Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Choc Lit)
Page 4
She rushed upstairs and changed into her riding habit which, if not precisely fashionable, was at least a becoming shade of cornflower blue that she knew accentuated the colour of her eyes. It was done in the military style, which suited her figure, and as she came downstairs to find his lordship pacing the hall, it made her feel better to know that she looked as well as she could.
The look in his eyes as he caught sight of her confirmed this and made her smile. ‘I trust I haven’t kept you waiting for too long, my lord?’ she said while he bowed over her hand. ‘You should have reminded me of our, er, proposed outing yesterday.’
He tried to look contrite, but failed signally as Ianthe noticed the sparkle of mischief in his eyes yet again. ‘Yes, I should have, but I wasn’t sure you’d accept the invitation. Sometimes not giving people time to think about something makes them act on the spur of the moment. I was counting on that.’
‘I see.’ Ianthe could have told him that she would have jumped at the chance to go riding with him any time, but thought it best not to in case it made her seem too eager for his company.
‘And you didn’t keep me waiting,’ he added. ‘In fact, you were remarkably quick, but then I knew you would be.’
‘How could you possibly know that?’
He grinned at her. ‘Because I could tell from the very first time I set eyes on you that you’re not like other women.’
Ianthe blinked at the compliment – if compliment it was – but he didn’t allow her time to think about it. Instead, he led her outside and helped her on to the back of quite the most magnificent horse she had ever seen, a glossy black thoroughbred with long mane and tail, all brushed to perfection. ‘I made enquiries,’ Wyckeham said, ‘and was told you’re a bruising rider. I hope he’ll suit you?’
Ianthe beamed at him. ‘He’s perfect. I can’t wait to put him through his paces.’
‘Let’s go, then.’
They set off for the park, a groom riding slightly behind them for the sake of propriety, and Ianthe was not disappointed. As it was early, and not many people were about, they flouted the unwritten rules and let the horses have a good gallop. Ianthe enjoyed herself immensely, and was pleased when the horse followed her every lead. As they slowed to a trot, she bent over his neck to pat him and saw his ears twitching when she told him he was a gorgeous boy. She smiled at Wyckeham again. ‘I think he likes me. What’s his name?’
‘Midnight, of course. I thought he’d be perfect for you; he’s the same colour as your hair.’
They were now riding side by side along Rotten Row on the south side of Hyde Park and there were still only a few other riders about. Ianthe didn’t care since she found the usual crowd there a bore and without thinking, she said so.
Wyckeham laughed. ‘Indeed, one can almost imagine that one is in the country today. But don’t you prefer town living? Most young ladies do.’
‘No, not at all. I can’t wait to go home, in fact. All this forced merriment is very taxing and I find everyone false and back-stabbing. In the country, people may gossip, but it’s never seemed to me to be as malicious as it is here.’
‘You don’t like balls and routs?’ His eyes searched hers as if he wanted to make sure.
‘No, it’s all so superficial. Forced gaiety. I feel like I’m merely on show, a performer in some strange play. Country assemblies are much more fun.’
‘So you wouldn’t mind living most of the year in the country, then?’
‘Not at all. I would love it.’
‘And would you like to live in the country with me?’
Ianthe gasped in surprise and stared at him, before turning away in confusion. She felt her cheeks flaming with both shock and embarrassment. Was he asking her to become his mistress? After only three days’ acquaintance! Anger stirred inside her. What did he take her for? She may not be the toast of the town, but she wasn’t that desperate. ‘Really, my lord, I don’t think—’
‘Wyckeham! Hadn’t thought to see you out of bed so early.’
This greeting, drawled in a rather exaggerated way, cut Ianthe’s sentence off. She looked round to find the marquess scowling at a man that resembled him slightly, although he was smaller in build, his features more finely chiselled. Ianthe had never seen him before, so she assumed he had only recently come to town. Either that, or he spent all his evenings at quite a different sort of establishment to those she was invited to. She knew there were many men who didn’t care for the balls and other entertainments of the season, but kept to their clubs and places of ill repute. Perhaps he was one such?
