Page 64 of His Lordship's True Lady
Hessian used the tip of his riding crop to whisk a fly from his horse’s shoulder. “And the man’s name?”
This was what came after the warning shot—the destructive volley, intent on wreaking mayhem and inspiring quick surrender. Lily could not afford to surrender, and though she might have heard the house steward’s name at some point, she could not recall it now.
“Must we discuss this?”
“Not if it pains you.”
“We’re wasting a beautiful morning with these trivialities.” Though, if Hessian was intent on tracking down the house steward, that was far from trivial. “How is Daisy?”
The horses and the conversation moved on, while the earl grew effusive about letters he’d had from Daisy’s brothers. He knew the boys from their summers in the north and pronounced both to be fine young fellows whom Daisy missed more than she admitted.
As the Serpentine came into view and other riders filled the broader thoroughfares, the earl gently halted his gelding for the third time.
“I must speak to your uncle this week, Lily. I can find no reason to keep my interest in you from becoming public. Once I have permission to court you, once we are engaged, we’ll have much more latitude, and the fortune hunters will slink off to pursue other heiresses.”
Oh, Hessian.“And the widows will pursue other earls?”
“I’m told Wellington himself, despite being married to the sweetheart of his youth, has no artillery sufficient to dissuade that regiment.”
“His grace fires only smiles and flirtation in their direction, and he is a duke.”
“I am an earl. A paltry prize by comparison, but I would like to be your prize.”
Despite Hessian’s smile, despite the flattering nature of his objective, Lily felt a sense of doom. Uncle would wave off the only suitor Lily wanted for her own, and another ten years of being the testy, often-tested niece of Walter Leggett would be the best she could hope for.
“Have you ever considered eloping, my lord?”
“No, I have not. When a man of my station elopes for no apparent reason, scandal ensues. The last thing I need now, with Daisy newly added to my household, is scandal.”
Well, drat and perdition.“Because of Mrs. Braithwaite?”
The groom drew up ten yards back.
“Because I value your reputation and my own. Because Daisy does not need such drama and talk. Because I am the head of my family, small though it is, and have an unmarried half-sister to consider. As much as I’d love to carry you off and make endless passionate love to you, I cannot justify being that selfish.”
Felled by honor.“Then you must speak to Uncle, and if you are to be successful with him, the less said about my fortune the better.”
“Lily, I don’t give a hearty goddamn for your fortune. When can I see you again?”
This was another symptom of being too preoccupied with present pleasures and not focused enough on practicalities. Lily should have memorized her accepted invitations, the better to coordinate with Hessian.
“I am at a loss,” she said. “Perhaps Bronwyn and Daisy might spend another afternoon together?”
A man sauntered in through the park gates fifty yards away, just another pedestrian taking the fine, fresh air, except this fellow had a sizable Alsatian on a leash and was too elegantly turned out to be anything but a lordling.
“My nanny has arrived,” Hessian said, turning his gelding in the direction of the park’s latest arrival. “But we will use this meddling to our advantage. Have you met my brother, Worth?”
Uncle would be pleased with this development, while Lily was uneasy. “I have not.”
“Not since we were children, you mean. Rest assured, Sir Worth is almost harmless now.”
Lily had learned that a blunder was best followed by a swift retreat. She’d blundered this morning with Hessian—over her half-sister’s elopement, among other things—and because she hadn’t withdrawn to regain her composure, her errors were multiplying.
Whereas Hessian was fair, Worth was dark. Hessian was lanky, Worth had a solid muscularity that would be menacing under the right circumstances. He gave Lily a keen appraisal, and that unsettled her as well.
“You must pay a call on my lady wife,” Worth said, bowing over Lily’s hand. Though she was mounted, and Hessian’s brother stood at her stirrup, he was tall enough not to be at a disadvantage on the ground.
“That will suit,” Hessian said before Lily could answer. “Perhaps the day after tomorrow?”
