"What would you have done in my place, Lyddie?" Mariah asked.
"The same, I suppose," Lydia confessed. "I would have none of Marcus for weeks after he returned from Breda. But when we were forced together," she slanted Lady Russell a mildly accusing look, "we began to realize just how compatible we really are."
"And in the end you reconciled with him," Lady Russell said with a self-satisfied smile.
"Why, Lyddie?" Mariah asked. "You were so determined to break it off after he made you wait so long. What softened your heart toward him?"
"In truth, I didn't want to soften," Lydia said. "But then Marcus began to see me as a true helpmeet. After I won his respect, he won back my love. He is still an arrogant arse, but I do love him passionately." Lydia smiled. "I confess our physical attraction was another major point in his favor."
"One should never underestimate the power of passion," Lady Russell said. "My own marriage to Wriothesley was a most fortuitous match. We wed for convenience but discovered passion in our union. I recall sleeping very little in the first years of our marriage." Her eyes misted with a faraway look. "We would no doubt have had many more children had he not been taken from me so early."
"Are you content with memories, my lady? Is that why you never remarried?" Mariah asked.
"In part. Although I cherish those years still, in all truth, I have no real need of a husband when I have all the comforts of a queen. But we digress. We were speaking of you."
"And I can't help desiring what you had, my lady."
"Do you still have tender feelings for Mr. Needham?" she asked.
"I don't want to after the ill way he has used me, but I don't know how I feel anymore," Mariah replied in a choked voice.
"Of course, my dear," Lady Russell consoled.
"Even if he begged, how could I ever forgive him?" Mariah asked. Yet, even as she railed against him, she couldn't banish his face from her mind.
***
Nick had stood helplessly frozen to the floor as Mariah gave him her back and walked out. Bloody hell. He couldn't have blundered it any more if he'd tried. As he'd hoped, she hadn't the least interest in Rochford's proposal, but that was small consolation given that her rejection was largely because he'd been the one to present it. How could he possibly hope to win her back if she refused even to see him?
He'd been such a fool ever to imagine he could sacrifice his own selfish desires and let her go. He'd known the moment he'd laid eyes on her again that he could not give her up, not to Rochford, not to any man.
Nick was leaving Russell House just as Marcus was arriving. "Once more, we are well timed," Marcus declared. "I have just come from the Duke of Richmond's. I heard he has several horses for sale. I'm seeking a good English hunter to take back with me to Modena. The countryside there is ideal for the hunt, but the Italians know nothing of good horse flesh. Have you come to see Mariah?"
"Yes. I have already spoken with her."
"And?" Marcus prompted. "Never mind. Your expression tells me everything. Care for a drink?"
"Yes. I could use one."
After several brandies in Marcus's study, Nick found his distress had only marginally tempered. "She refuses to see me again. What am I to do?"
"Do you recall how obstinate Lydia was when she perceived that I had snubbed her? Good Lord, what she put me through! She had me kneeling at her feet before she would forgive me."
Nick grinned. "I never would have imagined you groveling, but I must say you are a better man for it."
"If I am a better man, it is indeed because of her. I don't know how I ever lived without her."
"I can't imagine myself with anyone but Mariah," Nick said. "I've never felt this way about another woman. I can't bear to give her up without a fight."
"Fortunately for the male half of this world, most of the females of our species are possessed of a compassionate and forgiving nature. As I did with Lydia, you must get her alone with you somewhere private . . . and make it impossible for her to refuse you."
"Impossible how?"
"You must use every weapon in your arsenal." Marcus returned a slow, sly smile. "Did I never relate to you the . . . particulars . . . of how I won Lydia back?"
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"He who would search for pearls must dive below."- John Dryden
THEY ARRIVED BY CARRIAGE at the Westminster pier, where the private barge awaited to take them to Richmond House. It was Mariah's first social outing, and she was filled with nervous anticipation. It had also been nearly a week since her fateful meeting with Nicolas. Her stomach knotted at the thought of another encounter with him, but as part of the diplomatic corps that had forged the peace, he was almost certain to be there.