“You mentioned that you would be happy to accompany me on a drive. Now that all your admirers have made themselves scarce, would you do me the honour?”
Anne felt a thrill travel up her spine at his words but tried to hang onto reason. “I would hate to keep you from anything important, my lord. You have already done enough to launch me successfully into Society. Do you think it is really necessary?”
It appeared as though her words irritated the viscount. “Necessary or not, I extended you an invitation, my lady. Do not be missish about it.”
Feeling her flush spread to the roots of her hair, Anne stammered out a hasty acceptance. “I will just let my aunt know that I will be leaving and change into something more appropriate for a drive, my lord. If you would wait a few minutes, I shall endeavour to be as quick as possible.”
“Very well, I shall await you here.”
Anne hurried from the room. She found her aunt in the room she liked to refer to as her boudoir grinning like Miss Charlotte. “Oh my dear, you are a success. I don’t know how you did it, but I’m sure it is because your father hasn’t been around glaring at any potential suitors. Isn’t it marvellous?”
She had to blink before she could respond appropriately to her aunt’s words. After a moment’s hesitation, she chose to ignore them all, merely informing her of the viscount’s invitation.
“Well, do not leave the gentleman waiting, you silly girl, get on with it. Oh, this is so exciting.”
Anne left her aunt as quickly as she had arrived, unable to bear watching her clapping her hands with delight over her supposed conquest of the viscount. She didn’t know how she would be able to break the news to her that the viscount wasn’t about to offer for her.
Her maid had been informed in that inexplicable way that servants always knew everything that was going on and was waiting for Anne when she got to her room. She already had a riding habit ready for her to change into.
“Thank you, Sally,” Anne said, not bothering to question how she knew what was needed. Within minutes she was changed and her hair had been combed and extra pins were inserted to ensure it held up to the rigours of wind.
“I am impressed, my lady,” Wesley complimented as Anne re-joined him in the receiving room. “Most young ladies would have taken at least twice as long.”
“Would you like me to leave and return in a few minutes?” she asked, allowing her sarcasm to show.
Wesley grinned. “Not at all, my lady. My horses will be glad not to be left waiting any longer than necessary.” With those words, he led the way to the door.
Within moments, they were making their way rapidly through the centre of the city. Anne was surprised to see they were not heading in the direction of Hyde Park.
“Where are we going, my lord?” she asked, hesitant to break the silence that had descended but curious about their destination.
“I thought a drive out into the country would make you comfortable. I do hope that meets with your approval.”
Anne was surprised by the viscount’s slightly abrasive behaviour. She began to feel wary about spending time with him. She really knew very little about the nobleman and wondered if it had been wise to accept his invitation to essentially be alone with him. The viscount’s servant hanging onto the back of the carriage would be of little assistance to her should she require it. She hoped to keep her disquiet to herself and merely nodded her acceptance of his words.
Several moments passed before the viscount spoke up, sounding impatient. “Are you giving me the silent treatment, my lady?”
Anne nearly wrenched her neck as she swung her gaze rapidly around to look at him. “Not at all, my lord,” she protested. She paused in discomfort before admitting, “I am uncertain of your mood, my lord, and have no idea what to say to you. You have to realize I am deeply grateful for your assistance and have no intention of returning your kindness with mistreatment.”
The viscount’s fierce demeanour instantly changed at her words. “Oh, Lady Anne, you need not apologize. It is me that owes you an explanation. I am the one being churlish. It was just so unexpected to see your rooms overflowing with posturing dandies and silly debutantes. It was foolish of me to blame you for that. It was obvious, at least to me, that you were as surprised by the hordes as I was.”
“But surely you expected me to have callers, my lord. Was it not your intention to bring attention to me?” Anne was confused by the viscount’s admission.
She was surprised to see spots of colour appear on the viscount’s cheekbones in response to her observation. “I will admit freely that I had not fully thought the matter through. You are quite correct, though. I should have expected your popularity to result in callers. But never mind about my mawkish behaviour. Tell me, how did it feel to be inundated with callers?”
Anne thought for a moment, trying to decide for herself how she felt about it. “I am very much of two minds on the subject, my lord. I did not expect your plan to have such marked results, especially not this quickly. I knew you and Lords Grey and Spencer had influence amongst the ton, but I had no idea you could so quickly transform me from wallflower to popular in one evening. I think I would appreciate it a little more if it had taken more effort. This just demonstrates what followers everyone is.”
“You are quite right, my dear, but please do not consider it to be an insult or any reflection upon you.”
“I don’t. It is clearly not a reflection upon me in either direction. I realize my current popularity and my prior lack of it had very little to do with me as an individual. But it does make me wonder if any one of those gentlemen will actually follow through and offer for me. If they are merely following the crowd, it seems rather doubtful. Not one of them seemed genuinely interested in learning anything about me.”
“Give it time, my lady,” the viscount soothed. “Let us just enjoy our drive and put our cares behind us for the time being.”
Anne eyed him askance. “Are you truly certain this is not taking you from other, more important matters, my lord? I know you are a busy gentleman and not the idle fellow you allow others to think you.”