Seated next to the man on his own horse was young Lord Robert, looking decidedly worse for wear. His eyes were almost crossing in an attempt to focus on them and his clothes were in complete disarray. The distinct aroma of alcohol emanated from him and Ianthe unconsciously wrinkled her nose.
‘Gervaise,’ the marquess replied curtly to the stranger and then nodded at his brother. ‘So that’s where you got to last night, Rob.’
Lord Robert had the grace to look sheepish and couldn’t quite meet his brother’s eye, but Wyckeham didn’t look at him for long. Instead he returned his gaze to the other man, who shrugged and pulled out a snuffbox, from which he helped himself to a large pinch.
‘A night on the town, you know how it is. I was delighted to show our young kinsman the best places to find entertainment.’ The man smiled, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, which appeared to Ianthe to be dark and cold. Fathomless in fact. She shivered.
‘Yes, I’m sure you were,’ Wyckeham replied, his mouth an uncompromising line of disapproval now. ‘So how many gaming hells did you manage to visit?’
‘Only about four, I believe,’ Gervaise replied airily, then threw a speculative glance at Ianthe. ‘But this isn’t a subject fit for a lady’s ears. Aren’t you going to introduce us, coz?’
Wyckeham looked like he wanted to avoid this at all cost, but good manners dictated that he must. ‘Miss Ianthe, this is a distant relative of mine, Gervaise Warwycke. Gervaise, Miss Ianthe Templeton.’
‘Ah, one of the famous twins one has heard so much about.’ Gervaise stood up in the saddle and gave her an exaggerated bow, while running his eyes over her from top to toe and back again in a manner that made her skin crawl.
‘How do you do?’ she said, not wanting to engage in conversation with him.
Wyckeham glanced at her and said, ‘We’d better be on our way. Gentlemen.’ He nodded curtly at both of them, and threw a parting shot over his shoulder at Lord Robert. ‘Get yourself home and into the bath. Then ask cook for a tisane. You’re going to need it.’
A dark shadow seemed to have descended upon them and they rode back to the Templeton house in silence. Ianthe decided now was not the time to discuss Wyckeham’s strange proposal, if that was what it had been. Perhaps if she pretended it had never happened, he wouldn’t refer to it again. To her consternation, however, as the marquess helped her down from the horse, he held her close to him for a moment, much too close for comfort and certainly not within the limits of propriety.
She glanced up at him with a frown to remonstrate, but he was looking down at her, an intense expression in his eyes, and she forgot what she had been about to say.
‘I didn’t mean to offend you,’ he said. ‘We will return to our conversation some other time, when I will try to express myself more clearly. And I’m sorry if I’ve been like a bear with a sore head, but I’m afraid meeting Gervaise always has that effect on me. Can’t stand the fellow.’
Ianthe took a deep breath to steady herself. Being held by him was disrupting her thought processes and she wasn’t sure what to make of his enigmatic words. She took refuge in common courtesy. ‘Well, thank you for taking me riding, my lord. I enjoyed it immensely.’
His eyes seemed to bore into hers and she wondered for a crazy moment if he was about to kiss her – in broad daylight – but he obviously thought better of it. ‘You’re welcome. We’ll have to do it again soon. Will
I see you tonight?’
She nodded. ‘If you’re going to Mrs Etchilhampton’s rout, then yes, no doubt our paths will cross.’ She tried for a nonchalant tone, so as not to give the impression that she was eager for his company. And in truth, she wasn’t sure she was now. If all he was looking for was a mistress, then she wanted nothing to do with him. Even if his touch sends thrills racing through me. No, especially then!
‘I’ll make sure of it,’ he said, before finally letting her go. Ianthe felt almost bereft and turned quickly to mount the steps to the front door so he wouldn’t see what effect he was having on her, but before she reached it, he added, ‘Save me the supper dance and tell your sister if she ruins your gown again, she’ll rue the day she was born.’
