Page 45 of His Spirited Lady
“Then why…” There was no proper way to ask why her father had tormented her with a Season where women like Belinda Martin would look down their noses, where men like Tony Ashton might call only to turn away once the books were opened.
“My choices are governess or mistress.” Annabel’s mouth flattened into a thin line. “My father is too embarrassed to let me go into service or to ask my sister’s new husband for help. He’s sent me here to catch a…benefactor.”
Amelia’s mouth fell open. “What?”
“You have a viscount, a soon-to-be marquess, and several earls on your guest list. He’s hoping I’ll be appealing enough to have one of them take me off his hands, at least temporarily.” Annabel’s eyes blazed with hatred, matching the color splotching her cheeks.
“Graves—my chaperone—was my governess once upon a time.” Amelia patted her friend’s hand and kept her smile bright. “She’ll know exactly what to do.”
Chapter Twelve
“Simms tells meyou’ve gifted us with a case of your wine,” Augustus Chitester said. “You certainly know how to bribe a father.”
“I’ll take whatever advantage I can get,” Richard said, laughing. He didn’t have to force the humor. The man’s good nature was contagious. However, it left a bitter aftertaste. He didn’t believe in dishonest negotiations, and leading Amelia’s father to believe they’d soon be family was the largest lie he’d ever told.
Augustus’ chuckle ended in a deep cough that shook over his shoulders, through his barrel chest, and down into the gig seat so that it trembled beneath them. It reminded Richard why he’d agreed to Amelia’s madcap plot in the first place.
“You certainly earned Marian’s favor by agreeing to be my driver this afternoon,” Augustus said once he caught his breath. “I’m sure you’d rather be down there in the fray.”
As he spoke, one of Amelia’s arrows went far wide of the target. It wasn’t the first that had done so.
“I believe I’m safer up here,” Richard said. “She is remarkably bad at this.”
“Archery has never been her sport, but she knows many young ladies like to use it to show off their figures,” Augustus replied.
It was something Richard would have expected. Just as he’d been known to bid too high on a contract when he and Oliver didn’t enjoy working with their counterparts, Amelia’s determination to remain unmarried would lead her to choose activities where others outshone her.
“She’s deadly at croquet, though.” Augustus nudged him with an elbow. “Goes after it like a general wading into battle.”
It wasn’t the first time the sport, if it could be called that, had been mentioned. “Why croquet?”
“She liked the mallets.” Augustus’s wide smile belied his flat statement. “I still remember the first time Marian put one in her hand. It was taller than she was by almost half, but she’d carried it around like a sword, whacking everything in sight.” He chuckled. “Be forewarned, young man.”
It sounded very much like they were going to get Augustus’s permission to marry. Before Richard could stop it, tingles shot through his blood to every extremity.
All of them.
He shifted in the seat, hoping to stop his body’s happy reaction to something that wasn’t supposed to happen. Wasn’t going to happen. His silent fidgeting drew Augustus’s attention.
“It’s not a foregone conclusion, mind you,” he said. “We have a few remaining concerns.”
Of course they did. Having been in almost the exact position almost ten years ago, he could guess what they were. “Miss Allen?”
For almost a year after Oliver’s arrival in Quebec, he’d talked of little else but Thea, the girl waiting on him at home. For a year after that, he’d mourned her betrayal. When he had finally awakened from his heartbroken stupor and begun to pay attention to Julia, she’d been overjoyed.
Richard had been less so. No man wanted a woman in his family to serve as a consolation prize.
“She has been quite vocal about your previous connection,” Augustus said. He had lowered his voice and pulled a cigar from his pocket. Rather than lighting it, he tapped it on his knee as though he was considering its purpose.
“I didn’t compromise her, nor did I raise her expectations.” Richard inhaled a breath so deep it reached his toes. He hadn’t been a monk, but he wasn’t going to discuss it in detail. “The moment I met Amelia, all other women vanished from existence.”
That wasn’t a lie. Every time they were together, Richard forgot there were others nearby. It didn’t matter if they were at dinner or surrounded by trees. He’d arrived for hunting and seen only her. He’d missed several open shots because he’d been looking for her across the valley, her hair a halo in the sunlight.
It would be silly if it wasn’t so alarming.
Augustus harrumphed an agreement. “That’s a fine answer. But if it changes, remember—”
“She has a mallet,” Richard joked.
