Page 33 of The Scarlet Lady's Duke of Desire
Even as she hurried up the staircase, two steps at a time, she reminded herself it would have been pointless. She had tried that already and Mr Colton just kept coming back. More and more now she felt as though her mama and the gentleman had some kind of plan between them. With her father's sudden early appearance, she was more certain than ever.
What am I going to do?She thought, slamming her bedroom door shut behind her and dropping down belly first onto her bed.
There was very little she could do save for dream of an entanglement that did not involve Mr Colton or the influence of her mother, a relationship that would most definitely get her into more trouble than ever before.
Burying her face in her pillows, all she could see was The Duke of Haston’s face and she prayed not for the first time that she wasn't simply his plaything.
Chapter 15
The luncheon was going much more swimmingly than James had anticipated. With the weather so fair and warm, the tables had been erected upon the south lawn and there were all manner of games going on, including pall mall, which James was quite the dab-hand at.
After beating his cousin and several others many times over, he had decided it was best to quit and give someone else a turn. His aunt's lack of mentioning his future or marriage had left him complacent and stupidly, he believed that Edward might actually have managed to warn her off the subject.
But as he returned to the table where most of the food had been demolished, he realised he had been a fool.
"Ahh, there you are James," Lady Fyling exclaimed, joining him with a smirk upon her face and another woman at her back.
The moment James recognised the black-haired, green-eyed beauty, the hair on the back of his neck started to rise. Through gritted teeth, he greeted his aunt and her guest, "Aunt, Lady Florence."
The two women curtseyed in return before his aunt slipped up beside him and lanced her arm through his, gripping onto the crook of his elbow as though she was determined that he should not get the chance to run away.
"I was just talking to Lady Florence about my wonderful rose gardens," Lady Fyling explained, her smile broadening, her gaze flashing with encouragement. Grimly, James knew all too well where this was going. "I would have so liked to show them to her myself, but my legs are most definitely not what they used to be."
The hint caused James' jaw to clench so painfully he thought he might crack a tooth. When he had seen his aunt with her walking cane upon arriving, he had guessed something was up, though he suspected it had nothing to do with her legs and entirely more to do with having an excuse to get something that she wanted.
"Perhaps your son ought to show her on your behalf, Aunt?"
The scowl she offered him, in a way Lady Florence could not see, told James exactly how she felt about his suggestion.
"Lord Stevenson appears to be quite preoccupied," Lady Florence put in, inclining her head in the direction of his cousin who was still happily playing pall mall. She swatted a fly away from her porcelain face without so much as blinking, continuing to meet his gaze almost challengingly.
"Perhaps you would take me? I was so looking forward to seeing the most talked about rose gardens in the country."
James bit his tongue. He highly doubted his aunt's rose gardens, though quite lovely, received such high praise.
"Do not disappoint the lady, Nephew," Lady Fyling insisted though the way she spoke suggested it would be her that he disappointed if he were to decline.
A quick glance around suggested there was nothing nearby that he could hope to make an excuse of; nobody looking at him as if they wished to speak with him, not even another lady vying for his attention. He thought that last one very odd though he brushed it off again quite quickly, determined not to be too big-headed about such things.
"Lady Florence, I would be happy to escort you to the rose gardens though it appears you have no chaperone?" He pointed out, hoping to have won.
The satisfied smile that spread across Lady Florence's face unnerved James. His skin crawled with cold when she turned and called, "Chambers!" and her mousy little maid came running.
James cursed himself for having not noticed the woman standing amongst the other servants at the far end of the table.
"My Lady," Chambers greeted her mistress with a low curtsey and kept her gaze to the floor. The way she trembled suggested she would do just about anything that Lady Florence wanted out of mere fear.
Miss Thornton would not cause anyone to feel that way,James thought, though just as swiftly he decided it was likely a dangerous thing to continue to compare the two cousins, for they were quite the opposite, not only in nature but also in appearance. Where one was warm, kind, freckled and fair, the other was cold, calculated, hard as porcelain, and just as pale.
"His Grace was just going to show me to the rose gardens, do be a dear and follow on," Lady Florence said sweetly but there was nothing about her demeanour or the way she glowered at the girl that suggested it was merely a request. James actually felt sorry for the poor maid.
"Enjoy!" Lady Fyling cried with elation, releasing James' arm only when Lady Florence had taken hold of his other. His entire body stiffened, and he walked with a straight back, keeping his gaze upon the gentle hill before them that led down to the rose gardens at the far end of the lawn.
Why couldn't Edward have been free?
Though deep-down James knew the truth. His aunt would never try to match her own son with someone so cold and strong-willed. She would spend far too much time butting heads with her. This was simply all a matter of wealth and title and what looked good on paper. James knew that as well as his aunt did.
“I was ever so glad to learn you would be in attendance today, Your Grace,” Lady Florence said as they walked.
