For an instant, a sick feeling resonated in the pit of his stomach, a muted echo of the desperate loneliness and isolation he’d felt as a child. He had no desire to stumble into wanting something—or someone—so keenly that he risked a devastation similar to what he’d felt as a five-year-old when he lost his parents and with them, his whole world. Perhaps it would be prudent to abandon his pursuit of Miss Antinori.
Even as the thought formed, he shook his head and laughed. ’Twas no reason to turn so melodramatic. Miss Antinori posed no real danger; he was only unsettled because she didn’t fit neatly into either of the two categories into which he’d previously divided all women—” virtuous lady” or “knowing wench.”
And as little suited for it as he might be, he mustn’t dismiss out of hand the idea of matrimony—not while it represented a chance to restore Brookwillow. Since Miss Antinori was the most interesting eligible female he’d met, he might as well charm Lucilla into investigating whether the girl’s dowry would be sufficient for that purpose.
There was no assurance he’d be able to win her even if he tried. Lord Lynton had already made it abundantly clear he would not encourage Will’s pursuit.
His amusement faded as he recalled the look Miss Antinori’s escort had given him when he’d walked into the ballroom and found them together. Under eyes as cold as the English Channel in January, Lynton’s lips had settled almost into a sneer, as if Will were polluting the purity of the girl’s hand by holding it. A reaction that immediately inspired in Will the desire to pull her closer.
The young Lynton he’d known at school had grown into exactly the sort of gentleman that drove Will to prod and needle until he found some pretext upon which to challenge him to a bout of fisticuffs. A man so supremely confident of his own self-worth, so arrogantly dismissive of those who did not meet his standards. A man who’d possessed from birth all the advantages of breeding, position and wealth.
A wolfish grin stole over Will’s face. He would have to pursue Miss Antinori, if only to further disgruntle the Peerless Hero. He simply couldn’t walk away from the challenge she presented, just as he’d never turned his back on a fight, even as a scrawny lad set upon by bigger boys.
He thrust out of mind the small voice whispering that losing his heart to the intriguing Miss Antinori might batter him more severely than the worst beating he’d ever suffered as a pugilist.
STILL SMILING, Allegra was climbing the stairs to her bedchamber when Hobbs waved at her from the first-floor landing. “Master Rob be wishful of seeing you in the library at your convenience, Miss Allegra.”
Delight and anticipation filled her chest. “Tell him I’ll be there shortly.” Hurrying to her chamber, Allegra called Lizzie to help her quickly change her gown. What might Rob want to discuss with her?
One window of Rob’s library overlooked the back garden, the other, the street, she recalled. Had Rob seen her returning with Tavener? If he was summoning her immediately after viewing them together, might he be jealous—or at least disapproving? If so, perhaps her scheme was working!
As soon as Lizzie had her afternoon gown pinned in place, she hurried down to the library.
She entered to find Rob sitting at his desk, a scowl on his face. Hoping she knew the reason for it, she said brightly, “Good afternoon, Rob. My, what a frown! Is something wrong?”
As he saw her, his brow cleared and he put on a smile of his own. “Please, sit. No, nothing is amiss—that is, nothing that cannot be corrected.”
Allegra took a chair. “How can I help you, then?”
Rob opened his mouth, closed it and sighed. “’Tis a delicate matter,” he began again. “One does not wish to offend Lady Domcaster or the Carlisle family, but drat it, you simply mustn’t encourage Tavener! I realize there’s nothing you can do to forestall a morning call properly paid, but you need not go driving with the fellow!”
Savoring the jealousy she hoped was responsible for some of Rob’s vehemence, Allegra replied, “But he drove his curricle, with us in the open for all to see.” Wanting to emphasize how carefully she’d observed the proprieties, she added, “We visited the Elgin marbles and the park, which Mrs. Randall said was perfectly unexceptional.”
“With any other gentleman it would be unexceptional, but Tavener—! And he took you to view the Elgin marbles? Blast, the ton will think you a bluestocking, which is almost as bad as being a rogue’s flirt!”
