by Boom, Naomi
With a nod from Laura, who was still a bit unsure if she should still be angry with him, he guided her to Mrs. Westfield. The rules on etiquette were very unclear in such a situation as this, and Laura was not sure if she should be apologizing to him now or if she was still justified in her anger. Etiquette aside, her heart continued to beat angrily, and she decided she would remain irritated.
Allison’s abrupt approach allowed Laura’s anger to dissipate, at least for now. Allison asked excitedly, “What was that about? How do you know Lord Farris?”
Laura really did not want to make a big deal out of knowing Lord Farris. She doubted she would have much interaction with him in the future and would consider him no further. She waved her hand and said dismissively, “It is nothing. I met him on my ride this morning.”
“Well, I think it is just wonderful. Could you imagine if you were to be the one to tempt Lord Farris into marriage? I am so very excited. This could not be more wonderful.” Allison sighed, and a dreamy expression registered in her eyes. Laura had to hold back the urge to laugh at her friend. Nothing about Lord Farris was wonderful, and truthfully, he was possibly the rudest gentleman in her acquaintance.
“We both know no one will ever tempt him into marriage. What a ridiculous notion.”
“I do not know about that anymore. Have you seen how Lord Collins is with your cousin? He has likely changed his mind about matrimony, so I do not see why Lord Farris could not, also.”
“That is debatable, although I am beginning to wonder. Just look at them together.” Laura waved her hand toward Eleanor and Lord Collins, who were currently engaged in conversation. Eleanor’s hand lay flirtatiously on his arm, and he was intently listening to whatever she was saying. They presented quite a different picture from the one Laura had made with Lord Farris, or so she imagined.
Looking about the room, Laura spotted a few other unattached gentlemen and said, “Let us try and focus on the other unmarried gentlemen present.”
Disappointed, Allison said, “I guess you are right. At least with Miss Ashford’s attention centered on Lord Collins, we have a much better chance with the other unmarried gentlemen. Otherwise, I am sure they would all be panting after her as normally happens. In fact,” she added excitedly, “I noticed that Lord Harding is in attendance.”
Laura groaned. That was the baron who had stopped courting her in favor of Eleanor. Allison knew the story but must still be holding out hope for them. Eleanor would probably not attempt to lure him away this time. Laura had never seen her cousin so focused on one gentleman, which left the rest of the gentlemen free. Maybe she would find someone at this very house party, although there were only two other gentlemen in attendance she did not know the identity of. Bidding her friend a good afternoon, Laura ascended the stairs to her bedroom for some rest before dinner.
Chapter 3
“Did you hear the news?” Mrs. Westfield exclaimed in an excited voice. “Lord Percival is here!” Eleanor and Mrs. Westfield had joined Laura in her room after Laura had taken a short nap. Eleanor, of course, was all aflutter about Lord Collins, and Mrs. Westfield, who had made it her mission in life to see the two girls wed, could not be more proud of her.
A plump woman, Mrs. Westfield had been a beauty in her younger days, and much of that beauty had not yet faded with time. “We are having the very best of luck. Not only are Lord Collins and Lord Farris present for Eleanor, but now we have Lord Percival here for Laura!” Lord Percival was a younger son to the Duke of Hartfurth and a well-known fortune hunter.
Laura could never understand why Mrs. Westfield set such a high bar for Eleanor and such a very low one for herself. She could only assume it was because Mrs. Westfield was related to Eleanor and not to Laura. No matter the reason, it was not like Eleanor could marry two gentlemen, yet clearly Mrs. Westfield allotted her just that. Laura may not possess the perfect English looks, but she was the daughter of an earl! Marrying a titled gentleman did not interest her, but she at least expected to marry someone she loved, and Lord Percival would never be that someone. “Oh, please promise me you will not push him at me. I do not want to spend time with him.” She just could not tolerate a man as feminine as Lord Percival.
“Now, Laura, that is most inconsiderate. He may want to spend time with you, and a lady must always treat a gentleman with respect. Plus, he would make you an excellent match with his connections. He is exceptionally attractive, and you could do far worse.”
