by Ivory Lei
The man looked dazed. For that matter, so did Lucas. Penelope ignored both of them as she called one of the stable lads to take the donkey to the stables. They discussed the type of food the poor creature was to have, then she promised to send a salve that would help the donkey get over his fatigue. She was asking the boy how his family was doing when she felt a viselike grip on her arm.
“We need to talk,” Lucas muttered.
She turned and smiled at him.
He scowled back.
She sighed before relenting. Nelson seemed fine, and it was time to pay the piper. “By all means, my lord. I believe the inn’s private dining parlor is free.”
• • •
As she watched Lucas pace the flagstone floor, Penelope remembered their first meeting. Had it really only been days ago? It seemed like another lifetime when he’d kissed her for the first time in this room and declared his intention to marry her. Today, she was debating how to convince him to stay long enough for an affair.
Marriage, in her opinion, was meant to be a union of two people who loved each other with liberty — content and satisfied with their spouse’s character — as they grew old together. If she could believe Lucas was truly as persuaded of her merit as she was of his, she wouldn’t hesitate to marry him. As it was, though, she had to content herself with a brief glimpse of life with Lucas. She wasn’t ambitious enough to covet an advantageous marriage founded on nothing more than duty and obligation. She waited for Lucas to give her an opening to discuss their situation.
“Why did you come here alone, Penelope?” he asked, his voice firm and forceful. “I thought I told you not to go anywhere without an escort.”
That was hardly the opening she’d hoped for. “I was visiting Mari. And I did have Nelson with me.”
He waved a hand to dismiss her words. “I have told you before that Nelson isn’t an appropriate escort.” He raked his hand through his hair in a distracted manner. “Christ, if the innkeeper had not summoned me, you could have been hurt. Or worse.”
She frowned. “I’m quite all right, as you can see. I can take care of myself.”
He whirled and fixed his glittering eyes on her. “What possessed you to challenge that man?”
“He was abusing his donkey.”
He cursed under his breath. “That was none of your business.”
Her chin lifted an inch. “I wasn’t going to just stand there and ignore what was happening. This is exactly the reason Martin’s Act was passed two years ago. Colonel Martin saw this kind of behavior toward animals must stop.”
“Colonel Richard Martin is an eccentric who is a laughing stock in London Town,” he said through gritted teeth. “He once fought a duel over a dog. And he brought in an ass to be a witness in a court hearing.”
“Good for him!” she huffed. “If I were male, I could have challenged that man for hurting Nelson.”
Lucas rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You are not challenging anyone, Penelope, and that is the end of it.” He sighed wearily and considered her for a few minutes. “Why do you care so much about these animals?”
The question struck her to the heart. “If I don’t, who will?” She got up and moved to the window to stare at the courtyard. “I know how it feels to work for a place in the world, to be forsaken by those you trusted to take care of you.” Penelope turned back to him. “I can’t change my situation, but I can do something about theirs.”
“Do you really think those beasts are smart enough to process all those emotions?”
She gave a small, pain-filled smile. “You don’t have to be smart to know when something hurts.”
Lucas walked over to her. “Penelope — ”
Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Mari’s voice from the other side of the door just before she burst into the room, giving first Penelope, and then Lucas the once over.
She scowled at Mari. “His lordship and I are in the middle of a conversation.”
Mari gave her a speaking look. “I need to talk to his lordship now, before it is too late.” She paused. “In private.”
“Butter the crumpets!” Penelope stomped her foot. “Whatever you are going to say to Lucas, you can say in front of me.”
Mari gave her a bright smile. “I would love to, but your mother has sent for you. She and Sarah need help at the apothecary.”
Hah! A likely story. “I suppose Mama sent a note with this message?”
“No,” Mari said, shaking her head. “But she has sent Gertie to accompany you and Nelson back to Highfield Manor. She likes to talk; you wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.”
Penelope had been outmaneuvered. She had no choice but to leave, immediately.
“Fine, I’m going.” She gave Mari a warning look. “But don’t tell him anything I wouldn’t.”
• • •
Lucas waited for the door to close behind Penelope before giving her friend his full attention. “You are making a habit of interrupting when I’m in the middle of a conversation with my fiancée, Miss Smythe.”
The woman had the grace to blush at his blatant rebuke. “I apologize, my lord. But I couldn’t risk having Polly act on something I think is ill conceived before I had a chance to stop it.”
Lucas gestured to the sofa Penelope had vacated. “Have a seat, Miss Smythe.” He waited for her to get comfortable before he went on, “Now, what is my betrothed about to do?”
“She wants to have an affair with you.”
Of all the things Miss Smythe could have said, this was the least he had expected. She could have claimed the sky was falling or she had the power to fly into the heavens and Lucas would not have been more shocked.
Penelope wants to have an affair with me.
After he’d regained control, Lucas realized he should have expected his nymph to try something like this. Penelope wanted him, but she wouldn’t marry him.
The thought angered him.
He felt as frustrated as a debutante who couldn’t get a confirmed bachelor to come up to scratch. Penelope was like a wild mare that had to be convinced, repeatedly, to trust him.
