Page 61 of Under the Seductive Ladys Charm
The boy thought for a moment then shook his head. “No, Sir. I saw her turn towards town, though, on the road. Perhaps she went there.”
“Damn it,” Graham muttered. “Is my carriage ready?” His gruff question caused the boy’s head to bob up and down.
“Yes! We kept it ready just as you asked, Sir,” the boy said as he wrung his hands together.
Graham nodded and waved to dismiss him. “Have them bring my carriage around then. I have to get my wayward sister, it would seem.” The boy was off the next instant.
Edward came up beside Graham. “You really think that the miss has run off?”
“Knowing my sister, that is exactly what I think she has done.” Graham ground his teeth together. “Lord Stanhope had better have enough sense to send her straight back. If I find out otherwise, he will like me even less than he does now.”
Edward patted Graham on the shoulder. “Don’t go taking your anger out on the young folks. Sometimes they don’t know any better.”
Graham sighed. “That may be, but this could ruin her reputation.”
“Not with a brother like you around. I’m sure you’ll sort it out.” Edward looked around and yelled at a boy who was walking towards the service door, “Thought I told you to mend those fences?”
“Aye,” the boy called back. “I got held up by the foreman. Says he wants me to tend a field.”
Edward grumbled, “I’ll show him a field that needs tending. Go on back to you mending! I’ll handle that foreman.” The boy nodded and dashed off.
“Looks like you have your own messes to handle,” Graham said as he gave Edward a smile.
Edward frowned. “I would gladly go with you. Do you think it is wise to go alone?”
“I am merely going to have a conversation with another gentleman, Edward. I do not intend on quartering the man on the spot.” Graham waved off Edward’s words. “Tend to my fences and I shall tend to my sister.”
Edward nodded. “You are the boss, Sir.”
“I wish my sister agreed with that,” Graham said with a shake of his head.
Edward chuckled. “Women will never think you are the boss of them. They always know better.”
Graham laughed and it felt good to do so. This day had wrung him out with its demands, and it was not over yet. He gave Edward a pat on the back as the carriage pulled up.
The driver looked down. “Where to, Sir?”
“We are going into the town. I think the inn should be our first stop,” Graham said as he stepped up into the carriage. He lifted his hand to Edward as the carriage started forward.
The ride into the town always brought back memories, some pleasant and some not so. Graham sighed and looked out of the window. He looked for any sign of Amanda along the way, but he saw nothing.
It was not that he was surprised that she had been angry enough to storm off. No, Graham had almost expected some kind of theatrical episode. But to actually run away to be with the likes of Lord Stanhope was beyond the pale. Surely Amanda was not truly that set upon the man.
Graham could no more stand the thought of Amanda being with the obnoxious young man than he could the thought of Miss Browne marrying the sot. Graham drew in a breath to calm the anger he felt rising. He could not truly say which idea angered him more.
He could not control the actions of the two women. His mind went back to the inn with Miss Browne. He had not made her kiss him, but he had definitely kissed her back. It was his shame in the whole scandal, for if he had rebuked the kiss then there would have been nothing to whisper about.
How could he have turned Miss Browne away when he had all too often as of late thought of her in ways that were wholly not suitable? If Graham thought about the kiss too long, he could even remember how her dress had felt under his hands. His lips tingled with the memory of her kiss.
He rubbed his face. This was not the time or place for such thoughts. He had to focus on what to do once he found Lord Stanhope and his sister.
It seemed an impossibly short time before the carriage came to a halt. Graham was swiftly out with a hand to the driver to tell him to wait. He hurried inside, startling a woman as he came through the door. “Pardon me. I did not mean to frighten you.”
“Not at all, Lord Easterly,” the woman said. “Please come in. I’ll just get my husband, shall I?”
Graham nodded. “That would be a good idea. I just needed to know the whereabouts of a guest.”
“Oh,” the woman said as if she were very curious. She dipped into a curtsey and hurried through a door behind the counter that led to the couple’s private quarters.
