Page 9 of The Dangerous Love of a Rogue
‘Do not fret. No one saw.’ Kate linked her arm with Mary’s, and turned her towards the crowd, though she did not lead Mary towards them but into a walk about the edge of them. ‘Did Lord Framlington do or say something to upset you?’
‘No.’ There was no need for her family to know he had kissed her. She did not wish John, her father, or her uncles, challenging him to a duel. It was only a kiss. Except, if she had stayed, she did not think it would have ended there. John was right: Lord Framlington was trouble. He had intended to ravish her.
Why did her silly heart have to make her stomach flutter at the thought?
‘Did he touch you?’ John’s fingers brushed her elbow as he walked at her other side, his voice filled with concern.
‘No.’ Guilt thrust a knife into her breast. She had never lied before, and she was lying for his sake. ‘He merely frightened me.’
‘Well, if he’s scared you, you will hopefully never make such an error again.’
She would not, she had learned her lesson. This could have ended with awful consequences. But she felt torn in two, her heart pulling one way, towards danger, while her head pulled another. She must listen to her head and heed common sense. If she had been seen with him…
The blood drained from Mary’s head. ‘May we go home?’
‘If you wish.’ John’s gaze was deep with concern. ‘I’ll send for the carriage.’ He left them immediately.
‘We will say our goodbyes. We should not just disappear.’ Through the pressure of their joined arms Kate drew Mary closer to her side and led her across the lawn towards where Lady Jersey stood among her friends.
‘I know he did something,’ Kate whispered. ‘You would not be this discomposed over nothing. You do not have to tell me, but mind what John says and do not allow yourself to be taken in by Lord Framlington’s charm.’
They were so familiar, Mary thought of Kate as a full sister. ‘It was nothing. Really. Just nonsense.’ Mary was lucky, her family may caution, but they would always support her. Kate smiled, her eyebrows lifting.
‘Nonsense to a woman, Mary, is manoeuvring to a man. Beware, males are predatory and determined when they choose to be, and Lord Framlington is of that ilk. Avoid him.’
‘I was… I am… It is just… I never thought he would follow.’
‘Doing the things we never expect is what they do,’ Kate advised conspiratorially. ‘But I will convince John not to tell your father and mother of this. There is no need for you to listen to this lecture twice.’
Mary’s smile lifted. ‘Thank you.’
‘Now let us get our goodbyes over with. Then I propose we stop at Gunter’s for an ice on the way home. The day is so hot I am melting.’
As they approached Lady Jersey, Kate’s free hand flicked open her fan and wafted the warm early summer air over them both, cooling Mary’s blush.
When the niceties were completed, as she walked towards the house to leave, Mary’s gaze subtly scanned the crowd for a gentleman with dark brown hair, a head above the rest. She was so used to searching him out she spotted him in a second.
Lord Framlington stood on the edge of a group of men.
His head turned and his gaze reached across the open space and found her. He smiled a self-congratulating smile. Declined his head in a brief bow. Then looked away.
Against her better judgement her mind recalled the feeling of their kiss, and the pulse of her heart was whipped into a race.
3
Lord Andrew Framlington, fourth son of the Marquis of Framlington, in name only, hooked one arm over the back of the spindle chair and raised an ankle to settle on the opposite knee, modelling the pose of a dissipated rake. That was what he had been for most of his life. ‘The game is on with Pembroke’s little sister. I have settled on her. She is my choice,’ he told his friends.
‘Marlow’s ice maiden? Are you serious, Drew? The girl who freezes out all of dubious character?’ His friend Harry Webster’s speech slurred.
‘The same.’ Drew’s gaze passed around his small group of loyal friends.
Harry sat forward in his chair. ‘Have you spoken to her?’
‘Yes, and as you know I have been improving my character.’ He smiled. They knew he had abstained from whores for nearly a year – the women to be paid. They did not know he had also kept away from whoring himself to the women who did the paying. ‘You will see. She shall be mine in a month, three at the most. I shall charm her into submission until she will be begging me to wed her.’
‘Knowing how women fall for you, she will be yours within a week,’ Mark Harper commented, as he tossed a four of spades onto the table, progressing their game of cards.
Drew looked at his cards. No spades. He would trump them all with a heart.
