Completely bewildered and more than a little aroused, John watched in stunned silence as Christobel strode out, her head held high, a look of triumph gleaming in her eyes.
Only then did he let out his breath in a rush, swearing violently as he did so.
CHAPTER 5
Christobel took a sip of sherry, hoping it would calm her nerves. After all, Sir Edmund had gotten on every last one of them. She stepped around her sister’s pianoforte, hoping to hide herself behind it.
Somehow, Mrs. Lovelace found her. “A shame that Mrs. Roth had to depart this morning, isn’t it?” she said, a vicious smile on her face. “And so hastily, too.”
“Indeed,” Christobel murmured, searching wildly for Edith among her guests.
She found her, wringing her hands as she whispered something into the housekeeper’s ear. Poor Edith. Last night—the very first evening of her party—had been dreadful. Both Misses Allen had taken ill with a stomach ailment just after dinner, and then Mrs. Lovelace and Mrs. Roth, both widows, had had a terrible row, right there in the drawing room.
The fickle Mr. Aberforth was to blame, of course, but the man had done nothing to intercede, leaving that unpleasant duty to Edith, who’d managed to smooth their ruffled feathers, at least temporarily.
But then something had happened in the dead of night to prompt Mrs. Roth to pack up her belongings at daybreak. Edith wouldn’t say, but Christobel suspected that one woman had found her lover in the other’s bed, and chaos had ensued.
Long before the other guests had breakfasted, Jasper had been forced to drive a tearful Mrs. Roth to the train station.
Now it would seem that Mrs. Lovelace would spend the remainder of the house party crowing in victory. As if Mr. Aberforth were such a prize, Christobel thought, shaking her head. She turned toward the balding, portly man in question, who sat at the card table twirling his moustache as he regarded the cards in his hands. He was rich, she supposed, but beyond that she could find nothing to recommend him. Across from Mr. Aberforth sat Sir Edmund, a good ten years and two score lighter than his opponent.
“I see you have your eye on Sir Edmund,” Mrs. Lovelace said, startling her. “If you don’t mind my saying so, I think you could do far worse. He’s quite the gentleman, and handsome, too.”
“I suppose he is,” Christobel conceded. Tall and ginger-haired with an athletic build, he cut a fine form, indeed. His disposition seemed perpetually sunny and bright, and he was polite to a fault. Despite all that, he left Christobel’s emotions positively unmoved.
“If I were you, I’d make it known straightaway that you are receptive to his intentions. After all, he’s made them clear enough.”
Christobel attempted to laugh. “My dear Mrs. Lovelace, you must be mistaken. After all, my acquaintance with Sir Edmund only spans the length of a day.”
“Time enough to know the size of his fortune,” Mrs. Lovelace said with a toss of her curls. “What else is there to know?”
“Indeed, if one were considering becoming chattel,” Christobel murmured between clenched teeth. She watched as Mr. Leyden entered the room and accepted a glass of sherry from a serving maid.
“That one there,” Mrs. Lovelace said, following the direction of her gaze, “the tall, dour-looking one. Have you any idea why he walks as he does? Do you suppose he’s trying to imitate the Queen?”
“You must excuse me,” Christobel said, smiling sweetly. “There is Miss Bartlett, and I promised her that I would show her the library.”
Anything to escape the horrid woman’s company.
“Miss Bartlett,” she called out, hurrying across the room. “Shall I show you the library now?”
Miss Barlett’s pretty heart-shaped face lit up at once. “Oh, I should so love that, but I’ve promised a game of whist to Lady Margaret. Afterward, perhaps?”
Christobel nodded, feeling ridiculous. “Of course,” she said, watching as Miss Bartlett deftly shuffled a deck of cards and took her place at the baize table opposite Lady Margaret.
Perhaps I’ll find Mother, she thought. Trying her best to avoid Mrs. Lovelace, she looked furtively around the room where all of Edith’s guests were happily occupied in one diversion or another, enjoying the morning sunshine that cast a warm, golden glow through the drawing room’s windows.
