Page 43 of An Affair with a Notorious Heiress
“But he does. Ask him.”
She was going to do no such thing. “I have no interest in a man who would show such blatant disregard for a young lady’s feelings all for want of a horse.”
“A horse? Which horse?”
“Did he not tell you?”
“I thought to spare her feelings with the particulars,” he said, irritation lacing his voice. Why was he irritated? It was Gina who had been wronged—and Tillie as well for believing him to be better than he was.
“Black Diamond,” Tillie said curtly, holding Rexton’s gaze.
“But you love Black Diamond. Why would you part with your favorite horse?”
“I wouldn’t, but Uncle promised him to the marquess for stud.”
“Wait.” Rexton stepped forward. “Black Diamond belongs to you?”
Tossing back her head as her stallion often did, she angled her chin haughtily. “Now you know why you shall nevereverhave him.”
As the coach rattled through the late night streets, Rexton was of a mind to pay Garrett Hammersley a visit. Surely the bargain had been made in good faith, and he’d have convinced his niece to honor its terms. Although now it was a moot point, but had he known the truth, he’d have been more honest in his dealings with Lady Landsdowne from the beginning. He’d have at least ensured she understood and agreed with the role he’d assumed in her sister’s life. Instead he’d honored Garrett’s request to keep the arrangement between the gentlemen. He’d assumed Lady Landsdowne would not approve of the plan and would tell Gina—which would have nullified the pact.
The interior of the coach was thick with silence, interrupted occasionally when Gina patted her sister’s hand in reassurance.
“I feel fairly certain we should all be able to remain friends,” Gina said quite naïvely, but then she didn’t know about the kiss he’d attempted to steal in the hallway shadows.
That she’d seen through to his interest in Lady Landsdowne was a bit unsettling. The countess had given no indication she was aware of it. The kiss had seemed to take her by surprise. For the briefest span of time, he’d thought she was going to return his kiss with equal fervor—but the fervor she’d unleashed had been a fury he couldn’t help but admire. She’d been worried about her sister. Always Gina came first. He wondered if Lady Landsdowne ever put her own wants and desires ahead of anyone else’s. She’d married a titled gentleman because her mother had wished it. When was the last time her own wishes had been fulfilled?
“Friends are not dishonest with one another,” she said sharply, and he imagined her striding through a classroom with a ruler in hand, ever ready to rap knuckles. Assumed she’d gladly rap his at the moment.
He’d hold out his hand to her if she asked. He’d thought he’d be able to control the situation, the girl’s emotions, what she felt toward him. No doubt because he’d always been able to control his own emotions. Except where Lady Landsdowne was concerned. From the moment she strode into the parlor, he’d felt like a train that had skidded off the tracks and lost sight of its destination. It had never occurred to him Gina would develop a tender regard for him when he wasn’t developing one for her. He’d known that feelings and their intensity weren’t always reciprocated in kind, but until this evening, he’d never experienced the full measure of the knowledge.
“It seems Uncle is more to blame for putting his Lordship up to it,” Gina said in his defense. It didn’t make him feel any better that this sprite of a girl was defending his abhorrent behavior.
“If a man comes up with a plan to rob someone, and another gent offers to help, they are equally guilty of the crime.”
“That’s a drastic analogy there. What were we thieving?” he asked.
“My stallion. Gina’s innocence.”
“I wasn’t going to take her innocence.”
“You led her to believe you had an interest in her—”
“But I never followed him down the path,” Gina said. “No harm was done.”
“The absence of harm does not make it right. I shall be speaking with Uncle on the morrow.”
Rex would love to be a fly on that wall, to watch her deliver a set down in all her glorious fury. “Perhaps we should speak with him together since he made an offer that in all likelihood he might not have been able to deliver.”
“I can promise you it would not have been delivered.”
“Why the deuce allow everyone to believe he owned the horse?”
“Because I am so reviled. I feared for the stallion, feared someone might seek to harm him.”
He heard the truth in her tone. And the pain. The words sliced into him as though she’d delivered them using the finely honed edge of a knife. He’d thought he had an understanding of her life, of what she suffered. He realized he hadn’t a clue. Gazing out the window, he wondered if she might have had an easier time of it if she’d simply poisoned Landsdowne in order to be rid of him.
The carriage rolled to a stop. The door opened. He leaped out and then reached back for her. She turned her nose up as though he’d offered her offal. With an understanding sigh, he stepped back and allowed the footman to assist the ladies in exiting his carriage.