“Why are you telling me this?” he asked. “Surely you are not concerned about my virtue?”
Miss Smythe snorted. “Hardly that, my lord.” She looked away, heaving a great sigh. “Penelope loves you. She wouldn’t contemplate something this risky otherwise.”
To his enormous disgust, his first reaction was pure joy. He shook the feeling off as ridiculous. It wasn’t joy he felt, but satisfaction. Things would be easier if Penelope loved him.
“What makes you think Penelope is in love with me?”
“She has always been in love with you,” Miss Smythe burst out, twisting her handkerchief into knots. “She used to write letters to you, did you know that? She was lonely with her father always gone and her mother depressed.” Miss Smythe sighed again. “Some girls write diaries, she wrote to you. You’ve been her confidante for as long as she could write until she turned eighteen and realized you would never come for her.”
Lucas’s jaw dropped in astonishment. “I didn’t know. She never sent me any correspondence.”
“She never meant to. She waited for you to either contact her or come for her. Until you did, the letters became her way of staving off the loneliness.”
He straightened. “I see.”
Miss Smythe glared at him. “At first I thought it was wonderful that you’ve finally arrived.” She shook her head, her hands gripping her handkerchief tighter. “But now she wants to have an affair with you. It’s not fair. Penelope deserves a proper marriage. You owe it to her.”
“I could not agree more.”
“I’ll have your word, my lord, that you won’t take advantage of my friend. If your intentions are — ”
“Honorable?”
he provided. “Yes, they are. I came here to marry Penelope, and I intend to do so.” He registered the wariness in Miss Smythe’s expression. “I believe we both have the same goal here, Miss Smythe.”
“In all honesty, my lord, I’m not certain I can trust you.”
His jaw tightened. “If you cannot trust me, then trust your friend. She is bound to me by a contract, and she knows it. She has as much obligation to me as I do to her.”
“You are right, of course,” Miss Smythe admitted.
“It is obvious to me, however,” he continued, “that Penelope still needs some convincing. I trust you won’t interfere with my goal?”
Miss Smythe stood up. “If your goal is to marry Penelope, then you have my full support, my lord.”
“All will be well, Miss Smythe,” Lucas assured Penelope’s friend. He told the woman to send the carter’s bills to him, and then he left for Highfield Manor.
So Penelope planned to seduce him into having an affair, did she? Lucas’s lips set into a grim line. She innocently thought to play bedtime games with him, and she approached her goal with the same recklessness she approached everything, from firing a pistol to attacking a man because of a donkey. Luckily, Lucas had absolutely no gentlemanly scruples when it came to getting what he wanted. It was time the nymph learned an important lesson.
And after she learned that lesson, she would be securely in his clutches.
Chapter Ten
Where does she think she’s going? Lucas wondered, quietly following Penelope down the dark hallway.
It was the middle of the night and his fiancée was sneaking around like a burglar. If he hadn’t been right outside her bedchamber, torturing himself yet again with the fantasy of seeing her sleeping, he wouldn’t have heard the wood creak as she carefully opened the door and sneaked out into the hallway.
She was dressed all in black except for her cloak, which was trimmed in gold. When Penelope descended the servants’ staircase, Lucas strode back to his room and grabbed his greatcoat, then he went down the cantilever staircase the family used, stopping midway to wait for her to appear in the main hall. It was a good thing he was still fully dressed, he thought, when Penelope appeared from the east wing and rushed outside.
She lit a lantern, but the moon was bright, and its light was enough illumination to see the surroundings quite well. She would have seen him if she’d thought to turn around, but the nymph seemed too intent on her clandestine mission to be careful.
The exasperating little idiot. She was entirely too sure of her safety. He had to restrain a powerful urge to march up to her and give her a lecture right there and then on the perils awaiting a well-bred lady tramping out of the house in the dead of night.
Penelope entered the barn, closing the door behind her. Lucas silently opened the barn door a crack to see inside. And there, sitting on an upturned barrel petting a sleeping Nelson, was a familiar face: David Maitland.
“Good evening, cousin. Thank you for agreeing to meet me here.” Maitland peered around Penelope’s shoulder. “I trust you didn’t tell anyone I’m here?”
Penelope approached the young man, shoving the hood of her cloak off her head as she did so. “David,” Lucas heard the smile in her voice. “It’s nice of you to visit.” She looked around the barn. “No one else is with you?”
“Father doesn’t know I’m here. I have been staying at the inn, which is why I asked you not to tell anyone of my presence. Have you talked to Ravenstone?”
“Yes, he is staying at Highfield Manor.” She began tapping her toe. “David, I am glad to see you have grown up well. And that you still like to play hide and seek.”
Maitland grinned and stood up, taking Penelope’s hands in his. “You haven’t changed much, Penelope. Once again, you’ve chosen to hide in the most obvious place, and I have found you with little effort.” His grin faded as his attractive face took on a serious look. “I’ve come to warn you, cousin. Stay away from Raving Ravenstone. He is dangerous.”