“Mrs. Westfield,” Laura said sternly. “I am afraid I just do not find the dandy sort attractive. Papa would never allow me to marry a man like that, no matter how much you applied yourself to matchmaking.” Her father was a man’s man, and strongly disapproved of the dandies. Her chaperone, however, had clearly set her mind to the task of setting the two of them up. Laura would just have to avoid him, and all would be fine.
“Well, I declare all this talk of Laura’s prospects has made me utterly famished,” Eleanor stated dramatically. “I believe dinner is about to be served. We may as well make our way downstairs.”
The other ladies agreed and proceeded to join the rest of the party. Dinner was served, an elaborate seven-course meal that somehow was not satisfying to Laura. She could not focus on the food, and instead found herself wondering at the whereabouts of Lord Farris.
The conversation with Lord Percival, who was seated next to Laura, was lackluster. Lord Percival was blessed with very good looks, which somehow did not affect Laura at all. He had dark blond hair, which she assumed he spent a decent part of his day styling, brown eyes, and a pleasant nose thanks to impeccably good breeding.
Small talk was not something Laura excelled at, and she soon found herself exhausted. He was particularly interested in the musical portion of the night, not that Laura disliked music, but she was not one to obsess about who was going to play what at the pianoforte. By the time dinner concluded, Laura wanted nothing more than to go to bed. She smiled sweetly to Lord Percival and bade him goodnight before turning to her chaperone. Mrs. Westfield surprised Laura before she could depart from Lord Percival’s side by saying, “Oh, Lord Percival, how fortunate we are to have you at this party.”
“Why, thank you. I am always happy to be a member of a good party. I heard there was going to be music tonight, but Lady Laura has just informed me she is to miss the fun.” Lord Percival certainly was a well-spoken, handsome, and kind man. These traits made her dismissal of him as a suitor much more difficult than it had to be.
“I hope you are feeling all right,” offered Mrs. Westfield, with polite concern.
“I will be fine once I get some sleep. I am just very tired tonight.”
“Oh dear. You go ahead then.” Mrs. Westfield added conspiratorially as she turned back to Lord Percival, “She is probably tired from her ride this morning. She rides every morning, you know. I imagine she would love to have the company of a gallant gentleman such as yourself accompany her on her ride tomorrow.”
Laura sent a prayer heavenwards. Please, do not say yes. He probably used a sidesaddle and needed her help to mount the horse. The image brought a giggle bubbling out, which, unfortunately, Lord Percival took as encouragement. “I would love to go riding with you tomorrow morning, Lady Laura.”
Usually Laura was a quick thinker, but the best she could come up with was “Thank you, Lord Percival, but I am not sure yet if I will be up for a ride tomorrow morning.” Laura coughed delicately and tried to appear frail.
“I understand. I will be at the stables tomorrow morning, and if you do not appear, I will just have to ride alone.” Lord Percival was considerate and ideally suited for anybody other than Laura.
“Good night then.” Laura curtsied and attempted to appear weak as she climbed the stairs. Now she actually needed to go to sleep so she could rise early and avoid Lord Percival. She sighed as she entered her room and changed into her dressing gown. She was tired and expected to fall asleep immediately. Her pillow was exceptionally soft, but instead of the welcomi
ng arms of sleep, she was greeted by Lord Farris’s wickedly handsome face. His image was not something she wished to dream of. If anything, she wished to cut him from her memory entirely.
She had spent a good deal of time with Lord Harding the previous season, and had felt a pleasant feeling of warmth for him when he was near. That feeling was precisely how she imagined love would be, and she certainly did not receive that feeling when she was around Lord Farris. No, Lord Farris was not the sort of gentleman to elicit anything mundane. If anything, he caused unusual tingles and spasms to occur within her. Maybe those were the feelings all rakes inspired, but those feelings were not what she wanted.
