Page 19 of The Duke's Gamble
“The lady has dark brown curls which are pulled to the back of her head. See how the ringlets are now cast over her shoulder? There is a gentle smile on her face at present as she speaks to her sister, and the light green of her gown will, no doubt, brighten the colour of her emerald eyes all the more.”
He stopped as Lord Allington tipped his head, one eyebrow lifting. “Is there something the matter?”
“You are describing her very well, I must say,” Lord Allington replied, sounding somewhat surprised. “You clearly must think her beautiful, yes?”
A little taken aback at the question, Samuel hesitated, then shrugged, trying to ignore the sudden tug in his heart. “I think many young ladies beautiful,” he replied, as nonchalantly as he could. “Yes, Lady Florentina has a beauty about her, as you will soon see for yourself!”
At this, Lord Allington chuckled, an easy smile on his face now. “That is no bad thing! I am always delighted to be in the company of beautiful young ladies, particularly if they are unattached. There’s a certain ease to them, a freedom that I find appealing.”
Samuel tried to smile but there was something in the gentleman’s tone that put him slightly on edge. He paused. Was this truly something he wished to do? He need not proceed, of course. This was entirely a plan of his own making, an intention which he himself had devised. That meant all he had to do was state that it would not proceed as he had intended, and it would come to an end.
“Shall I go to her?”
Samuel took in a deep breath, setting his shoulders and ignoring the niggle of concern which pressed against him. “Yes, I thank you. You know what you must do.”
“Something I shall greatly enjoy, I assure you.” With a grin and a twinkle in his eye, Lord Allington stepped away, and Lord Crawley immediately put a hand to Samuel’s shoulder, tugging him around to face him.
“What did you do?”
“What I had to in order to make sure that Lady Florentina ends the betrothal by her own hand,” Samuel replied, calmly, ignoring the dark frown which pulled at Lord Crawley’s expression. “As I have said, I have intentions and I shall see them through to fulfilment. Lady Florentina will prove to herselfandto me that she is not as determined as she believes… and then all will be well.” Reminding himself of what he would gain,Samuel pushed away the flickering worry that lingered in his heart. “I will be unattached as I was beforeandI will have Haddington House, just as I should. Then all will be well.”
“Wait a moment!” Lord Crawley exclaimed, dropping his hand from Samuel’s shoulder and staring at him for some moments. “Do you mean to say that you have asked Lord Allington to do what he can to convince Lady Florentina that he is interested in an intimate connection with her?”
Samuel tried to smile but his lips would not pull into such an expression given the ferocity in his friend’s eyes. “Yes, that is it precisely. Lord Allington is a gentleman who much enjoys flirtations and the like and when I explained my dilemma, he suggested that he might assist me in this.”
“He is going to flirt, tease and coerce Lady Florentina into a connection with him?” Lord Crawley looked away, then rubbed one hand down his face. “And she is to believe that he is half in love with her, end your betrothal, only to discover that Lord Allington isnotas he has claimed?”
Seeing no reason to hide the truth from his friend, Samuel nodded. “You have understood my plan in its entirety.”
Lord Crawley said nothing for some moments, only to then explode with such an obvious anger that Samuel drew back, stepping all the more into the shadows as his friend made it quite clear what he thought of such a plan.
“Do you give even the smallest consideration to Lady Florentina in all of this?” Lord Crawley exclaimed, then dropped his voice to a low, hissing whisper as he stepped closer to Samuel, anger burning in his eyes. “I have tried to understand when it comes to Haddington House, tried to see things from your perspective but I have seen nothing but selfishness and arrogance instead! You were foolish enough to think that Lady Florentina would not sacrifice herself for the sake of her familybut you were proven wrong, and now you resort to manipulation and trickery in order to garner whatyouwant for yourself!”
“I do not see why you have such concern about that.”
“Because you are entirely inconsiderate of what will happen to Lady Florentina!” Lord Crawley hissed, throwing up his hands, his eyes narrowed. “She will be broken-hearted and if news of her connection with Lord Allington—and then quick dismissal from his company—is made known, then thetonwill drop her in their estimation and her reputation could be damaged. What then for her future? Will you truly do such a thing without even considering what your actions will do to her?”
The twist in his gut told Samuel that Lord Crawley’s words had certainly had an impact but, at the very same time, he wanted to do nothing other than to ignore it. He set his jaw, his head lifting as he stood as tall as he could. “I cannot expect you to understand. You are not in the same situation as I.”
“And even if I were, I would not be able to eventhinkabout doing as you are,” came the sharp reply. “Is this truly who you wish to be, Dartmoor? A selfish, black-hearted fellow who cares for nothing and no one but himself?”
Again, that sharpness in Samuel’s gut made him wince inwardly but he pushed it aside, telling himself that he knew full well what he was doing and that Lord Crawley simply did not understand.
“I will be whoever I must in order to gain what I desire for myself.”
Lord Crawley held Samuel’s gaze for a moment, then shook his head. “Then you can do it alone,” he replied, sending a streak of surprise rushing through Samuel’s frame. “You have a gift when it comes to Lady Florentina, even if you do not see it, and yet all you can see is yourself and your own desires.” He turnedaway, leaving Samuel to stand alone in the shadows. “And I will have no part in it.”
“Crawley, wait,” Samuel called out but his friend ignored him, walking away directly. Swallowing, Samuel let his brows furrow, a heaviness within him that he could not shift. Setting his jaw, he pulled his gaze away from his friend and instead looked at where Lady Florentina and Lord Allington were now in conversation, hoping that he might soon find a sense of relief and hope in Lord Allington’s progress with the lady; that he would be able to forget all that Lord Crawly had just thrown at him.
But, in his very heart, all Samuel felt was pain.
Chapter Seven
“Lord Allington has come to call.”
Florentina looked up in surprise as Christina came hurrying into the room. “I beg your pardon?”
“Lord Allington has come to call!” Christina repeated excitedly as she rushed towards Florentina. “Hurry, put away your embroidery!”