“Miss Smyth,” a voice called out, and Christobel turned to see Sir Edmund rise from the card table and head toward her, smiling broadly with his hands clasped behind his back.
Feeling like a cornered fox, she looked about wildly for an escape. From across the width of the room, Edith caught her eye and winked. Oh, how very unfair of Edith to manipulate her so, leaving her with no means of retaliation, thanks to her sister’s delicate condition.
In seconds Sir Edmund was beside her. “You look lovely today, Miss Smyth. A vision, one might say.”
“Why, aren’t you full of flattery this morning, Sir Edmund,” she replied lightly. “I suppose you’ve said as much to all the ladies present.”
“Indeed not. Suffice it to say that no one shines as brightly as you do on this fine day,” he said rather loudly. Enthusiastic, as always.
Christobel laughed, amazed at his audacity. “Be careful, sir, or I’ll develop airs with such grand compliments as that.
You would not want me to become insufferable now, would you?”
“You, insufferable? Never! Why, I have it from Mrs. Hadley that you are the model of humility and—”
“Humility?” she interrupted with a laugh. “Dear me, Sir Edmund, you mustn’t trust a word my sister says about me. I can assure you, whatever she’s said, I’m likely the exact opposite.”
As Sir Edmund’s easy laughter joined hers, Christobel noticed several pairs of eyes suddenly turned their way, including Mr. Leyden’s. As always, his appeared narrowed in disapproval, his nostrils slightly flared as he regarded her with obvious disdain.
Why did he have to look at her so, as if she were a naughty child caught sticking her fingers in the tea cakes? For the briefest of moments, their eyes met across the room, and then he turned and left without a backward glance.
Heat flooded her cheeks, no doubt staining them red. She turned her gaze back to Sir Edmund, forcing a tight smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m suddenly feeling a trifle unwell.”
“Hmm, you do look rather flushed, if you don’t mind my saying so.” He examined her from head to toe with a scowl on his face. “Perhaps you should go lie down. I would hate for you to take ill like the Misses Allen, poor souls. La grippe, I’m told.”
Christobel nodded, drawing the back of one hand across her forehead for effect. “I think I will go lie down. How kind of you to suggest it.”
She had no intention of lying down, of course. Instead, she retrieved her hat, which hung by the front door, and slipped out, trying to decide how she could make her way to the ornamental pond without being spotted through the drawing-room windows.
Perhaps if she went out the front gate and walked along the road for a bit, then cut back through the woods toward the park—
A loud, sputtering noise nearly made her jump out of her skin. Good heavens, it was Mr. Leyden’s motorcar, she realized. It materialized in a cloud of dust, its motor now a steady hum as it chugged down the long drive toward her. She stood watching the car’s approach, the sun glinting off its dark green exterior and brass fittings. In seconds, he pulled up alongside her, braking hard.
“Where are you going?” he called out over the engine’s roar. His driving goggles were in place, though his tweed duster was not to be seen.
“For a walk,” she yelled back, cupping her hands around her mouth. “Where are you going?”
“For a drive,” he yelled back.
Christobel just nodded, eyeing the empty, red-tufted leather seat beside him. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to go for a drive in the sleek, shiny motorcar.
“Good day, Miss Smyth.” He reached over the door to release the brake.
“Wait!” sh
e cried out. “May I come with you?”
He did not conceal his surprise as he turned toward her. For a moment, he said nothing. Even behind the goggles, she could see the indecision flit across his features. “Have you a hat?” he asked at last.
Christobel produced her wide straw hat and placed it on her head, hurriedly tying the ribbons beneath her chin.
“Without a veil or coat, you’re going to be covered in dust—”
“I don’t care,” Christobel said with a shrug, hurrying around the car to the passenger side before he could argue further. In seconds, she’d climbed inside and settled beside him.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said with a shake of his head.
Christobel just nodded, grasping the side of the car with a squeal of delight as they set off.