“How dare you!” Allegra cried, anger evaporating her satisfaction at his concern. Not even from Rob—especially not from Rob—would she allow her character to be maligned. “I am not a ‘flirt,’ I am a lady!” she said hotly. “You, of all people, should know that.”
Rob made a restraining gesture. “Yes, yes I do, so don’t unleash your famous temper on me. That’s precisely my point. You and I know you’re a lady, but society must be persuaded of it. A campaign that cannot go well, my dear, if the world sees you always in Tavener’s company.”
Though Allegra had to allow the truth of that, as her anger dissipated, disappointment grew. Rob seemed more concerned about preserving appearances than jealous of her spending time with Tavener. “I must remain at home until some gentleman of whom you approve invites me to drive?” she asked.
“Of course not. You may pay calls and shop—”
“I own more gowns now than I could ever wear out and I’ve already paid calls on every society lady Mrs. Randall recommended,” she countered, not at all interested in continuing those tedious activities. “Am I to be restricted to no more lively entertainment than that?”
Suddenly realizing that this might be the perfect opening to advance her desires, she rushed on, “I haven’t a horse, so I can’t ride with you, but might we continue the fencing lessons you began before you left for the army? I should love to learn more!”
Rob laughed. “Heavens, no! ’Twould not be suitable. Besides, the last thing I want is to equip you with a sword so you might try to skewer me the next time I offend you by chastising your behavior!”
“Chess, then. You used to enjoy our games.”
“Playing chess with me would hardly meet the goal of exposing you to the wider world.”
A dismaying thought struck, almost too awful to voice. Forcing herself to articulate it, she said softly, “Do…do you not want to spend time with me? If ’tis that, you need only say so and I’ll not—”
“No, of course it isn’t that,” Rob interrupted, looking harried. “It’s just—you’re not a child anymore, Allegra! Despite our family connection, ’tis not seemly for us to spend time together alone. Besides, how can I make the ton aware of what a jewel has come into their midst if I bury you here at Lynton House?”
As a reaffirmation, it wasn’t all she might have wished. Still, he was acknowledging he knew she had grown up…and would not the fact that he considered it improper for them to spend time alone indicate that he did indeed find her an alluring temptation he needed to avoid?
Unlike a certain other gentleman, who seemed to delight in temptation.
Heartened by that conclusion, she replied, “Might you drive me in the park, then? Just once or twice, until other suitable gentlemen ask for that honor.” Riding in his curricle wouldn’t have quite the intimacy as a game of chess or a fencing match at Lynton House, but it would allow her to converse with him in relative privacy. If they just had enough time together, surely he’d realize how much he prized her company.
Rob frowned thoughtfully. “Yes, I suppose that would be possible. I’m not engaged for tomorrow afternoon, I believe. Should you like to drive in the park then?”
“Above all things!” She gave him a radiant smile.
“Very good. We shall start there. You mustn’t lose heart, Allegra. There are many upcoming events at which you will be able to meet eligible gentlemen. A little persistence—and prudence—in discouraging Tavener, and I’m sure you’ll find the right gentleman to wed.”
Recognizing dismissal when she heard it, Allegra rose. “I
’ll leave you to your work, then.”
Rob sighed. “There’s a shortage of millet for the Weiss farm and an outbreak of sore-hoof among the sheep on the Cumbrian estate. And the seed grain to order—but I don’t mean to prose on about matters in which a lady could have little interest and even less understanding.”
“Ah, but you are wrong!” Allegra protested. “Though we moved about quite often, I’ve always been interested in farming. I’m sure I would understand, if you explain it.”
“But I don’t wish to explain!” he retorted impatiently. Sighing again, he patted her hand. “Let us not brangle! I don’t mean to chastise, but you shall have to curb that argumentative nature if you want to win a husband. A man doesn’t like a woman who tries to intrude in his business—or wishes to dispute with him constantly.”
