Page 15 of Romancing the Rifleman
He was always quick to make these jokes himself.Made it sting a little bit less if he was the one to bring it up.Showed everyone how little it bothered him.
But the bottom line was, it was all impossible.He would never so much as kiss her hand, much less do any of the things he’d drifted off to sleep dreaming about while he was lying on the frozen ground in Hanover.There was no point in trying to figure out whether he wanted to steal a solitary kiss out on a deserted balcony or pledge his troth, because none of it was ever going to happen.
But he needed to speak with her.Her mind was as sharp as a bayonet, and he knew with a terrible certainty that if he didn’t do everything in his power to pass this damn act, he would regret it forever.
Now, he just needed to figure out how to steal a moment with the woman who was guarded more closely than the Crown Jewels.
Chapter7
Diana had made plans to take part in the afternoon promenade through Hyde Park with Lucy and Izzie.This was Lucy’s suggestion, as she liked nothing better than feeding the ducks.As Izzie was married, she could serve as their chaperone during outings such as this one—a great irony, considering Izzie was by far the most likely of the three of them to flaunt society’s rules.
Diana arrived at Astley House and was admitted by the butler, Yarwood.In the yellow parlor, she was surprised to find not only Lucy and Izzie but Harrington as well.Although she had been hoping to speak with him, he had never accompanied his sisters on one of their afternoon outings before.Indeed, in the short time she had known him, he rarely seemed to be at home when Diana came to call on the twins.
Lucy sprang to her feet.“Harrington has volunteered to escort us to the park.Won’t that be splendid?”
He had stood upon Diana entering the room and now shifted nervously from one foot to the other.“Who knows when they’ll ship me out again.I figure I’d better spend time with my sisters while I can.”
Lucy beamed, but Izzie’s shrewd gaze traveled from Harrington to Diana and back again.
Diana inclined her head.“How delightful.”
Diana had come in her brother’s landau, an open-topped carriage that was perfect for the afternoon promenade.They piled in, with Lucy and Diana taking the forward-facing seat and Izzie and Harrington settling opposite them.There had been rain that morning, but now it was clear and cool.Diana had dressed for the weather by pairing her white muslin gown with a Kashmiri shawl the color of apricots.
Diana wanted to ask how Harrington’s conversation with Lord Kinwood had gone, but as soon as the carriage door closed, he asked, “So, Izzie, when is your next book coming out?”
Izzie obligingly provided an update on her latest Gothic novel for the Minerva Press.It involved a young, orphaned woman who unexpectedly inherited a cottage.Naturally, this cottage was in the shadow of a ruined abbey that was not as abandoned as it seemed.
Diana, who had already read Izzie’s story, sat back, pulling her shawl more tightly around her shoulders.
They soon arrived at the park.Rotten Row was the most tedious part of Diana’s day.Failing to acknowledge an acquaintance was unspeakably rude and would generate a firestorm of gossip.Did you hear that Lady Diana cut Mrs.Mapplethorpe this afternoon?Why, yes—and right in the middle of Hyde Park!
She might have a reputation for being an ice queen, but even Diana wasn’t that rude.As usual, everyone who was anyone wanted to show off their acquaintance with the sister of a duke, and so, Diana braced herself to acknowledge everyone in the park.“Mrs.Hurst,” she said, nodding cooly.“Miss Reynolds.Lady Newcombe.”
Her coachman was under strict instructions to keep the landau moving, so at least she was spared from having to stop and chat.But they’d only made it halfway down Rotten Row when a plague of fortune-hunters descended upon them.Unlike the social-climbing ladies, the fortune-hunters were on horseback, making them more difficult to shake.
“Lady Diana,” Piers Pelham-Strangeways said, touching the brim of his hat.“May I say how lovely you look in that color?”
She was saved from having to answer by a bouquet of daffodils, which was thrust in her face.“Lady Diana,” Winston Fitzherbert trilled, “would you do me the honor of accepting this very small token of my esteem?”
He was immediately interrupted by Humphrey Montague.“Lady Diana, dare I hope that you will be attending Lady Stanhope’s ball this evening, and that I might secure the promise of a dance?”
The three of them began talking over one another.Diana slumped down in her seat, unable to get a word in edgewise, which was probably for the best, as the only words she wanted to utter weresod off.
Across the carriage, she caught Harrington’s eye.The corner of his mouth was twitching.
He turned to the first of her suitors.“Pelham-Strangeways!It’s been an age.Say, how’s your rash?”
Mr.Pelham-Strangeways stiffened in his saddle.“I beg your pardon?”
Harrington grinned.“You know, the one on your—” He cleared his throat, making a circular gesture just above his own lap.
Mr.Pelham-Strangeways gave a nervous chuckle.“You seem to be confused, Astley.”
Harrington leaned forward.“Oh, no.I remember it like it was yesterday.We were down at that gaming hell… What was it called again?”He tapped his chin as if deep in thought, then snapped his fingers.“The Fishwife’s Tit, that’s the one!You’d had… well.A few drinks, by the look of things.And you said it had been plaguing you ever since?—”
Mr.Pelham-Strangeways’s voice was shrill.“I don’t know what you’re talking about.You’re obviously thinking of someone else.Good day, Lady Diana.”
Harrington turned to her next suitor.“Fitzherbert, you old dog!I was thinking about you the other day.”
