Page 9 of Unmasked By a Captivating Lady
He glanced around the auction automatically, assessing who was there. He saw a few gentlemen who he was acquainted with, but he didn’t feel the need to go up to them and chat. He merely nodded his head, in a non-committal way, and they did the same. They didn’t want to chat any more than he did. All anyone was interested in here was bidding.
Suddenly, his eye was arrested by a strange sight. He frowned slightly, in disbelief. A woman was standing on the edge of the auction, loitering around. And she was wearing a fine gown, that he recognised as well made and of expensive material. Her bonnet and gloves were expensive, too. She was a lady, no less.
His eyes widened, as he studied her. She was small, with a petite figure; she probably wouldn’t reach his chest. She had dark blonde hair, tucked back underneath her bonnet, in a simple fashion that told him she did not care for elaborate hairstyles. Her complexion had a slightly dusky tinge to it, as if she liked being outdoors, and cared not a whit for keeping her skin protected as most ladies did.
She seemed utterly oblivious to the stir that she was creating. The gentlemen were all staring at her openly, talking about her with each other, but her gaze was fixed on the horses as they came into the corrals for bidding. He saw from this distance that she had velvet brown eyes, which were gleaming with excitement as she studied the horses.
He simply couldn’t believe that a lady was here, at Tattersall’s, seemingly on her own, with no companion. Even if she had a gentleman companion, she would still have created a stir. Women simply didn’t come here. It was an exclusively male domain, and the fact that she seemed not only unaware of that but didn’t care was peculiar to say the least.
She’s pretty,he thought suddenly.Very pretty. Like a nut-brown sugar plum.
To his amazement, he felt a stirring, deep in his loins, that he had not experienced in a very long time. He was used to beautiful women on the London social circuit. They were everywhere; so commonplace that unless they were exceptional he barely took any notice any more. But there was just something about this small lady that his flesh was responding to, even though she was not flashy, or desiring to draw attention to herself with her dress.
The men around the blonde were becoming louder now, and casting openly disapproving glances her way. She still seemed utterly oblivious to it, her gaze fixed firmly on the horses. Miles could see that the men didn’t like that she was seemingly ignoring their disapproval.
He stiffened. Now, two were approaching her.
“I say,” said one loudly, frowning. “You are not supposed to be here! What do you think that you are doing?”
“Shameless,” muttered the other, shaking his head. “Shameless that a woman is here, especially on her own! What would your father think?”
The lady looked astounded, staring at them as if they were speaking Hindu, or some other exotic tongue. “I am here because I want to be here,” she declared loudly, her brown eyes flashing dangerously. “You are both very insolent, approaching a lady in such a fashion! Shame on you!”
The men reeled back, astounded. Miles thought they certainly hadn’t been expectingthatreaction. He knew that they had expected the lady to blush, apologise profusely, and skulk away with her tail between her legs.
Miles couldn’t help grinning. She had fire in her belly, this one. But despite the lady’s courage in the face of such damning disapproval, he knew that the men would not let up on her. He couldn’t just stand there and let her be insulted in such a way.
He didn’t think about it anymore. Suddenly, he was striding towards her. She glanced up at him as he approached, not smiling.
“Gentlemen,” he said loudly, gazing around. “We are sorry to cause such consternation. The lady is with me. We were only intending to stay briefly, and are leaving now, anyway…”
The blonde glanced up at him, astounded, but he took her arm, leading her firmly away from the auction. When they were outside, and the hubbub was only a dull roar, he stopped, gazing down at her.
“Why did you do that?” she asked, gazing up at him with a challenge in her dark eyes.
Miles suppressed another grin. “Madam, perhaps you are from out of town, and do not realise what you had stumbled into.” He paused. “That is a horse auction site that is exclusively for men. Your presence there caused quite a stir…”
“What of it?” she shot back, curling her lip a little. “I have every right to be there, as much as any man! Is there a law against it?”
He reeled back in surprise. “Well, no,” he admitted. “But it is just not the done thing. It is an unspoken convention, that has never been challenged before. And I did not want to see you so insulted.”
To his surprise, the blonde smiled, showing perfect white teeth that contrasted with her dusky skin. “I can hold my own,” she said slowly. “Gentlemen like that do not intimidate me, sir. They think because I am a woman, and small, that I am a demure little creature, but they are sorely mistaken.”
Miles tried to hide his surprise. By Jove, this young lady was a different kettle of fish to all the blushing maidens he usually encountered on the social scene.
“Their behaviour says more about them,” she continued, “than it does about me. Why do they feel the need to shame me when I am only looking at the horses, the same as they are?”
He didn’t know how to answer that, and privately, he almost agreed with her. But he knew that gentlemen desired their male only spaces, and that Tattersall’s was one of them. London was full of gentlemen’s clubs as well. The men felt like they needed respite from the ladies, to indulge themselves in that way.
“I am sorry that you were insulted,” he said slowly, gazing down at her. “Are you truly here by yourself? Did you mean to go in there?”
Her smile widened. “My intention was Hyde Park, but then I heard the horses and I just couldn’t resist.” She paused, a wistful expression on her face. “I love horses, you see. My favourite thing in the world is to go out riding, when I am home, in Dorset.”
He gazed at her steadily. “You do not enjoy London, then? You are not a city lover?”
“I am not,” she replied, still looking wistful. “But my family insists that we always come here for the season, and I have no choice in the matter. That is also a part of being a young lady, you see.”
He nodded. He knew that he should take his leave of her, now that she was safe, away from the men. He had done his duty. But somehow, he felt intensely reluctant to leave her side. She was quite bewitching, with her flashing dark eyes and fierce attitude.
