Page 52 of The Seductive Love of a Lady
‘Where is she?’
‘If I tell you, it puts you in danger. Kilbride’s cronies might hurt you for the information.’
‘You think I would tell…’ She looked hurt.
‘No, Mary. But I do not want to endanger you any more than I would risk him finding Caro. But if you must know, she is not far from here.’
‘I would like to meet her.’
‘Not any time soon, sweetheart. I am not going near her for a long while, just to be safe. Kilbride is like your brother, he has money and men everywhere.’
For a moment the only sounds were the swishes of the long blades of grass giving way beneath their feet as they walked on.
The hill flowed down to an ornamental lake in the distance.
‘I am sorry,’ Mary said. ‘I overheard you talking to Lord Brooke. I thought you had a mistress. You were not coming to bed and…’
Drew did not care to think of the agony she must have felt. ‘I responded ridiculously to your dance with Peter, and there you were thinking I had done far worse.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘The Duchess told me what you heard and what your aunt said. I do not blame you for thinking it, I should have told you.’
‘You were not talking to me then.’
‘No, as I said. I was an ass.’
‘You are friends with Peter again…’
‘He came that night, he knows my tendency to sulk and stew, he gave me time to get over it. Your sister-in-law found me at Peter’s.’
His fingers wove between hers as they walked on.
The heads of clover they disturbed among the grass sent sweet perfume into the air.
When they reached the lake, they walked along the shore a little way.
The water was as still as glass, a mirror reflecting the summer sky, until a pair of swans with trailing signets glided across it, sending out fans of ripples on the surface.
‘I feel like I have walked from a nightmare into a dream.’ He looked at Mary. ‘Did I fall asleep at Peter’s?’
She lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss on the back of his. ‘I am real.’
Drew remembered their last morning with painful guilt. ‘Why did you let me make love to you that morning? I thought…’ A lump constricted his throat at the memory. He coughed and began again. ‘I thought you forgave me. Then… I did not like myself when I found you gone. I dreaded that… Did you feel forced?’ His fingers touched her cheek. ‘You broke my heart.’
‘My heart broke too.’ Her fingers slipped from his and she walked ahead of him. ‘I love you; just one last time I wanted to pretend you loved me too.’
‘You stupid girl.’ He rushed her, to break the melancholy, grasping her from behind, trapping her in his arms and lifting her off her feet. ‘If I am an ass, you are a fool. I was not pretending. I adore you, woman. You may get that into your silly head, if you please.’
She was laughing breathlessly when he set her down.
‘Let us sit for a while,’ he suggested.
While he unbuttoned his morning coat and shrugged it off, she picked a single buttercup and spun the stem between her fingers. He lay his coat on the ground for her to sit on, ignoring the fact he had no valet to repair any damage.
She swept her dress beneath her and sat among the long grass. If he was a painter, he would paint her portrait just like this.
Drew lay down, stretching out beside her, on his side, his head supported on his palm. The nonchalant pose denied the raging melee of emotions in his chest.
‘Why did you act so differently towards me after we visited your parents?’ she asked, as she looked at the lake.
His view was her profile, against the blue sky. ‘My parents are an untouchable subject. Peter will tell you not to converse on it.’