Once John turned the car onto the road, he accelerated, picking up speed as Miss Smyth clutched the leather squabs so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Occasionally he’d steal a glance at her, wondering just how it was that she came to be sitting beside him, laughing gaily as the wind whipped stray tendrils of hair about her face.
Her cheeks were stained pink, her eyes bright as she shielded them from the ubiquitous cloud of dust.
“Faster?” he asked, shouting to be heard over the engine’s roar.
“Oh, yes!”
He obliged her, smiling inwardly as she leaned into him, clutching at his sleeve. Entirely content, he drove on aimlessly for a quarter hour, headed vaguely toward the Pennines in the distance.
There was a lovely spot ahead, he realized, a bluff with excellent views of Cranford down below. Minutes later, he guided the car off the main road and turned onto a narrow lane.
“Are we stopping?” she asked, releasing her death grip on his forearm.
“I thought you might like to catch your breath for a moment.” He cut the motor and removed his driving gloves and goggles before climbing out and hastening around the car to hand her down.
“Goodness, I am rather breathless,” she said, taking his hand and stepping down. “I don’t remember when I’ve had so much fun.”
He was acutely aware that he still held her small hand in his. Suddenly self-conscious, he released it and stepped away, attempting to brush the dust from his coat.
“Look at me!” She reached up to tuck her hair back under her hat, laughing softly as she did so. “I’m a fright. Whatever am I going to tell Edith when we return?”
She did look rather like a chimney sweep, he thought, suppressing a smile. “You’ve got…ahem, right there.” He indicated her left cheek. “A smudge of some sort. Here.” He reached for his handkerchief and handed it to her. “Right there, on your cheek.”
“Here?” she asked. She swiped at it, entirely missing it.
“No, higher.” He shifted his feet uncomfortably. “There,” he said, resisting the urge to run the pad of his thumb over her smooth, rosy skin.
Her second attempt was no more successful. “Better?”
“Not quite.”
“Here,” she said, handing him back the handkerchief. “You do it.”
John took a deep, fortifying breath, then nodded.
“I don’t bite,” she teased. “At least, not often.”
Taking the square of linen, he firmly wiped away the smudge, noticing for the first time a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. “There,” he said gruffly, feeling foolish as he stuffed the handkerchief back into his pocket. How he longed to trace the freckles with his fingertip, to trail kisses in their wake.
“It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?” she asked brightly.
John leaned back against the motorcar, one boot resting upon the running board, his hands thrust into his pockets. “Indeed it is.”
“I had to escape the house for a bit. Do you think they’ve noticed my absence yet?”
He nodded. “Likely so.”
“And how are you enjoying Edith’s party so far, Mr. Leyden?”
“Tolerably well, I suppose.”
He heard her sigh. “That’s progress. Four words,” she muttered.
“Pardon?”
“Four words, Mr. Leyden. That seems to be your limit today. I’m only trying to make conversation. You could put a bit more effort into it. After all, you were nearly chatty last time we met. In the greenhouse,” she added, as if he had forgotten.
For a moment he simply stared at her, entirely bewildered.
“You must excuse me, Miss Symth.” If only he didn’t become so damned tongue-tied around her. If only he could converse easily and charmingly, as Sir Edmund did.
When he glanced back at her, he was surprised to see the color had risen in her cheeks, and her eyes, once so merry, were now flashing angrily. “That’s it? I must excuse you? Really, Mr. Leyden, you might try harder.”
“I don’t always find idle talk…comfortable, Miss Smyth. I did not mean to offend—”
She advanced on him. “Yet I offend you, don’t I? What is it about me that you find so distasteful?”
What the devil was she talking about? “You misunderstand, Miss Smyth.”
“Is your good opinion so very hard to come by? Heaven knows why I should care what you think of me. Perhaps it’s the challenge; I’m not quite certain.” She shook her head, then raised her flashing gaze to meet his. “All I know is, all these years I’ve had to suffer beneath your disapproving stare, and I’ve no idea what I’ve done to earn it. Pray, enlighten me.”
