Page 20 of An Earl by Any Other Name
“I visited Mother’s grave this morning. It was difficult.” When he moved to her, she placed a gloved hand on his arm. “I needed to go alone.”
Her father shook his head, a sad smile curving his lips. “You are always so brave. You don’t have to be.” He curled a finger under her chin and gazed down at her. Warmth and love glimmered in his eyes.
“I want to be.” She found herself grinning as she stood up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Just like my father.”
“Miss Leighton!” Owen walked over to them, a ready smile and a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Would you like to be my partner for the shoot?” She noticed his coat, a fine hunting coat, was a bit frayed at the ends and the sleeves a bit threadbare as he brushed some dust off his trousers. When he realized her eyes fixed on his clothes, he brushed his arms down his jacket and his smile became even more cheerful. Ivy couldn’t help but wonder if Leo knew his friend was suffering money troubles. It was the way most titled gentlemen were these days. Many were hunting desperately overseas for rich heiresses to sustain their estates. It was a relief her father’s own business was taking off and didn’t need land to sustain it the way the old estates did by relying on tenant farms.
“So, will you partner with me? I believe I’d catch more birds with a beautiful woman at my side.” Owen drew closer, his eyes sharply focused on her. Ivy didn’t miss the sudden feeling of being hunted. She shouldn’t have been surprised, though. If Owen was hungry for funds, she would undoubtedly be a woman of interest to him. Unluckily for him she had no desire to marry and therefore wouldn’t fall prey to any attempts of flattery or seduction.
Her father took a menacing step forward, like an alpha wolf, ready to defend his territory. Owen gave him the barest nod of acknowledgment before focusing hopefully on Ivy. Her lips parted, but she had no idea what she ought to say.
“She’s already assigned to me.” Leo’s voice cut through her rapid train of thought. He was suddenly there, next to her, gun ready and hanging loose in the crook of his arm. “Isn’t that right?” His eyes were full of an emotion she couldn’t read, and yet she sensed she should agree and pretend she was to be paired with him. It would keep Owen from entertaining any ideas that he might have a chance with her.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hadley, but it is the truth. He asked me to accompany him this morning at breakfast.” Guilt slithered through her for an instant, but she shoved it aside to allow eagerness to overtake her instead. Last night had left her uncertain as to how Leo felt about her, yet she regretted her harsh reaction to his offer. He had been a gentleman, a seductive one, but still a gentleman. And she did so long to spend the day with him. It might very well be her last chance. Once the house party was over, she and the countess would attend the WSPU meeting and she’d be on her way back to London, likely never to have a chance to be with Leo like this again. He would marry Mildred and be busy with his estate, while she would be following Emmeline Pankhurst in the noble pursuit of suffrage.
“He must have asked you before breakfast, given that neither of you dined with us this morning.” Owen’s eyes narrowed on Leo, one brow arching up in silent challenge. The threat of retaliation was clear, only Ivy didn’t know exactly in what manner Leo’s friend would avenge himself. Men were such odd creatures, completely insensible when it came to fighting for possession of something.
Her father clapped Owen on the shoulder and dragged him back a step. “You and I will hunt together, Mr. Hadley.”
“Good,” Leo answered. “We’re all settled. I believe the gamekeepers are ready.” Leo placed a hand on the lower part of Ivy’s back, just above her bottom. Warmth spread outward from his touch, even though she couldn’t feel the heat of his hand through the thick layers of her clothes. Lord, she would miss feeling this intimacy and heat. He made her want to forget her promise to stay unwed, but she had to hold fast to her dreams lest she fail the next generation of women.
They trudged off toward the woods, the rest of the hunting party behind them. Mr. Atherton and Mr. Pevenly had teamed up, while Lord Pepperwirth had gallantly stayed behind to keep the ladies company. Of the ladies, only Ivy had chosen to brave the cold forest. It had been that or face Mildred’s glowering countenance over the rim of a teacup all morning.
No thank you. I will most certainly pass on that unpleasant event.
The grass ahead of them turned from a greenish-brown mess to thick, knee-high wheat-colored strands as the shooting party left the manicured lawns behind them. The pairs began to spread out as the gamekeepers moved ahead of them, flushing pheasants out.
Ivy remained at Leo’s side, watching him raise his rifle, take careful aim, and bring a bird down. It spiraled toward the earth, and she felt a pang of sadness. She clenched a fist and raised it to her chest over her heart. Her father had often teased her for having too soft a spot for creatures great and small. In truth, though, she knew he liked that she cared so much about the animals. Romani valued nature. The beasts and birds was a part of her soul, bone-deep.
Leo was a cautious hunter. He didn’t take every shot, even when it was an easy one. There were times when the pheasants flew overhead, and he simply leaned forward on one leg and watched in silent admiration as they passed by.
“You are not shooting much, my lord,” she commented. It puzzled her that a man who clung to tradition was not frantically killing birds in order to compete with the others, who no doubt wished to kill several hundred before the day was through.
He lowered his gun and studied the skies, then swept his gaze over the field, as though noting the other shooters’ locations.
“I have a feeling you were attempting to judge me, Miss Leighton.” He finally turned to study her. The intensity of his eyes on her was so strong that she felt the touch of invisible hands sliding over her body.
“I don’t intend to,” she replied, her tone barely above a whisper. “Only to understand.”
He sighed and gestured for her to walk deeper into the woods, away from the rest of the shooting party. She obeyed without a question, and he joined her, keeping pace.
“I have no need to kill beyond that which the cooks require for the feast. Unlike many of my peers, I see no reason to fluff my pride through shooting unnecessarily. Why should I strike a creature down and end its life solely to prove I’m a crack shot? I hope no species ever outdevelops man and takes such a callous and shallow view of our lives.”
His words were thought-provoking and made perfect sense. He respected life, all life. Like a Romani. Like her. That was more in tune with the young man she had known as a child. The young man who had stolen her heart…
“And what of you, Ivy?” He had abandoned calling her Miss Leighton, and she was glad of it.
Despite their quarrel the night before, she still desired a level of intimacy with him. They could not come together as she wished, not while he planned to marry Mildred and she was determined never to marry, but at least she could have this, whatever this was.
“I agree with you. Life should be valued. Each creature should have the right to exist and live the way it was meant to, arguments for necessary food aside, of course.” She paused, wondering if she could explain further. “It is why I care about women’s suffrage.”
“Pheasant hunting and the issue of women voting have something in common?” He chuckled, the sound filled with genuine warmth rather than biting arrogance.
Despite his amusement, he wasn’t mocking her.
“I meant what I said.” She joined him next to a fallen log and they both took a moment to sit down side by side. She met his gaze earnestly, wanting so desperately for him to understand her point of view. “Put aside everything you know and imagine a world where boys and girls attend school together, have the same education and instruction, and must meet the same expectations. Women are already intelligent without the benefit of education, but now they would be informed and would care about politics and economics just as much as men are. There is no science to support any findings that women are in any way inferior. If given the chance to fly and not be stopped, what might we accomplish? Humanity could reach heights of achievement unhindered if we remove the shackles of low expectations.”
She brushed a hand over the tall, brown grass, feeling the thickness of it scrape her gloved palms. The weight of his gaze wasn’t oppressive, but rather encouraging. She glanced away for a moment, drawing in a breath and summoning her courage to speak to Leo about all that weighed so heavily on her heart. This wasn’t just about being rebellious and wild; being a suffragette was about gaining freedom, obtaining a right to a full life.