“And how do you know that?” he demanded as he turned his gaze toward her.
She tried not to quail under that searching gaze of his. Shrugging, she answered him truthfully. “Being a wallflower allowed me to observe those around me. I learned to read the signs.”
“What signs?” Now the viscount appeared fascinated by her words.
“For example, while your cravat is tied precisely and just as fancifully as the other gentlemen who visited this morning, you did not once stare into the mirror and twitch it unlike each and every one of them. And I couldn’t help but notice that you spent far more time listening than blathering on about nonsense, again unlike the other gentlemen present. And I did overhear Lord Grey asking you about something in the House. I assumed this was the House of Lords he was mentioning.”
The viscount had his eyebrow raised in a sardonic gesture before he relaxed and chuckled when she paused in her faltering list. “I am impressed, my lady. You are not the idle debutante that everyone is expecting either. Nor the country mouse you think yourself to be. I think the Home Office would do well to secure you for your powers of observation.”
Anne felt the heat rising once more in her cheeks. She shook her head in denial. “I have been on my own for so long that I am finding observing so many people to be absolutely fascinating,” she excused.
“Do not make light, my dear. Most of the young ladies have been in very similar circumstances as you, and they have taken to gossip readily, not observing intelligently as you seem to be doing.”
Heaving a sigh, Anne asked rather plaintively, “Do you think a gentleman will offer for me who might appreciate that I am trying to improve as a person?”
“Whatever do you mean?”
Shrugging, Anne wasn’t sure how to explain her thoughts. “I do observe things, but I haven’t been much in the habit of thinking about what
I observed. The result is that I almost went through with a plot to entrap a duke into marrying me. Now that I have had a chance to think on it, I realize that it would have been a disaster. Can you imagine?” She shuddered delicately as she thought about it. “You know the duke. How would he have felt if he had ended up married to me and then found out afterward that it had all been a plot arranged by my father and one of his so-called friends?”
“He would have been furious.”
“See what I mean?”
“But he would never have mistreated you for it, no matter how angry he was.”
“You are a loyal friend to the duke, my lord, but even if he did not mistreat me, I cannot imagine he would have been happy with me, and it certainly would not have made a good foundation for our marriage.” She paused for a moment of reflection and then carried on, her tone pensive.
“I want to learn to think deeply about things, my lord. But I fear that many gentlemen prefer if women don’t think. You saw all those callers in my aunt’s receiving room. Very few of them were thinking about anything besides the cut of their coat, the strong lines of the latest race horses, or which events they are to attend this evening. I am not certain this plan of ours is going to attract the sort of gentleman who will make me a good mate.”
She paused again but then realized she was probably sounding ungrateful. “I do not mean to sound as though I don’t appreciate what you have done!”
Turning to him earnestly, she placed her hand on his arm as he held the reins. She wished she could pull her hand back, as she felt a jolt where her hand rested. It almost distracted her from her line of thought, but she pulled herself together and continued.
“Really, in my current circumstances, I should just be grateful if I will have a choice of gentlemen rather than just whichever one might be willing to take me.”
~~~
Wesley could not take her melancholy manner any longer. He transferred both reins into one hand and placed his other hand over hers where it rested on his arm. He wanted only to comfort her and had to fight the inappropriate urge to take her into his arms. He satisfied himself with patting her hand as he said, “Do not work yourself up into a taking, my lady. We shall find you the perfect spouse.” He could not find in himself any enthusiasm for the search, though, so he decided to change the subject. “There was an unrelated matter that I wanted to discuss with you, which is partially why I asked you on this drive. I arranged for a Runner to search for your father.”
This must have been exactly the right thing to say as she brightened considerably at his words and turned her shining grey gaze to meet his. “And have you heard anything yet, my lord?”
“As a matter of fact, that is why I have chosen this particular route. I have reason to believe your father might have spent a day or two in the village we are about to enter.”
Anne bounced a little in the seat beside him. “Oh, how delightful! Do you think he might still be here?”
“Not from what I’ve heard, but I wanted you to be able to confirm with me if we are on the right track.”
Wesley was surprised when she looked up at him with a grin, but there were tears clearly glistening in her eyes. Alarmed, he demanded, “Whatever is wrong?”
“Nothing at all, my lord. I am so happy that my cheeks hurt. No one has ever done anything so kind for me before.”
This made Wesley decidedly uncomfortable. It had taken almost no effort on his part to have his secretary arrange for a Runner. But her obvious appreciation made him feel as though his chest were swelling. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but he quite liked it. He felt like grinning but managed to contain himself.
“That is a rather sad state of affairs, my dear, as I have hardly done anything yet. I hope I haven’t gotten your hopes raised unduly. You do realize that we are unlikely to find your father today, do you not?”
She nodded her confirmation, but then a tear tumbled down her cheeks and she offered a watery chuckle. “Have no fear, my lord, I promise I shan’t treat you to a fit of the vapours. And yes, I do realize that we will not find him today. I am just so excited that we are on the way to finding him, and this feels like I am finally having an adventure.” She turned to him with widened eyes. “I actually think that is why I fell for my father’s scheme. I wanted an adventure. This is a much better idea for an acceptable adventure. Thank you, my lord.”