Allegra swallowed her first, biting response. “Yes, Rob,” she said after a moment, struggling to quell her irritation. “Shall we see you at dinner tonight?”
“No, I’ll be at my club.” He grimaced. “Meaning no disparagement of present company, I prefer not to dine with my stepmother. I swear, if she reaches for my hand again, I may forget the duty I owe to my father’s widow and pack her off to the family estate in Cumbria.”
That’s a resolution she could wholeheartedly approve, Allegra thought, wishing she had a club to escape to. “I understand. Until tomorrow afternoon, then?”
He gave her a salute. “Until tomorrow.”
Allegra’s smile faded as she left the library. She’d been right; Rob truly disliked the notion of her spending time with Tavener. However, trying to master a sense of disappointment, she wished he had a less restricted view of a woman’s role—and seemed to view their upcoming outing more as a pleasure and less as a military strategy.
But that was only evidence of his good character, was it not? she reassured herself. Honorable as he was handsome, having recommended she have a Season, Rob would think it unsporting to trade upon their former closeness to forward a match between them before she’d had time to meet other eligible gentlemen. And though he might be a bit…high-handed at times, doubtless due to habits of command ingrained by the army, she still had no doubt which man she’d prefer.
She would have Rob to herself for several hours tomorrow. She’d just have to make the most of it.
GARBED IN THE PALE YELLOW carriage dress she felt showed her at her best, Allegra eagerly accepted the groom’s hand up into Rob’s curricle. Nervously she adjusted her skirts as he set the horses in motion. With her opportunities to engage his heart and mind so limited, she wished to take full advantage of this rare chance.
“You’re looking especially lovely,” Rob said, making her glad she’d considered her choice of gown so carefully. “Let’s go see how many hearts you can ensnare.”
Resisting the strong temptation to confess ’twas only one heart she wanted, she replied, “And you, sir, are just as handsome in that bottle-green jacket as you are in regimentals. Have you sold out, then?”
“Yes, I completed the business yesterday. I shall miss the Regiment…though not the battles. Despite all the talk about courage and valor, war’s an ugly business.”
“What of the peace, then? With Boney exiled for good, I’ve heard many English aristocrats are flocking to visit the continent. Is Paris as beautiful as they say?”
Eyes on his horses, Rob shrugged. “Napoleon pulled down parts of the old city to create wide boulevards and erected stolen Egyptian monuments in some squares to celebrate his glory, which makes it overall a vast, drafty place. I much prefer London.”
She could hardly fault that response by a good Englishman, Allegra told herself, damping down a niggle of disappointment. Another idea occurred, much more to her purpose. “And the ladies? I’ve always heard how beautiful and elegant they are.”
Rob shook his head. “Beautiful perhaps, but as shockingly frank and forward as their gowns were low-cut. Faithless flirts, the lot of them! Give me a quiet, modest, pretty-behaved English lass any day.”
Allegra fell silent, mulling this bit of information. Quiet. Modest. Pretty-behaved. Not argumentative, as he’d thought her yesterday. She truly had learned to curb her temper—usually. But how did she go about proving she possessed the qualities he admired to the man who still saw her as his hot-tempered hoyden of a cousin?
Unfortunately, it appeared she shouldn’t try teasing or flirting or trying to play on the sensual attraction he felt for her. Unsure how to proceed, she picked up the conversational thread she’d begun. “How did you find Spain and Portugal, then? I’ve always envied your chance to travel abroad.” How she would love someday to visit her father’s Italy…especially with Rob as her companion.
Rob laughed. “Would that our positions had been reversed, not that I would wish the conditions I experienced during my ‘travels’ on any gently bred female! The sea off the Iberian coast looks beautiful, I’ll allow, but the country inland is rocky, dry and mostly barren. How I pined for the green forests of home! Now that duty no longer calls me away, I shall be happy never to leave England again.”
“I can see that making long marches in every sort of weather and spending the night who knows where might have given you a distaste for exploring,” she allowed.