Did she not realize the double standard? All these years, she’d looked down her pretty nose at him, perhaps pitied him, yet she expected him to behave like a lapdog, panting after her like Sir Edmund did? Like all the young gentlemen of her acquaintance did?
And why would he? While she coquetted with every other man about, he might as well have been invisible to her.
“I realize that I’m no gentleman, Miss Smyth,” he said angrily, his blood thrumming hotly through his veins. “That I lack the education and good breeding of the men you’re used to associating with.”
She tipped her chin into the air. “I’ve always treated you as an equal.”
“Have you?” he asked harshly, unable to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice.
“I always supposed I did.”
“How very charitable of you,” he bit out.
Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, clinging to the dark fringe of her lashes. “I suppose that explains why you despise my company, then.”
At the sight of her stricken expression, his temper vanished at once. Bloody hell, he hadn’t meant to hurt her. “I admit I am often uncomfortable in your company,” he said softly, “but not because I find you lacking in any respect. Besides, you have an army of gentlemen like Sir Edmund to do your bidding—”
“Sir Edmund is a silly fool. You think I wish to have men like him pawing—” She stopped short, one hand rising to cover her mouth. “Forgive me,” she said at last. “Perhaps we should head back to Hadley Hall.”
He swore under his breath, pushing off the side of the motorcar and moving toward her before he could reconsider what he was about to do.
In seconds he reached her side and placed his hands on either side of her face, his thumbs gently stroking her silky skin. “I’m uncomfortable in your presence not because I have an ill opinion of you, Christobel, but because I’m constantly fighting the urge to do this,” he said roughly, his mouth slanting toward her trembling lips.
At first she stood motionless, her arms stiff by her sides. As his mouth opened against hers, her hands rose, sliding sensuously up the back of his coat, to his neck. With a small moan, she pulled him closer, her own hot, wet mouth soft and inviting.
He kissed her hungrily, his mouth hard and insistent as she pressed her body against his, her fingers digging into the corded muscles in his neck, her stomach firm against his rock-hard cock.
At last he retreated, his mouth moving down the column of her neck, to her throat. “And this,” he added, pressing h
is lips against her collar, where her pulse fluttered wildly. He inhaled her sweet, familiar scent, unable to bear meeting her gaze, to risk seeing displeasure there in her face.
“I had no idea,” she said at last, breathlessly. “I thought…I thought you despised me.”
Emboldened, he met her gaze. “I only despised myself for wanting something I could not have—something I can never have.”
“Except twice now…good heavens, if anyone were to see us!”
“No one can see us. We’re well off the main road, Christobel.”
“You called me ‘Christobel,’” she said softly, a smile tipping the corners of her mouth.
“Such a lovely name.”
“Goodness, Mr. Leyden, I think you’ve made my knees go weak. I need to sit down.”
He led her back to the motorcar and handed her up to the seat. For a moment, neither spoke. John looked off toward the bluff, toward the town in the valley below. Cranford—his home. He could see Leyden Mills in the distance, their smokestacks rising toward the sky, reigning over the bustling town.
“What do you think of the view from here?” he asked, unable to disguise the pride in his voice.
“It’s dreadful, isn’t it?” came her reply. “So…so crowded and dirty and…” Her voice trailed off as she met his gaze. “And you love it, don’t you? You must forgive me. I did not mean to offend—”
“Don’t apologize for speaking your mind, Miss Smyth.” He reached for his gloves and goggles and climbed in beside her. He must have been mad to ever think that he and Christobel…no. No. He would not allow his thoughts to travel that route.
“You’re right, we should head back to Hadley Hall,” he said. Without waiting for her reply, he reached for the plunger pump on the dash and quickly pumped air pressure into the fuel tank. When that was done, he set the throttle and climbed out to turn the crank on the front of the car. In seconds, the engine roared to life, and John climbed back in and unlatched the hand brake.
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