Jason was in a foul mood as he rode away from the Templeton’s house. Damn Gervaise for interrupting! Not to mention trying to corrupt his brother. Of all the people Rob could decide to be friends with … Jason swore softly. Gervaise was a viper.
‘Friend? Never!’
He’d tried to tell Rob to be careful of gaming hells and other such establishments, but it was all heady stuff for a youngster. ‘Don’t be so boring, Jason. I’m sure you didn’t exactly sit at home when you were my age,’ Rob had said.
This was true, but Jason had learned his lesson and he didn’t want Rob to have to do it the same way, the hard way.
‘I’m enjoying myself, and with your reputation, you’re the last man on earth to lecture me, aren’t you? Even Miss Templeton had heard of your supposed misdeeds. She asked me about them,’ Rob had added. He’d never been insolent to Jason before, but as his brother had been more than slightly foxed at the time, Jason had let this comment go. It still irritated the hell out of him that people couldn’t stop gossiping about Elizabeth’s death, though.
So she fell down some stairs and broke her pretty neck. Good riddance! It had happened ages ago, and no one had been able to prove that it was anything other than an accident.
But he couldn’t help but wonder if Ianthe was also listening to gossip. He’d heard a slight hesitation in her voice just now when they were saying goodbye. Was she seeing him in a new light? Did he scare her?
He sincerely hoped not, because he was coming to realise that was the last thing on earth he wanted to do.
CHAPTER SIX
Ianthe was in a quandary. She had no more remotely attractive dresses to wear, and the green gown, which she had planned to use again, was beyond repair according to Dupont. Appealing to her mother for help would be no use, as Ianthe knew very well there was no more money.
No, she would have to take matters into her own hands.
When Serena and Lady Templeton went out to pay a morning visit, Ianthe crept into Serena’s room and opened the wardrobe which was bulging with garments. Ianthe quickly looked through them and found what she had been searching for, thrust into a corner. A cerulean blue ball gown of shot silk which Serena had declared too frumpish for words because it was embellished with huge pink fake roses round the hem and neckline.
‘I’m sorry, Mama, but nothing in the world would persuade me to wear that. Send it back,’ she had decreed.
Of course, Lady Templeton could do no such thing since the dress had been made to her exact specification and already paid for. Instead, it had languished at the back of the wardrobe for several weeks, while Lady Templeton hoped Serena would change her mind. Ianthe pulled it out and returned to her room, calling for Dupont.
‘Oui, Mademoiselle? Oh là là, what ’ave we ’ere? Quelle horreur!’
‘Yes, isn’t it awful, but I thought that if I remove the roses, it would be quite elegant. The only problem is that I’m taller than Serena, so it’s not long enough. Could you help me find something to lengthen it with, please?’
‘Mais oui, I will ’ave a look.’
Dupont unearthed an old gown with a wide silver lace trim around the hem. ‘Look, this will be perfect, non? I will cut it off.’
‘Oh, yes, brilliant. Do you think if we work together we can have it finished by this evening? Otherwise I can’t go out. I simply can’t wear my old gowns again. Not now that …’
She stopped herself from revealing the exact reason why she wanted to look good. There was no need for Dupont to know that. The little Frenchwoman smiled, however, as if she could guess. ‘Don’t worry, we can do it and you will look wonderful, je promesse.’
‘I can’t thank you enough.’
Dupont leaned closer and whispered, ‘Just promise me if you ever marry, please to take me with you when you leave. Your Maman, she is nice lady, but very …’
‘Demanding? Impossible?’ Ianthe smiled. ‘Of course. I wouldn’t dream of leaving you behind.’
On purpose, Ianthe didn’t go downstairs until the very last moment, when the others were already waiting in the hall and the carriage had been called for. Serena was talking to their mother, but broke off to frown at Ianthe as soon as she caught sight of her. ‘Isn’t that …? It is! Mama, she is wearing my gown, and … what have you done to it? Go and take it off at once, I won’t have you stealing my things.’
‘I had nothing else to wear since you saw fit to ruin my only decent gown,’ Ianthe said coolly. ‘Besides, there’s no time to change now, is there Mama? We don’t want to be late.’
