Scoundrel With A Noble Heart (sequel of Disgraceful)

Chapter 71

"I've never seen such beautiful dresses as these, Miss. You will look terrific in them. Why don't you try them on?"

Mary's cheerful voice snapped Marguerite from her sad musings. She turned to see her maid picking a muslin dress in her favorite color and showed it to her with a wide expectant grin. Any woman would leap in joy, but Marguerite just shook her head. As her maid turned to put the dress back in place, Marguerite glanced listlessly at the colorful stack of thirty brand new dresses inside her closet. Today her order from Madame Le Veaux had just shipped and Mary had just done storing them in her closet, but even a wardrobe full of beautiful dresses could do little to dispel the gloom in her heart.

Mary's brows furrowed with concern as she watched Marguerite, then she tried again,
"How about I ask Cook to make your favorite strawberry cheese tart?"

"I don't feel like eating."

Her maid cast a pitiful look at her and left her alone. Wrapped in her shabby old shawl, she reclined on the sofa, staring idly into the fireplace until a knock on the door startled her.

"Yes?"

The door clicked open and a young footman stepped in with a package in his hand.
"Pardon me, Miss. Somebody sent this for you."

Marguerite sat upright, casting a curious glance at the package, wrapped simply yet neatly in plain brown paper.
"Put it on the table, please."

The footman crossed over to set the package on the low table in front of Marguerite. She thanked the footman and waited until he left before starting to unwrap the package. It took a while because she'd never ripped off the wrapping paper. When the plain wrapping had been unfolded, she found a box of chocolate and a stack of fairytale books, along with a small ivory envelope. She took out the note inside and read the neatly written message;

"Might not be today, tomorrow, or the next day but everything is going to be alright."

Marguerite needed no further clues to know the sender of the anonymous gift, and the small, simple gesture brought a smile to her lips. It felt good to know that someone cared about her, that another man had concerned himself with her, no matter how little, when the one who was supposed to take care of her appeared to have forgotten her completely.

She opened the chocolate box and picked one chocolate ball covered in sprinkles, closing her eyes when the sweet flavor melted in her mouth. She took one of the books and opened it, relishing the sweet scent of the newly printed pages. She wondered how he could possibly know that she loved books. She was certain no one had told him. Or perhaps Matthew had casually spilled some information about her?

And then an idea occurred to her.

Instead of guessing, why not ask him about it?

Marguerite put down the book and reached for the handbell. A moment later, Mary appeared in the doorway.

"You rang, Miss?"

Knowing that Mary would disapprove, she braced herself for the inevitable arguments.
"Mary, I need your help."

*****

Later in the evening, Jacob's lips curled up into a rueful smile as he followed the sour-faced maid to the suite of Miss Goddard through the backstairs. He reminded himself the purpose of this clandestine yet chaste meeting, but he couldn't deny that there was a palpable frisson of excited anticipation in him that he'd been trying to stifle from the moment her maid appeared in front of him in the dining room and told him that Miss Goddard wished to see him.

For some inexplicable reason, this unfashionable, socially inept woman had somewhat put him off his stroke. Ever since she appeared in his house last night, he could think of little else. He thought it might be a good thing she sprained her ankle last night, because the incident had prevented her from chasing her fiancé to Gretna, but he felt compelled to do something to cheer her up. So he'd sent her a little gift today, hoping that it could bring her a little comfort. He'd never expected that she would want to see him again, because he'd turned her down, so it took him by surprise when her maid appeared in front of him and delivered her message.