Chapter 4
Despite Laura’s plan to avoid Lord Percival by rising at dawn, she unfortunately overslept and awoke at her normal time. Maybe she would get lucky, and Lord Percival would decide against a ride that morning. Laura hurriedly donned her riding habit, swept her hair into a serviceable bun that would survive a vigorous ride, and hastened down to the stables. She was delighted to find she was alone, aside from the groom who was saddling her horse. Laura gracefully mounted and breathed a sigh of relief as she guided her mare out to freedom.
“Hello there, Lady Laura!”
Laura cringed and halted her departure after recognizing Lord Percival’s voice. She seriously had some of the worst luck. “Good morning, Lord Percival. I thought you had decided to forego our outing this morning.” Hopefully her disappointment was not too obvious, as Lord Percival did not deserve outright cruelty.
“Of course not. My greatest aspiration for the day is to escort you on this ride, my lady. Please wait a moment while I garner a horse.” He hurried over to the stables and began the task of selecting a mount.
Laura waited impatiently as the groom saddled Lord Percival’s chosen gelding. He was dressed in a gaudy coral vest that only reinforced her opinion of him as a dandy. One of his calves appeared larger than the other, and Laura wondered if Lord Percival was wearing padding under his clothing to give the pretense of muscles.
The mare evidently sensed Laura’s impatience and started prancing underneath her. “Why cannot my horse actually run off with me this time? I doubt Lord Percival would be able to overtake me on that.” Lord Percival’s horse was a stocky older gelding, which was almost on its last leg. That poor horse would have been set out to pasture long ago in her father’s stable.
After a few moments, Lord Percival was ready to depart, and Laura noted with relief there was a groom trailing behind them. Laura could not help but compare Lord Percival to Lord Farris. Lord Farris exuded manliness, and his glance sent sparks down Laura’s spine. When Lord Farris spoke, Laura’s world ceased spinning as everything in her focused in breathless anticipation on what was about to be said. Lord Percival, on the other hand, was nice enough but felt almost brotherly to her, and a flying leap into a lake was preferable to conversing with him.
After approximately ten minutes of riding, unfortunately at a sedate trot, Lord Percival called out to halt. “We can take a small break here,” he suggested as he dismounted next to a fallen log. “Let me help you down.”
She hid her scowl with a cough. Why did men seem desirous of walking rather than riding? Laura again had a chance to compare Lord Percival to Lord Farris. When Lord Farris had helped her from her horse, she had felt tiny in his hands, as if he could break her in two. Lord Percival made her feel like she was a big, hulking weight, and he was attempting to cushion her fall instead of lightly helping her dismount. Feeling like an unmanageable weight was not a feeling she wanted to get used to.
“We only just started our ride. Why are we already taking a break?” This ride was not going to be very invigorating, that much was certain. Laura glanced at their chaperone and was dismayed to see he was leaving them. “And where is the groom going?”
“I wanted to take this opportunity to talk with you for a moment, so I convinced him to leave us. Come sit here, beside me.” Lord Percival patted the spot next to him on the fallen log. Green moss added padding to her seat, and red, orange, and brown leaves surrounded her. It was very autumnal, but she sincerely wished she had just stayed in bed that morning.
“So what did you want to discuss?” she asked tentatively.
“Laura. May I call you Laura?” Before she could say no, Lord Percival continued speaking, “I know we have not known each other long, but after a smattering of balls and this house party, I feel I know you most intimately. Your sincere personality and serious nature speaks to my inner self in a way that I have never experienced before.” He paused and tented his fingers as he considered his next statement. “What I am really trying to say is I have developed strong feelings for you. I know we will be happy together when we wed, if our previous discourses are any indication.”
Shocked disbelief overtook Laura. Had he just offered marriage to her? And more shockingly, did he actually think they had held pleasant conversations? She had almost laughed when he had said she possessed a serious nature, but this was all too much. How does one respond to a declaration like his? Events of this nature did not happen to her, so why was it happening now? Her relationship with Lord Percival was superficial at best. For goodness sake, she did not even know the most basic of details about him!
Startled, Lord Percival stated, “Those matters are trivial, dearest. We will have plenty of time to discover things about each other after we are wed.”