He laughed again and shook his head. “Some of the billets we found—no, I shall not miss that! But the friendships I forged there are past price. That camaraderie and the knowledge that I served my country in its time of need, I shall always treasure.”
“As well you should!” Knowing his preference for home, she found Rob even more noble for having put aside his own desires to endure nameless privations in the fight to defeat Napoleon.
Besides, preferring home and hearth was an admirable trait in a husband. And wasn’t settling down in a permanent location what she wanted too?
By now they’d reached Hyde Park. To her surprise, it was much more crowded than when she’d accompanied Tavener here. “What a throng! Is today a preferred visiting day?”
“No, ’tis the usual afternoon hour,” Rob replied. “I expect you were here too early the other day—fortunately, for there would have been fewer people of rank to notice you with Tavener. Did you meet anyone, by the way?”
“No one he wished to present,” Allegra replied, heat flushing her cheeks as she recalled the rude appraisal she’d received from Tavener’s rakish acquaintances. No need to further inflame Rob’s dislike of Tavener by revealing that incident, despite being able to describe how quickly her escort had routed the two rogues.
Rob snorted. “That I can believe. We shall go about changing that at once. Ho, Sir Thomas, well-met!”
Rob pulled up the curricle beside a gentleman on a bay hack, whom he introduced as his old Oxford mate, Sir Thomas Reede. Before Sir Thomas could ride off, a landau approached them, bearing another of Rob’s friends, Mr. Richard Radsleigh and his mother. After presentations were made all around, calls promised and an invitation to Mrs. Radsleigh’s upcoming rout secured, they drove on.
Allegra’s hope for more private talk with Rob was frustrated as it seemed around every bend of the carriage trail they met another of Rob’s friends, often in a carriage accompanied by female relations. Soon Allegra’s head was swimming with names she would never all remember.
Though their arrival put an end to the private chat she’d wished for, still it was a novel experience to be the center of attention. To receive compliments from the gentlemen and invitations to call from their ladies.
And what a large number of friends Rob had! Though ’twas hardly surprising, given his sterling character, that he had earned the affection of so many.
Sitting in the midst of the latest gathering, smiling up at Rob as he joked with Colonel Jessamyn and several former company mates, Allegra reflected that simply gazing at the object of your admiration could be satisfying. Even, she added with a mental sigh, if that person’s stated goal was to show you off to other prospective suitors.
AS HIS HORSE PICKED its
way through the crowd, Will chided himself again for succumbing to the urge that had propelled him to ride at a place and time he normally avoided. Until now, he’d not had enough interest in the parade of society ladies displaying themselves for their prospective beaux—and gentlemen preening before the ladies—to endure the slow pace resulting from this packing of so much humanity on trails he preferred to gallop. There was, however, some amusement to be had in watching the demimondaines flirting with their admirers while well-bred ladies pretended to ignore them—and greeting acquaintances startled to find him here at this hour.
Finally, he spotted the reason behind his compulsion to ride seated in a curricle some thirty yards away and surrounded by mounted guardsmen. He noted Lord Lynton at the vehicle’s reins and smiled. Should he join them and turn Lynton’s pleasant expression into a frown?
He urged his horse forward until forced to halt by the press of vehicles, still twenty paces from his quarry. Perhaps he’d wait until the guardsmen departed before trying to approach further. Anyway, ’twas a pleasure just looking at her, radiant in a gown and bonnet that borrowed brightness from the sun itself as it cast a golden halo about her olive face and dark eyes. Those apricot lips parted slightly as she smiled up at her escort.
Then his contented smile faded. The gaze she had fixed on Lynton was more than admiring—one might almost call it adoring. Then Lynton said something that made her laugh, blush—and snuggle closer to him.
Suddenly Will felt sick, as if an opponent he deemed less skilled had unexpectedly landed a punch to his gut. So the wind sat in that quarter, did it?
So shaken was he by the discovery, he was nearly out of the park before he realized he’d turned his horse toward the exit. Pulling up, he tried to regain his composure.
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