Page 23 of His Scandalous Lessons
“Would you?” she asked in delight.
They were nearing the gardens now, which meant their walk would be at an end. But he was proposing an outing tomorrow, and that was another victory.
“Of course. Her Grace has a full stable if you’d like to begin riding lessons in the morning—”
“Miss Sheffield!”
Anne looked over to see the Earl of Montgomery approaching. She straightened, uncertain about why he was approaching her at such a quick pace. They had danced the night before, and though she found him charming, her impression was that his roguishness was a crafted public facade. While Richard’s performance was similar, Montgomery had an acerbic bitterness that made Anne wary. She had good reason to fear men who used charisma to hide something.
After all, that was what her father excelled at.
Beside her, Granby smiled in greeting. “Montgomery.”
“Keeping Miss Sheffield all to yourself, Granby? Not that I blame you.”
“Lord Granby and I have been discussing horses,” Anne said pleasantly.
Montgomery may have made her unsure, but it couldn’t hurt to have to men vying for her attention. And Montgomery, despite his faults, was handsome. His hair was a shade darker than hers, more auburn than red. Paired with his green eyes, she could see why many ladies considered him a better catch than the Marquess of Granby, despite possessing a lesser title.
“Horses? That’s fascinating. Very fascinating.” He sounded distracted and somewhat agitated. “We were just about to begin a game of croquet. Interested?”
Anne looked at Granby, who was shaking his head. “I think I’ll head in for a bit of a respite before dinner, but you go ahead without me,” he told Anne.
Before Anne could protest, Montgomery grinned. “I shall take great care of her. See you at dinner, old chap.”
Anne watched Granby leave, a bit irritated. Montgomery had the kind of overbearing personality that might make a shier man like the marquess nervous enough to stay away from her if he thought he had no chance. She could not afford to be distracted by a man who was not the least bit interested in marriage, and Montgomery most certainly was not.
“Tell me the truth,” she said. “Were you lying about that game of croquet, my lord?”
Montgomery feigned offense. “I? Lie?” At her arched brow, he admitted, “Her Grace has proposed croquet for tomorrow on the west lawn, and I needed Granby to make a quick exit. Knowing his dislike for sport, I made asmalluntruth.”
“Otherwise known as a lie.”
He seemed amused and surprised by her honest language. But she had spent several days with Richard, and found plain speaking refreshing. She had no time for nonsense or manipulations. Granby, despite having a passion for precisely one thing, did not play games.
“Bravo, Miss Sheffield. Most of the other women here would have pretended not to notice.”
Anne narrowed her gaze. “I’m not interested in pretending.”
She started away along the garden path, hoping he would understand the hint to leave her alone, but he only followed. “All right,” he said. “The truth is, I’m hiding and I needed a quick distraction.”
Anne paused to stare at him in confusion. They were in the garden; if anyone were to look out the windows on this side of the house, they would be easily identified and seen. Indeed, a few other guests were milling about as they were. “We’re in plain view of the house, in case you were unaware.”
“Oh, I have every intention of being seen withyou. When I’m avoiding someone, being in the company of an unmarried lady is the best excuse not to converse.”
Now Anne was even more confused. “I’m sorry, who are we speaking of?”
He smiled and waved at someone just under the willow tree, then said through his teeth, “The bane of my existence.”
Anne was about to turn, but he stopped her. “No, don’t look. Christ, you’ll only draw her attention.”
Still, Anne couldn’t help but quickly glance. She saw what was, to her surprise, not a monstrous beast, but a lovely young girl with brown hair who was trying and failing not to look their way. And she seemed...
Yes. That was yearning. Anne knew it so well. Its barbs could sink into a girl’s heart and make her think of an escape through any means possible. Money, independence, freedom to roam. Men did not understand what it was to long for those things because they came so easily to them.
“I can’t imagine what has you so afraid of that girl,” Anne murmured. “She seems utterly harmless.”
“The harmless ones always do,” he muttered. Then: “Present company excluded, of course.”