Laura’s hand flew to her mouth at her lapse. He was so sure of his success in securing her hand. Despite her lack of experience, she knew this was not a normal offer of marriage. “Lord Percival—”
“Oh please, we needn’t stand on such formalities.”
“All right, Percival.” Drawing a fortifying breath, Laura prayed for patience. “I am afraid you are mistaken about us. I do not have romantic feelings for you and am not going to even entertain the idea of marriage to you. There are plenty of women out there who would be flattered to hear of your intentions, but I am not one of them.” Laura rose from the log and started to step to her mare across the lovely landscape. She did not want to hear his response, and really just wanted the whole matter to be behind her.
Laura was unprepared for Percival’s sudden onslaught as he whipped her toward him and started to maul her with his mouth. She was reminded of a cold fish flopping over her lips, and her instincts of self-preservation took over. She hurriedly swung her knee upward into his groin area and heard a satisfying thud as Percival broke off the kiss while doubling over in pain.
“You bitch!” he roared. “I will make you pay for that.”
“Now, I assure you that will not happen, Percival,” a deep voice rumbled. “I suggest you mount your horse and leave.” Laura whipped around to see Lord Farris pulling his horse to a stop while expertly dismounting. “Actually, how about you leave the house party altogether.”
Laura had never expected to be so happy to see Lord Farris, although she was positive she would have been able to handle the situation without his intervention.
“I cannot just leave the party,” moaned Percival as he attempted to mount his horse, obviously still in pain.
“It seems you do not understand. That was not a suggestion. You do not want to know what will happen if I see you again.” He could have been talking of the weather for all the emotion he displayed.
Lord Farris’s words had their desired effect as Lord Percival whipped his horse into a gallop toward the house. Lord Farris turned to face Laura and he asked in a soft, reassuring voice, “Are you all right?”
Hot tears were welling in her violet eyes as she looked up at him. Even though Lord Farris annoyed her exceedingly and was not her favorite person, Laura was upset by Percival’s behavior. Lord Farris was acting in a most chivalrous manner, and Laura decided in that moment to let her guard down. Shaking her head, she sank onto the log she had shared with Lord Percival. “I just do not understand how he changed like that.”
Lord Farris sat down beside her and placed a comfortin
g arm around her. “Please do not cry, Laura. The matter is finished, and he will not bother you again.”
Sighing, Laura felt safe in his arms and began to calm down. He was just so warm, and he smelled so good. She smiled up at him wryly. “That was my first kiss. Are all kisses supposed to feel revolting?”
His eyes appeared to darken slightly as he held her. His hand caressed her arm and he said, “No, Laura. I would show you a true kiss…” He stopped speaking and suddenly grinned. “But I fear you would turn that move on me that you just employed with Lord Percival.”
She giggled in response. “It was fairly effective, was it not?”
“Yes, but I have a suggestion so you may avoid the tactic altogether.”
Laura’s interest was piqued. “Oh?”
“You simply must dress even more outdated. Your garb is obviously not working.”
Laura’s smile froze as she realized he had just insulted her riding habit. Realizing she was still seated next to him, she quickly stood and said coldly, “Do you have a problem with my attire, my lord?”
He smirked as he surveyed her gown. “Aside from the gaping hole in your skirt? No, not at all.”
Laura’s gaze flew to her skirt, realizing with chagrin that he was speaking truthfully. She would have that darned immediately upon returning to the manor. “A gentleman would not admit to noticing such a minor flaw.”
“And allow you to ride around the countryside in such a state of dishabille? That, my dear, would be the rude thing to do. Why do you wear such a garment anyway? Your father has money, and you should go buy a new one.”
“Naturally, I wear this habit for safety reasons. Just imagine all the gentlemen I would attract if I did purchase a new one.”
Lord Farris chuckled at her joke, and he stood and took a step closer to her, “Yes, but would you feel the same sort of attraction for any of them as you do for me?”
The sudden change in conversation prompted Laura’s heart to beat erratically. She could recall his previous accusation that they shared a mutual attraction, and that was just not true. At least, she would deny it to the bitter end. “I hardly find you attractive, my lord. Dangerous, yes, but not attractive.”