Mandy Goff - The Blackmailed Bride

Then, she would cry some more.

“So you don’t have any pressing plans at the moment?” he asked, moving to one of the settees and sitting rather indecorously. He rested his head against the back of the piece of furniture.

She shook her head, wondering if he could see her with his eyes closed like that.

Apparently, he could.

“Excellent,” her brother said. “I planned to take Nick around the estate on horseback. Would you care to join us? I know how much you’ve missed being able to ride.”

She could tell Marcus she didn’t want to spend any more time with his friend than she had to, but her brother would chastise her for her rudeness. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. The marquess was just a man, one she barely knew. But she didn’t like the way she felt when he was near. Nervous. Jumpy. Fluttery.

Olivia had counted herself fortunate Marcus and Lord Huntsford had decided to take their horses on the journey to Westin Park. She’d ridden in the carriage alone, which had been preferable to having to share a confined space with the marquess.

But they had still taken a few breaks, allowing Olivia to exit the carriage and stretch her legs. The marquess had the annoying tendency to seek her out during those moments. Much like when he’d found her in the library back in London, Lord Huntsford was nothing but cordial…so she couldn’t explain why he made her feel so unlike herself.

But she couldn’t avoid the gentleman indefinitely. She wasn’t going to stay locked in her room for days, and running into him or having meals together was inevitable.

Besides, London had offered limited opportunities to ride. Olivia didn’t care much for the sedate, stately stroll through the park. She liked to feel the wind in her hair, whipping it around and into a nest her maid would complain about later. Would she still be able to ride like that as Finley’s wife? She shuddered at the thought of the restrictions that he, as her husband, would be able to place on her freedom. But no, she wouldn’t let herself think about that today. She wasn’t Finley’s wife yet—she still had time to enjoy all the things she loved.

So she agreed.

“Excellent.” Marcus hopped up from his seat. “Shall we meet in half an hour?”

Olivia nodded. And she looked at her brother, thought about how much she was going to break his heart and couldn’t stop the impulse to hug him. Which she did.

Perhaps a touch too tightly.

“Olivia?” he asked.

Marcus was probably wondering if he would need to have a doctor come and examine her.

“I love you,” she told him. She might have sniffled, but if so, it was done very, very quietly.

He patted her on the back, used to her spontaneous shows of affection. “I love you as well.” He pulled back and looked at her face. “Perhaps the fresh air will make you feel better. You look peaked.”

She looked like a wreck. Leave it to Marcus to try and soften the ugly truth. He’d been protecting her all her life.

It was her turn to do so for him.

“You’re right. The country air will be refreshing. The carriage ride must have unsettled me.” She wondered if he could see signs of her deception in her face, but Marcus looked oblivious.

“See you shortly,” he called after her as she left the room.

Fortunately for her, once her back was to him, he couldn’t see the fresh tears that had started to fall.

How was she going to tell Marcus?

Not about their mother—no, she’d resolved that Marcus would never learn about that. But to keep the secret meant accepting Finley’s proposal, and if the way he’d rushed her out of London was any indication, Marcus would not be pleased with the news. What words could she possibly speak that would make him agree to her marrying Finley? How would she handle his disappointment? How would he handle his disappointment?

The litany of unanswerable questions kept her mind busy and her stomach churning. She could think of nothing that would make her task easier.

But after her maid Sarah helped her into her riding habit, Olivia had to scold herself. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life moping around. For the moment, she was still free and would enjoy herself. And for right now, that meant spending the afternoon with her brother.

“You look lovely,” Marcus greeted a short time later as she joined him and Lord Huntsford outside.

After thanking Marcus, Olivia forced herself to give Lord Huntsford a cursory glance. In deference to his presence, she inclined her head and murmured a greeting.

If Marcus noticed her rudeness, he didn’t comment on it. Olivia felt a pang of guilt and shame, but her coldness was for her own defense. Something about the marquess was irresistible. Certainly, he was handsome. But her attraction to him wasn’t purely physical. He exuded a strength and mystery that she found alluring. That appeal put her in an unenviable position.

She wasn’t free to develop any interest in him.

So she would keep her distance.

“Care for a race?” she asked her brother with a smile after they’d ridden along the length of the west perimeter of the property. The happy expression didn’t feel quite right on her face, but neither of the men noticed the subtle difference.

Marcus shuddered dramatically. “I don’t think so. I have enough pride to want no one to witness me losing to a woman.” Then he grinned at her.

Olivia could almost pretend as though she’d altered time and returned to her life as it was a few days before. She felt carefree and uninhibited.

Which, surely, was the reason she turned to the marquess next.

“What about you, my lord?” she asked.

Lord Huntsford turned the full force of his smile on her, and Olivia had to remind herself to breathe. “Now I feel I must, if only to prove I could do better than Marcus,” he said. “Anyone could do better than Marcus, my lord,” she exaggerated, simply because Marcus prided himself on his horsemanship—with just cause—and she knew it would aggravate him.

Marcus’s friend laughed. “Do you wish a lead? It would only be gentlemanly of me.”

Marcus laughed this time.

Olivia smiled and shook her head no. “To the stone wall to the east.” She pointed out a straight path with her hand. “Shouldn’t be too difficult, my lord. I’ll see you when you get there.”

Marcus called their start, and Olivia took off. Hooves pounded the ground, sending clumps of earth flying. She laughed and felt the sound trailing out behind her. It almost seemed as if she were leaving all her troubles behind. For this one, brief moment, she allowed herself to be happy.

Lady Olivia won the race. And if she suspected that Nick might have pulled on his reins just a bit at the end, for the sheer pleasure of seeing her victorious smile, then she had no way to prove it. He was basking in that smile when the lady realized that Marcus had been waylaid along the path, leaving the two of them to return to the house together without his moderating presence.

The realization seemed to make her uncomfortable. The young woman shifted in her sidesaddle several times and fidgeted with the reins.

“You have a beautiful home,” Nick commented after a long stretch of silence.

“Thank you. I’ve always thought it was uncommonly lovely here.” Her sigh seemed wistful, and the forlorn noise drew his eye to her.

Mercy. She was uncommonly lovely herself. Their breakneck ride had completely mussed her hair. Tendrils framed her face, both wild and flattering against cheeks slightly pink with exertion.

“Are you staring at me, Lord Huntsford?”

Nick looked quickly away, a reflex more suited to a child who’d been caught peering at presents hidden in a closet than a powerful noble. But her question was quiet, genuinely curious. Flirtation didn’t appear to be her aim.