The Marker by Meggan Connors

she said, “Mrs. Ferguson, it’s just so complicated.”
    “Doesn’t have to be. He’s a good lad, and he’s got a good heart. I suspect when he falls in love, he will love only once. He dallies with his women, but his heart isn’t involved. I think when he finds the right woman, he will love her until the day he dies.”
    “You can’t possibly think I’m the one. I’m his servant . Not only that, but he won me in a poker game . What kind of man does that?”
    “Well, I suppose there are better ways this could’ve come about, but your father is the man who holds the major share of the blame for putting ye in this situation. As for Nicholas’s honor, I’m sure most other men would have made your time here...unpleasant. He hasn’t done that, has he?”
    Silence fell between them. Of course he hadn’t made her miserable. He’d been willing to test boundaries, but he didn’t cross them. Mrs. Ferguson sighed as she regarded her. “Lexie, lass, you’re his perfect match. I didn’t think so when he brought ye here, but the more I get to know ye, the better I see it. How this happened is unimportant, don’t ye think? You’re beautiful, well-read, and as stubborn as he is. You’ll give him a challenge, and a man like him needs one. And lass, ye need someone who will pull ye out of your shell, who will make ye think, who will love ye with his whole heart. I think our Mr. Wetherby is capable of that.”
    Lexie shook her head. Of course she wanted to be the one , the one woman who could tame the wild heart of Nicholas Wetherby, the one woman he would love above all others. As Mrs. Ferguson had pointed out, a woman would be daft and blind to not want Nicholas, and Lexie was neither. When he turned on his charm, she wasn’t impervious. It had been work to maintain her stony silence. Already promised to another, she was treading in dangerous waters when she entertained the idea she was the one for him.
    “It doesn’t matter, Mrs. Ferguson. Mr. Wetherby and I are not to be.”
     
    Nicholas waited for her in the foyer. Upon hearing the rustle of fine silk, he glanced up.
    And stared, the breath temporarily stolen from his lungs.
    Lexie was a vision dressed in scarlet. He thought she would wear the navy—it was far more sedate than the scarlet, a more typical dress for an evening with the governor. The other women in attendance would more than likely be dressed in darker, more subtly alluring gowns. This dress had been designed to draw a man’s attention to what were Lexie’s considerable assets. In a million years, he never would’ve guessed she would choose to wear this dress to the Governor’s Ball—she’d be sure to garner attention, that was for certain. He just wasn’t sure she realized that not all of it would be the kind she wanted. He almost told her to go back and change into something a little less...provocative.
    But if he ordered her to change, she would twist his order into something worse—she’d probably come back in her dratted maid’s uniform. And he didn’t want her to change. She was a beautiful, vibrant flower, and she was on his arm. Even though she would the center of attention for every eligible bachelor in the place—and his heart would suffer for it—she deserved the attention. She had been locked up for too long.
    Lexie needed to discover how beautiful she was.
    Clearing his throat, he extended his hand to hers. “You’re, uh...You’re lovely.”
    She smiled brightly at him, turning to show him the entire gown, and when she cast him a glance over her shoulder, batting those large, dark eyes, he laughed. “No need to be coquettish, Lexie. You already have my undivided attention.”
     
    Against her will, the laugh escaped her, though she tried to smother it with a cough. She knew she had his full attention. A woman couldn’t ignore a man like him when he turned his attention to her, and she was no different. When she had come into the foyer and caught his eye, she noticed