Lady Thief - By Rizzo Rosko Page 0,68
throat. “I would say your brother succeeded in his teachings with the way you have the servants scampering about.”
She laughed. “Aye, but whatever manners I have came from him. As hard as he tried he could not teach me to embroider anything. Instead I learned his writing and colorful language.”
William smiled. “‘Tis believable that a lady kidnapper would need to know such things to gather her men and offer them payment for taking a man hostage.”
“Aye, though I did not know nearly enough, seeing as they kidnapped the wrong Lord Gray.”
He brushed her cheek with his knuckles. Marianne leaned into the touch, a need rising for him at that unexplainable moment, but ‘twould have to wait.
“It would seem, my dear, that now we have no secrets from each other.”
Chapter Thirteen
After speaking with her husband, Marianne left the stables and immediately sought out Blaise. She found him at the mews, idly stroking a sparrow hawk perched on his gloved hand.
She eyed the bird cautiously and waited for him to return the creature to its weathering space before going to him. Though she doubted he would send the animal after her, she did not wish to take the chance.
However, what she was about to do seemed so much more frightening.
But she would do it. She would have courage and make peace for her husband, herself, and Blaise. No more brawling.
When he finished with the bird, his eyes spotted her and hardened. “Come to shout more obscene lies at me already? I assumed you grew tired for the night and wished to wait until morn.”
Marianne clenched her jaw. Calm. Peace. She would not provoke him with the admission that her claim that he was not of William’s blood was no lie.
She was thankful William agreed to let her do this on her own. If he had stood behind her then Blaise would think the apology was being forced. Still, she could not ignore the prickling at the back of her neck.
Straightening her back and calming her nerves, she said what she came to say. “Nay, I have come to offer my apologies.”
Marianne held her hands calmly in front of her, thought sweet, serene thoughts, and eyed him with no malice.
His open-mouthed expression bathed her in satisfaction. He stepped back and wavered, and she was thankful again that she waited until he put the little hawk back on its perch before apologizing.
His face nearly brought Marianne to laughter. She wished she had thought to apologize to him sooner.
Blaise righted himself, anger and suspicion cascading from his eyes like a strong waterfall. “Do ye think me a fool? What is this nonsense?”
She shook her head, no hint of a smile on her face. “‘Tis not nonsense, though if you wish to believe ‘tis so then you have the right. ‘Twas wrong for me to have said what I did. And I should not have attempted to claw your eyes on the day of our meeting.”
What else could she say about herself that would make her apology sound sincere? She put a finger on her chin in thought. “‘Twas most unladylike of me.”
Blaise had his mouth open again. She waited for him to say something in return, though she doubted he would apologize for his behavior. At least not until he was certain she was not making a fool of him.
A sound came from his throat. His lips moved, but he seemed unable to properly respond.
Marianne could not have been more delighted, and she congratulated herself on hiding her joy. This had been a much easier task than she thought. “I shall accept your apology in return, and bid you good day now as I need to oversee the cooks do not burn the pheasant and leek pie again.”
With that, she spun on her heel and left him standing there. Only when her back was turned did she allow herself to smile at the silly face he made.
***
Marianne set out to make good on her word to control her temper.
William was correct, ‘twas much easier than what even she expected since all the servants were now alive with bustle and work.
There was no need to shout for someone to finish a task they ignored since they all seemed to have learned their lessons. And if she had reason to a foul temper, she found that when inhaling and exhaling deeply was a great help. All that was left was for Marianne was to stand watch and ensure their behavior remained productive.
That, and brood over the fact