Wesley joined her in her delightful laughter. They rode along in companionable silence for a couple more minutes before she turned to him with her cute little nose wrinkled in puzzlement.
“Have you any idea where we are, my lord? I confess that I was not properly paying attention when we left Town and have lost track of which direction we are headed in.” She paused and released another tinkle of laughter before continuing. “I know a proper outdoors woman would be able to say much more than just that from the angle of the sun we are heading west, but that is about all I can tell.”
Wesley couldn’t help but burst into laughter. He could tell his amusement embarrassed her, for which he felt badly, but it was difficult to quell his amusement. When he could finally contain his mirth, he complimented her. “Very good, my lady! We are heading west. And we are about to enter the town of Uxbridge. A lovely village, Uxbridge is. Have you ever been there?”
He was surprised that his question brought bright colour to her cheeks. Thankfully, she did not leave him in doubt about her thoughts.
“My lord, surely you realize I have barely been anywhere. If it was not on the way from our estate to London when my father brought me for the Season then I have not been there.”
Wesley clucked in sympathy. “Well, then you are in for a treat. I am certain you shall enjoy Uxbridge.”
“Truly, my lord? Why do you say so?”
He found her to be a delightful companion. She seemed so easy to please that afternoon. “It is quaint and inviting and there are several shops I would expect a lady such as yourself would enjoy frequenting. And I know from first-hand experience that there is an inn at the centre of town whose cook makes pastries to rival anything you could find at Gunther’s fine establishment. So, once we have spoken to the innkeeper where your father spent some time, I will treat you to some tea before we head back to Town.”
Wesley was surprised to receive her silent stare at the conclusion of his statement. “Does that not meet with your approval, my lady?” he prompted her.
“Of course, it does, my lord. I am just left to wonder why you are being so kind to me. It was just days ago that you considered me to be an enemy. Now you are going out of your way to be my friend. It is disconcerting, I must say.”
Again, Wesley laughed. “You have just answered your own question. As odd as it might seem, you have become my friend. I find that I quite like you despite the fact that we got off to a rocky start.”
Anne again wrinkled her nose at him. “Can destitute debutantes whose fathers display highly questionable judgment be friends with highly sought after bachelor viscounts?”
“Absolutely,” Wesley declared emphatically. “Why not?”
Wesley heard her sigh before she answered. “By rights you should be running in the opposite direction from me, my lord. I have not set the best record for my behaviour.”
“Now none of that, my lady. No more melancholy on this fine afternoon. We are having an adventure, and then we are going to have cake. Nothing could be more delightful.”
His comical tone was just the thing to put a smile back on his companion’s face, and they were both smiling as they clattered into the town of Uxbridge. Wesley had to pay closer attention to his team of horses, but he could see from the corner of his eye that Anne was gazing about with intelligent interest. He pulled up in front of the saddest looking hostelry in the village. All of a sudden, he was questioning the wisdom of bringing her here when he spotted the unsavoury characters watching their approach.
Her inquisitive glance at his hesitation prodded him into lifting her down from the carriage.
It was too late to back out from this plan now. He just hoped it was early enough in the day that the men were not too far into their cups to be troublesome.
She must have picked up on his disquiet as she tucked her hand firmly into his elbow and kept close to his side as they entered the low establishment. The host approached them instantly.
“Good afternoon, my lord, what a pleasure to have you and your lady grace us with your presence.” The obsequious man bowed and scraped before them.
Anne shrank back even closer to Wesley’s side but did not make a sound. A quick glance in her direction showed Wesley that she was maintaining control over her features and only mild interest was displayed on her face despite the tight grip she had on his arm.
Wesley was surprised by a feeling of pride in her as though she were his protégé. He acknowledged that for the moment she was under his protection, but then sternly drew his attention back to the matter at hand. In order to properly protect the lady, he would need all his wits about him.
“The lady and I are here for some information. I have it on good authority that you have the information we seek.”
The landlord’s eyes gleamed and he rubbed his hands together, no doubt greedily imagining the coins the fine gentleman would have to part with to gain the information he sought. Wesley gritted his teeth and accepted the situation for what it was. But he could see that Lady Anne was drawing the attention of the patrons at the bar and quickly asked the landlord, “Is there somewhere we might be able to discuss the matter more privately?”
This caused the seedy man to appear even more delighted, no doubt imagining that private information would carry an even higher cost. Wesley suppressed his sigh and followed the thug to what appeared to be what was once a parlour but was now merely an oversized storage room.
“Unless you want to book a bed chamber, this is the most private we’re going to get, milor’. Now, what can I do for you and the little lady?”
Wesley was glad Anne did not react to the sneer sent her way, nor did she launch into speech. He answered the landlord calmly. “We are looking for our friend Manfred Austen. We heard he had travelled through this way, and we were wondering if you had seen him.”
The Viscount Deception: A Sweet Regency Romance Adventure (Mayfair Mayhem Book 3) Page 8