Lucas felt a chill in his gut. He watched Penelope yank her hands from Maitland’s grip. “Do not call my fiancé by that dreadful name, David,” she warned.
“Confound it,” Maitland muttered. “What tale has he spun around you? There are things about him you do not know. You are not safe with him.”
Her voice was as final as death. “He wouldn’t harm a pheasant. There is nothing about him I don’t know.”
“Penelope, Uncle Edmund is the reason Ravenstone’s father is dead.”
Lucas stilled. Penelope was about to discover the truth about him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He lost the ability to breathe.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he heard her say. “Lucas’s father died in a hunting accident.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” Maitland gripped Penelope’s shoulders. “There are even rumors Ravenstone himself killed his father. Considering his mother’s unstable disposition, no one would be surprised if Lucas Drake did kill his father.”
“Rubbish,” Penelope struggled ineffectually to free herself from Maitland’s grip. “One would only have to look at Ravenstone to know that’s nothing but gossip spread by someone who is jealous of him and his achievements.”
“Ravenstone’s father killed himself after Uncle Edmund’s visit.”
“What?”
“It’s true,” Maitland said with an emphatic nod. “Uncle Edmund wanted out of the betrothal contract, and Ravenstone’s father killed himself after Uncle told him the news.”
Lucas felt as if something died within him as he waited for her reaction. A keening sense of loss and regret reverberated from the coldest, darkest part of his soul.
“Well,” Penelope finally said. “That certainly explains his comment about coming here sooner if he’d known he would be welcome.”
Maitland shook her. “Did you listen to me, cousin? You don’t know all there is to know about that man, and you would do well to stay away from him.”
Penelope laid her hand on top of one of Maitland’s. “I heard you, David, but you’re wrong. I understand Ravenstone well. I assure you he isn’t dangerous. Not to me.”
Penelope’s cousin let go of her as if she’d burned him. “He’s here for revenge, I tell you! I believe he is out to seduce you and leave you ruined.”
First Miss Smythe and now Maitland. What was it with these people thinking Lucas intended anything other than having Penelope at the altar as soon as possible?
“Rubbish,” she said once more. “If he wanted to ruin me, he’d have done it by now. He’s here to marry me, David.”
“I have already tried to explain that is not the case, but you won’t listen.” Maitland grabbed Penelope’s arm. “This is for your own good, cousin.”
Penelope tried to twist free. “What are you doing?”
“I am taking you away from here. Your stepfather obviously does not know the danger Ravenstone presents. Do not fret, cousin, everything will be fine.”
“David, please — ”
Lucas opened the barn door and stepped in. “Good evening, Maitland,” he said in a bored drawl, watching the other man’s face pale. “Fancy seeing you here.”
• • •
Penelope whirled to see Lucas standing by the barn door. His eyes had narrowed to slits, and his aristocratic features held a forbidding expression. She had no idea how to convince David that Lucas posed no threat when he stood there looking downright menacing.
“Lucas!” she said brightly. “How nice of you to join us.” She took advantage of David’s momentary shock to set herself free from his grasp and walk toward her betrothed. “I see that you’ve met my cousin before.”
Lucas kept his attention on David. “Yes, we have met. Your cousin attended Oxford with me.”
David finally seemed to shake off his stupor. “
Exactly what are you planning, Ravenstone? If you have a problem with the Maitlands, you come to me. Penelope knows nothing about whatever you think my family has done to yours.”
Lucas shoved away from the barn door. “I believe you’re the one who owes me an explanation, Maitland, as you’re the one who was about to spirit off my fiancée.”
“I will not let you ruin Penelope.”
“No one is spiriting me off, and no one is trying to ruin me,” she assured the men. Gracious, they are discussing me as if I were not right here in front of them. It’s insulting.
David inclined his head and leaned on a wooden column. “Is that true, Ravenstone?”
Lucas shrugged. “You heard the lady.”
“Then why you are living here with her stepfamily, and there haven’t been any announcements in the papers of an impending marriage?”
“That’s my fault,” she admitted. “I have yet to agree to marry Lucas.”
“You have yet to agree?” David rounded on her. “So that is the reason for the delay. Penelope, the man is living in your house. You’d better marry him as soon as possible or you will be — ”
“Ruined,” she provided. “Yes, I know. But, David, there’s no reason to worry. Lucas and I are only taking the time to get to know each other before making such an irrevocable step.”
“You have obviously taken leave of your senses!” David roared. He turned back to Lucas. “I’m giving you one week to marry Penelope. If you haven’t done so by then, I swear I will hunt you down and make you walk down that aisle.” He marched toward her fiancé. “You will not ruin my cousin, even if I have to put a pistol to your head to ensure it.”
At the mention of a pistol, Lucas threw his head and shouted with laughter. “I am more than willing to walk down that aisle, as long as you don’t let Penelope hold the pistol.”
Now that comment was uncalled for! Why did he bring up the shooting incident now? For that matter, why were they discussing their nuptials in a barn in the dead of night? “If you men are through discussing my future without consulting me,” she said with all the dignity she could muster, “I am going back to the manor.”