Page 57 of Nothing But a Rakehell
Now Glory had the young lady’s attention—and the full weight of her displeasure. Miss Vernon shot her a haughty glance and then simpered up at the viscount. “I am so glad to hear it. Now I will have to press you into service and ask that you convince me.”
“But you were so determined to come over at once to see Cousin James. After all, family is so important to you! I am sure you must wish to greet him before doing anything else,” Miss Munroe said firmly. She said to Glory, “He spent the night at the village with his friends instead of at our home, so Alice has yet to see him. Where is he, by the way? We thought he was out here, playing croquet with you.”
“Mr. Lycett hit a couple of balls with too much enthusiasm. He and Miss Ruddock have gone over the hill to retrieve them,” Glory told her.
“Well, then.” Miss Munroe marched over to the edge of the staircase. The rest of them trailed after her while she cupped her hands and called out. “Come up! You have a visitor, James!”
“It seems our game has come to a premature end, Lady Glory.” Keswick spoke up from behind her. “If you give me your mallet, I will return it for you.”
“No, no, you shall not get away again so easily,” Miss Vernon admonished him. “Just allow me to greet my cousin and then I shall ask you to convert me to appreciation of the countryside.”
“What’s this?” Mr. Lycett helped Miss Ruddock up the final steps to join them. “Fresh blood to join our party?”
Miss Munroe made the introductions.
“Cousin?” Mr. Lycett said jovially. “It must be a distant relationship indeed, for me to be unaware of a connection with so fine a young lady.”
Miss Vernon preened. “It is lovely to see you again, after so long.”
Mr. Lycett looked surprised. “Have we met before, then?”
“Once, when we were all in nappies,” Miss Munroe said wryly.
“We shall just have to make up for lost time,” Miss Vernon declared, but then she grimaced. “Although the next reunion we plan, do let us meet up in London? The setting, the entertainments, the company, the fashions.” She ran an eye over Glory. “Everything is better in London. You must agree.”
“I must not,” Miss Munroe declared. “Some of us prefer the peace of a country life. And seeing as we didn’t plan a reunion, but merely a visit between two families, we have been content right here. And as Lady Tensford has been kind enough to add you to her party, perhaps you should experience one of her entertainments before you disparage them.”
“Oh, la! Pray, do not take offense! I have agreed to allow Lord Keswick to prove me wrong.” She laughed. “Although it is too amusing to think of you as a country man, my lord, when I am so used to seeing you amidst the glitter and shine of Town.”
“Not so very used to it, I should think,” Keswick said with a frown. “We travel in very different circles, for the most part.”
“Well, now is our chance to fix that. Providence has given us this opportunity, we must not waste it.” She slipped her hand through his arm. “Dear me, this is a very pretty staircase. It leads . . . where?”
“To the green below, which has been set up for battledore,” Glory answered.
“I’ve never played,” Miss Vernon told Keswick. “But I should be glad if you would explain the game and perhaps give me a demonstration.”
Glory saw his scowl, and thought for a moment that he would refuse the girl outright and rebuff her obvious machinations. But he glanced around and then toward the tables and tents, and his expression changed to one of pained resignation.
She pursed her lips. After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped forward.
“I am very sorry, Miss Vernon,” Glory said firmly. “But I must claim Lord Keswick, as we have a prior commitment.” She turned to the viscount. “In fact, my lord, I am sure we are due at the stables very soon. I know we meant to stay until the end of the game, but it appears it is over already.” She looked to Mr. Lycett and Miss Ruddock, who had come up the stairs empty handed.
“Yes, we’ll have to set the servants to searching the undergrowth,” Mr. Lycett said with shrug.
Glory turned back to the newcomer. “I’m sure we would not wish to interrupt your family reunion, in any case. After all, you’ve traveled such a long way to engineer it.”
“Of course.” Miss Vernon shot her a look full of venom. “How . . . thoughtful.”
“So nice to have met you,” Glory said with a smile as Keswick extricated himself from the girl’s grasp. “Shall we go, Keswick?”
“We shall,” he said with irony. He bowed to the others. “I must not fail to honor a prior commitment.”
Miss Vernon caught his eye. “I am sure we’ll have a chance to spend time together later, my lord.”
He inclined his head and Glory turned away. She did not take his arm as they walked back across the field. She smiled and spoke as they passed through the guests still gathered at table and tent, but her mind was very busy. Was this the sort of thing Keswick faced often? She flushed, hoping that he hadn’t placed her behavior in the same category as that young lady’s. Desperately, she reviewed her own conduct as they walked in silence along the graveled path.
As they reached the clearing where the stable yard and outbuildings stood, she looked up into his face. “I am very sorry if I have made you uncomfortable, Keswick.”
