Pamela sighed, but did not interrupt.
"But her brother…," St. Just continued, "Oh, God, he took me at my own evaluation and worshiped me. Perhaps it went to my head. I was the youngest of three brothers, and no one showed me much adulation. I never meant to harm him, Pam, but when he died, it was my fault. Hetty loved him. She really believed I murdered him by intention. I did murder him. I killed them both—both!" He covered his face with his hands.
"Nonsense!" Pamela said sharply. "You sound like a bad play. Stop dramatizing yourself. I heard you call out to Hetty to stop. You could have let her go over that cliff. And even if you did handle the brother unwisely, people do not usually die of a fall from a horse. The animal did not savage him, did it?"
"No. He broke his neck."
"Well, so might I have, twenty times over, when hunting. Still, my father, who taught me to hunt, would not have said he murdered me, no matter how badly he felt about it. How many times have you been tossed from a horse? Would you have said George murdered you if you died in that gully?"
"No."
"Then give me no more imitations of Garrick acting a Shakespearean tragedy."
St. Just laughed, seized her, and kissed her soundly. "How am I going to wait a year to marry you, Pam? Must we wait?"
"I think we must."
"I will not have you slaving as a drudge in someone's household."
"No, I shouldn't care for that myself," Pamela remarked with a smile. "Perhaps it need not be so long. The Allenby's can be our guide, and George, of course. He will tell us what is quite proper."
"Can you never be serious?"
"But I am. I shall stay here, and there will be frequent occasions for our meeting. It will not be thought odd if you seek to fill your time with company. After a time I can confess my love to Lady Allenby, and you can do the same, or use George as your messenger. From what I have seen today, no impediment will be placed in our path."
"Certainly not. Lady Allenby seems ready to drag you to Tremaire by force if you should prove unwilling. Pam, I think you should go to my sister in October or November and stay in London. I will come too, of course." His arms tightened around her. "Alice always loathed Hetty. She will be delighted to forward our purpose. Perhaps we could marry by the new year."
Pamela would have agreed, but her lips were covered and St. Just's embrace was too stringent to permit even a nod.
"Vyvyan! Pamela! 'Pon my word, right in the middle of the drawing room! And before lunch, too! You will undo all my careful spadework, my delicate hints of a growing affection rigorously suppressed." George's face bore a perfect rendition of a painful and shocked surprise, while his eyes twinkled merrily. "Bad ton, very bad," he intoned.
Copyright © 1975 by Roberta Gellis
Originally published by Bantam [0553236415]
Electronically published in 2010 by Belgrave House
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No portion of this book may be reprinted in whole or in part, by printing, faxing, E-mail, copying electronically or by any other means without permission of the publisher. For more information, contact Belgrave House, 190 Belgrave Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94117-4228
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This is a work of fiction. All names in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to any person living or dead is coincidental.
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