‘Indeed,’ Lady Templeton agreed.
‘But, Mama, she’s stolen it, been in my room, gone through my things! It’s intolerable.’
‘Enough, Serena. You have more gowns than you can possibly wish for. Surely you can spare your sister one? And one, moreover, which you refused to wear, if my memory serves me. Now let us be on our way and I want no more foolishness from either of you.’
Lady Templeton sounded unusually stern, so much so that even Serena did her bidding without further protest. Ianthe was astonished, but pleased, that her mother had taken her side for once, but judging by Serena’s expression, she felt she might come to regret her coup. Time enough to worry about this later, however.
Mrs Etchilhampton’s rout was not quite as crowded as that lady would have liked, but it was nonetheless well attended and Ianthe couldn’t immediately spot Wyckeham when they arrived. Quite why she wanted to see him again, she couldn’t say. If he was going to humiliate her by offering her a carte blanche, she ought to stay out of his way, but somehow she thought she must have misunderstood. It was not the done thing to ask respectable young girls to be one’s mistress, no matter how impecunious they might be. And although he’d said he had to live up to his reputation as ‘Lord Wicked’, she was sure he was joking. She felt strongly that the real Wyckeham was a true gentleman.
As she stood with her mother and sister, only half listening to Serena’s flirtations with all the young men who flocked to her side, she noticed the marquess’s relative, Gervaise, enter the room with Lord Robert in tow. The two seemed on remarkably good terms and headed straight for the card room rather than towards the young ladies waiting for partners. Ianthe frowned. It seemed unlike Lord Robert to be so rude.
‘So you noticed it too, then?’
The smooth voice was barely audible behind Ianthe’s right shoulder, and she realised Wyckeham wanted no one but her to hear him. His softly spoken words sent a frisson of pleasure shooting down her spine. She turned to see him scowling after Gervaise and Lord Robert, before he sighed and looked at her instead, his gaze softening.
‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t burden you with my problems,’ he said. ‘Did you save me a dance?’
She nodded. ‘The one you asked for.’
‘Good girl.’ He scrawled a W on her card and handed it back. ‘I’ll speak to you later then. For now, I’ve got my work cut out keeping Rob out of mischief.’
He was gone almost as quickly as he had appeared, and since Serena and their mother were still engrossed in conversation with the Earl of Somerville and one of his friends, they hadn’t even noticed Wyckeham’s presence. Secretly, Ianthe was glad as it meant he hadn’t asked Serena for a dance too.
Wyckeham sighed. ‘Yes, but unfortunately he seems to consider Gervaise his new best friend and the fount of all knowledge. Nothing I say registers. I had warned him to be on his guard against older men who try to inveigle him into gaming and, er … such like, but because Gervaise is family of sorts, Rob thinks he’s different and won’t listen to me.’
‘And is he? Different, I mean.’
Wyckeham regarded her with one raised eyebrow and a sardonic smile. ‘What do you think?’
‘I have to confess I took an instant dislike to him, but I don’t know why.’
‘Then you are more astute than my brother.’ Wyckeham shook his head. ‘No, Gervaise is no saint, far from it. Sadly though, I’ve got to let Rob make a few mistakes on his own. It’s the only way he’ll learn.’
‘Are you his guardian?’
‘Not any more; he’s turned twenty-one. But even if I was, I doubt he’d take my advice this time, although normally he would. Our father died when he was ten and I’ve done my best to protect him. He’s never been to London before though, and I should have known how easy it would be for someone his age to be led astray.’ He sighed. ‘Let’s not talk about that though. We have more important matters to discuss.’
‘We do?’ Ianthe felt a small stirring of unease and butterflies danced in her stomach. She wasn’t sure she was going to like what he had to say.
He smiled, which made the butterflies redouble their efforts. She took a bite of her lobster patty in order to try and settle them down, but found it hard to swallow.
‘Are you still certain you’re not afraid of me? I know you must have heard all the rumours by now.’