Unmasking Miss Lacey. Isabelle GoddardЧитать онлайн книгу.
and in seconds was at her side, helping her dismount. She was aware of the strong arm beneath her elbow, the strong fingers on hers, but she winced as his hand brushed against her wrist.
‘You are hurt, Miss Lacey?’
There was a momentary pause before she replied. ‘I was in the garden yesterday and foolishly attempted to unearth a small bush without tools.’
‘And what had the bush done to earn your displeasure?’
‘It was in the wrong place,’ she said shortly.
He gave a mock sigh. ‘So often our troubles are down to that one small fact, don’t you find—being in the wrong place?’
She gazed sharply towards him, but his face was innocent of suspicion. She was tense, agitated: that was the trouble, she chided herself, jumping at words that meant nothing.
They tethered the horses to the largest of the bushes and began to stroll towards the sun. She kept a clear distance from him, following a separate but parallel path.
He ignored her deliberate aloofness, but his words when he spoke sounded a challenge. ‘I hope that my visit has not incommoded you.’
‘My uncle’s guests rarely disturb me,’ she hit back. That was true since visitors were unknown at Verney Towers, but she had not meant to speak so rudely; she felt flustered and uncomfortable and had no idea why.
‘I am greatly relieved,’ he was saying, the wry pull of his mouth undermining the sentiment. ‘My stay is to be brief, but I would not wish you to be inconvenienced.’
‘How brief?’
The bald question left him unfazed. ‘If I had not had the misfortune to meet with some desperado on the road, I would even now be in the next county, enjoying the company of Lord Merrington and his friends.’
Was his mention of a desperado a tease? Had he guessed? Her heart was in her mouth and she dared not look at him, dared not speak, for she knew she would be unable to keep the tremble from her voice. The only sound was the soft swishing of her skirts against the tufted grass. If only she had not chosen him of all people to rob … but she must give nothing away.
‘I am sorry your plans have gone awry,’ she managed at last, ‘but if your intention was to stay only one night with us, it seems hardly worth your while to call.’ Once more she was sounding ungracious, she thought, little better than a badly brought-up schoolgirl.
‘I would not be so harsh, Miss Lacey. If I had not found my way to Verney Towers, I would never have had the pleasure of meeting you or your esteemed uncle.’ His voice was bland, but when she shot a glance at him she saw that his eyes sparkled with enjoyment.
He continued to talk, as smooth as caramel. ‘My sisters will be delighted, too, for I came at their behest. They wished me to make your acquaintance and, since I planned to travel to Hampshire, it needed only a small diversion to find my way here.’
‘I do not know your sisters, Lord Frensham, and cannot imagine why they were so eager that you should meet me.’
‘It is hard to credit, is it not, but their eagerness sprang from some ridiculous story they were told. They got it from a very old aunt who died quite recently. I wonder if you have heard the same tale.’
‘Are you referring to our grandfathers and the promise they made each other?’
‘Precisely. It is a fantasy and maudlin beyond belief. But for some reason the story has taken hold of their imaginations and they will not let it go.’
The story was maudlin and should be buried as quickly as possible. For the first time since they met, she felt in charity with him. ‘I fear that Uncle Francis is as enthusiastic as your sisters,’ she was moved to confess.
He pushed the stray lock of hair from his forehead in an impatient gesture and she saw that he was frowning. ‘It is amazing, is it not, that otherwise sensible people should concern themselves with such flummery. Such a proposition belongs to the last century—two people who have not a thought in common, to be pushed together, only because their families wish to be united!’
‘I believe that many people still find arranged marriages acceptable.’ She did not intend to be too much in charity with him.
‘That may be so, but I am not one of them.’
‘Then you did not come as a suitor?’
‘No, I did not,’ he said gently. ‘I hope that does not disappoint, but from our brief acquaintance, I imagine not.’ There was the shadow of a smile on his face.
It did not disappoint, of course it did not. The last thing she wanted was to be forced into allying herself with a stranger—allying herself with anyone. If she were ever tempted to consider matrimony, she had only to remember her mother’s history for the temptation to vanish as swiftly as morning dew. But still, in the back of her mind there was a small wistful thought: Jack Beaufort would make a handsome husband. She felt unbearably confused.
‘So why did you come—if you consider the story nonsense?’ she blurted out.
‘I confess that my visit was simply to stop my sisters’ infernal nagging.’
‘And will it?’
‘I doubt that. Their mission is to find a wife for me and they seem unable to resist any opportunity. But by calling on you, I have done as they asked and that surely must count for something.’
They had left the pathway and were strolling freely across the cropped grass, the sun warm on their faces. He was walking closer now and she was sharply aware of his proximity: the powerful athleticism of his figure, the lean, tanned face, the mocking dark eyes. She wished that she wasn’t enjoying his company quite so much. Then she sensed he was watching her intently and the spell was broken. He was assessing her, appraising her, she thought indignantly. It was time to cause him discomfort if she could.
‘I am beholden to my uncle for a home, your lordship, but you are free and independent. I cannot imagine why you would bend so easily to your sisters’ demands.’
‘That is because you have never met them.’ The slur on his manhood was brushed aside. ‘Georgina, the eldest, is overbearing and not easily gainsaid. Hester’s ceaseless complaining drives me to distraction and now Maria has joined forces with them and in the gentlest way possible has indicated that she wishes very much that I will soon bring a wife into the family. Together they are a formidable army.’
‘Would it not be easier therefore to settle on a bride of your own choosing? I understand from my uncle that you have the pick of London beauties.’
‘Surely Sir Francis could not be guilty of such vulgarity!’
Her unguarded remark had met the derision it deserved and she was left feeling gauche. But after several minutes he appeared to relent and, stopping close, he fixed on her a pair of candid brown eyes.
‘I see I must make a full confession. The truth is, Miss Lacey, I have no intention of ever marrying. My sole hope in coming here was to secure a breathing space before the next onslaught.’
She looked up at him, wrinkling her nose in disbelief. ‘It sounds as though you are fighting a battle.’
‘It feels so. You have not experienced the full ferocity of a London Season, I believe, or you would understand.’
‘I am grateful to my uncle for sparing me that at least. But I think you protest too much. I understand that you are a grand matrimonial prize and courted avidly. It seems to me that you cannot be so averse to ton circles.’
The earl shrugged his shoulders impatiently. ‘You have that from your uncle, too, I imagine. What other morsels has he seen fit to communicate?’
‘He implied that your name is often linked to others. Would it not be sensible to marry one of your devotees as soon as possible?’
The grin was back, but he schooled