Drew?”
“If I must,” he replied more reluctantly.
Marcus smiled. “Good. I expect you both to be on your best behavior. Arabella has a decided distaste for rakes, and all of us qualify to some extent. I want her to see that we do have a few estimable qualities.”
Heath raised an eyebrow. “You mean to say that she is a prude?”
Marcus laughed softly, recalling Arabella’s enthusiastic reception of his lovemaking. “Not in the least. But her father was a champion philanderer, so she wants nothing to do with men of his ilk.”
His friend nodded slowly. “I suppose that is understandable, but you had best take care not to let her turn you into a tame milksop.”
“I have little fear of that. Arabella has no fancy for milksops, either.”
“What about her two sisters?” Heath asked thoughtfully. “You say they are both beauties?”
“Yes, why?”