Page 93 of Romancing Daphne

James spoke before Daphne could think of a response. “I cannot imagine why anyone would think that. Clearly Miss Lancaster and I are quitefond of one another.” He indicated their current friendly position.

“You are walking here alone?” Miss Bower’s words held a note of censure.

Daphne decided it was time she joined in her own defense. “My sister Artemis is with us, as I am certain you can see.”

“Artemis.” Mrs. Bower tapped her finger against her lips. “Are all of the Lancaster sisters named for goddesses?”

“No, Mother. Daphne, you will recall, was only a nymph.”

That distinction had pained and bewildered Daphne all her life. She had always been the nymph among the goddesses.

“Daphne wasn’t merely a nymph,” James said. “She was the daughter of the river god. Apollo mourned her tragic loss eternally. There was and is nothing ‘mere’ about her.”

The praise was as buoying as it was unexpected. And yet, there hestood, his chin held at a defiant angle as if daring the Bowers to contradicthim.

“At least her name isn’t ‘Cynthia,’” Artemis said, her offhand observation punctuated by some indefinable thrust. “I’d hide away in a turret tower if I were burdened with such an insignificant and dull name as that.”

Daphne’s champions had quite effectively silenced the Bowers.

“If you will excuse us,” James said. “I should very much like to continue my pleasant sojourn with my lovely companions.”

“We will see you at the Kirkham’s ball at the end of the week?” Mrs. Bower asked.

“If I attend, I will do so as a member of Their Graces’s party and, therefore, cannot say whether or not our circles will overlap.” As far as set downswent, it was a gracefully and pointedly executed one.

The Bowers understood the message. Their upward aspirations wouldnot be accomplished on James’s coattails. They continued on their way, heads pressed together, plotting already.

“Lord Lampton will no doubt be at the Kirkham’s ball,” Mrs. Bower told her daughter. “He is of higher standing than the Tilburns will ever be. We must set our sights a touch higher.”

“But Lord Lampton is so odd,” Miss Bower objected.

“He is an earl, Cynthia. He is allowed to be odd.” It was the last thing Daphne overheard before the ladies were too distant for their words to be distinguishable.

A moment of silence passed between Daphne, James, and Artemis. The others were no doubt waiting for her to fall to pieces. She didn’t intendto. “Artemis, I didn’t realize you disliked the name Cynthia so much.”

“I don’t dislike it at all; it is a lovely name.” Artemis glided past them. “I simply dislikeher.” She looked back over her shoulder. “No one speaks to my sister that way. Not anyone. Not ever.”

Daphne was touched more than she felt equal to expressing. She didn’tthink Artemis had ever come so close to saying that she cared about her.

“The Bowers are insufferable,” James said. “I hope you don’t mean to give heed to anything they said or implied.”

She squared her shoulders. She had, after all, decided just that morning to be strong and courageous even in the face of her own lingering doubts. “I am determined, Lord Tilburn, that no one will ever be permitted to hurt me again.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

James discovered firsthand the Dukeof Kielder’s capacity for battle strategy. No matter the enormity of tasks he was assigned every day, James still found himself crossing paths with Daphne several times, even if only in passing. Though she still hadn’t smiled at him, she seemed a bit less jumpy in his presence.

They’d walked about the park with Scamp that morning, as they hadeach of the past few mornings. Afternoon had come, and James found himself looking for her again. The Falstone House staff was every bit asloyal as His Grace had insisted during their weapons-punctuated interview.Not a soul would tell James outright where Daphne was to be found.

A perusal of the family and public rooms yielded no success. He didn’t dare attempt to infiltrate the kitchen. No doubt the cook had instructions to toss him in her soup pot if she felt so inclined. He walked along theback of the house, hoping to spy Daphne taking a turn around the backgardens.

He heard movement just inside a door on the east end of the house. Perhaps whoever was inside would be willing to point him in Daphne’s direction. He knew before even stepping inside that he’d found the herb room. The aromas wafting out were as strong as they were varied.

He stepped inside and nearly laughed at what he found. All his searching, and there Daphne was tying up bundles of some plant or another.

“You seem very hard at work.” He realized the moment the words lefthis mouth just how inelegant a greeting it was.

She didn’t seem to mind but simply kept at her efforts.“I was meant to spend the afternoon with my brother-in-law, but he is occupied with matters relating to the impending arrival of the newest member of the Boyce family.”

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