The mirth in Marcus's eyes faded. "Erin will accompany you to England."
Elise felt her breath quicken. A decree she would have made had she the power. Realization washed over her in a tidal wave. If she confessed the truth, Marcus would sail across the ocean and kill Price with his bare hands. If she disappeared, he would leave no stone unturned until he found her. If she told him she would not marry a duke, he would follow her to the ends of the earth in order to change her mind.
God help him, he loved her.
And God help her, she wouldn't sacrifice him… not even for Amelia and Steven.
Marcus entered the great hall the following afternoon to discover the room filled with people and humming with unexpected excitement. He scanned the familiar entourage until his gaze settled on his cousin Sophie and, to his surprise, Elise, who looked as though she hadn't a care in the world. The two women stood, profiles to him, and neither had noticed his entrance. He hung back near the door, watching.
He hadn't spoken with Elise since she left him standing in the abbey the night before. He had gone to her room early this morning and found her bed empty. She had slept there, however, a fact he had verified in the dead of night. His search that morning didn't turn her up in the kitchen or the ladies' drawing room. Even his library, a favorite haunt, had been empty. The kitchen maids informed him she and Winnie had gone to visit Chloe.
Marcus studied Elise. What had transpired after she'd sequestered herself in her room? What other ridiculous considerations surfaced during those waking hours? She hadn't sought him out to inform him there would be no wedding. Neither had she confirmed there would be a wedding. No note, no message, nothing.
He shifted his attention to his cousin. Sophie, Lady Whycham, was one of the few Ashlund relatives he liked. Though petite, her flaming red hair and voluptuous body had made her all the rage before she wed Justin Ellington, the Earl of Whycham.
She caught sight of him, ceased speaking, and raised a meticulously plucked brow. Elise turned, and he started toward them.
"Sophie," he said as he neared. "What brings you here, lass?"
"Don't play the innocent with me, Marcus MacGregor. You know full well I would not let my favorite cousin wed without me." The keen curiosity in her gaze vanished and her eyes narrowed in a fashion that Marcus knew well. "I am wondering, Cousin," she said, "why it is I read of your engagement in the newspapers instead of hearing it from you."
Marcus looked at Elise, whose impassive expression didn't quite hide the sense that she, too, wondered the same thing.
He slid an arm around Elise. She stiffened. The small hope inside him sagged, but he kept his gaze on her. "When last I visited Ashlund, I had no notion I would marry."
"No?" Sophie said, bringing both their attentions onto her. "Still, you could have sent a personal missive."
He again felt Elise's thoughts echo the question, and he looked down at her. "Forgive me, Sophie," he said, and smiled gently at Elise. "Since Elise agreed to be my wife, I have thought of little else."
"Not so, Cousin," Sophie replied. "You didn't forget the formal announcements."
Marcus shot his cousin a sharp look.
Sophie groaned. "Elise, are you sure you will be able to put up with him for the rest of your life?"
Marcus started. He cursed silently at Sophie, then his future wife when her expression remained unreadable save a hint of curiosity.
"Everyone is speculating about the woman who has captured Marcus's heart," Sophie went on.
"Good Lord," Elise blurted
Sophie laughed. "Didn't you know, my dear? Marcus is a confirmed bachelor."
Marcus stilled as Elise looked directly at him for the first time. "Really? I wouldn't have believed it."
"Why is that?" Sophie asked, the eagerness in her voice so transparent that Marcus wanted to thrash her.
"Because your cousin pursued me with such a vengeance that I would have thought he was desperate for a wife."
Sophie burst into howls of laughter, and his desire to laugh with her forced him to cough loudly several times.
"Does this," he began, but halted abruptly to clear his throat before saying, "Does this mean—"
"This means, sir," Elise cut in, "you should attend to your guests."
He opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again.
Elise opened the door to the library and stepped aside. "Forgive me, Lady Whycham. I hadn't expected company, so the ladies' drawing room isn't ready to receive guests."
"Call me Sophie." She brushed past Elise. "We shall soon be related. No need to stand on formality. Now," Sophie seated herself on the divan and waited until Elise had taken a seat beside her, "tell me what my cousin has done to annoy you."