A Guardians Angel (11 page)

“What are you doing
here?
”

At the gasp in the voice he had been hoping to hear, Justin smiled at Angela. She was a pattern-card of prettiness with her tawny hair refusing to remain beneath her bonnet that tied beneath her chin with ribbons the exact sapphire of her eyes. Her light blue gown had a hint of a green stain just over her left ankle, so it must have brushed against one of the bushes.

“Justin!”

Was that impatience that he had not answered or distress that he was here in her voice? He pulled his gaze from the beguiling sight of that green spot flowing over her slender ankle to meet her wide eyes. “Good day, Angela.”

Taking his arm, she tugged in the direction of the front gate. “His Grace has made it more than clear to the children that you are not welcome here.”

“I did not come here to see the children. Nor did I come here to see Oslington. I came here to see
you.
” He led her past the hedge to where he knew a low stone wall edged a drop to a pool. He sat and drew her down to sit beside him, out of view of anyone in the house. “Angela, I know I overstepped the boundaries of propriety when you last called at Harrington Grange.”

“Yes, you did. A gentleman would never have …” Angela looked away when the twinkle reappeared in his eyes. “You did not come here to apologize, did you?”

“I did nothing for which I am sorry. I have come seeking you to discover if you can say the same.”

“For what do you think I should be sorry?”

“That you rushed away so quickly.”

“If I had stayed, who knows what might have happened?”

“Exactly.”

She could not keep from staring at him in amazement. His slow, easy smile matched the warmth in his eyes. He was like no one else she had ever met. Instead of calling to offer his abject contrition for bringing her into his arms, he dared her to own that she had wanted to stay there.

“You are a prime rake, Justin Harrington.”

“Not for many years.” He chuckled. “Mayhap never, for I was never one for dallying with a young woman unless there was interest on my part.”

“And have you changed?” She put her fingers to her lips, shocked at her own outrageous question.

With another laugh, he drew her fingers away and folded them between his. “There are those who will tell you that I have never changed, that I was always an air-dreamer who thought less about nothing-sayings and the gossip at my club than I did of my interest in butterflies.”

“An interest you have inspired in Thomas.”

“Actually, Thomas was studying a butterfly when I first met him. I was amazed that he knew the species of the butterfly he had captured, both its English name and in Latin. Then I saw his sketches, and I was further impressed with his skill.” He glanced at the house, then back to her. “I offered to teach him more about butterflies if he would teach Delicia to draw.”

“So Thomas has already met your daughter?”

“Of course. As many times as he has been to Harrington Grange, it would have been peculiar if he had
not
seen her.”

“Why didn’t you mention her to me before?”

He stroked her hands, but the intensity had returned to his voice. “Mrs. Graves denounces me as overprotective of Delicia, but I will do what I can to safeguard her from the cruel comments of others. She may not be able to hear them, but you are right. She seems to be a good judge of what is being said by reading a person’s expression.”

“Do you think I would have been cruel?”

“No.” He laughed wryly. “You have opened your heart to the Sutton children as if they were your responsibility instead of Oslington’s.”

“But you do not trust me.”

“It is not that, either.” Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “I think rather it has been that you and I seldom speak of anything but the rift that has kept the Sutton children imprisoned behind these walls.”

Angela frowned. “That is not true. They are quite free to go wherever they want.”

“Even to Harrington Grange for a sparse two hours one afternoon each week.”

“We will be able to call only if I can persuade Esther to leave her monkey here at Oslington Court.” She shuddered. “Do you realize Esther insists on taking that creature in a perambulator on our walks about the garden?”

“I understand that Wallah is very dear to her.”

“I know the beast was given to her by her papa. Yet she risks its safety when she takes it outside. It runs away all the time, and it pays no attention when she calls it. She would be better off to have a dog.”

“Do you know what the word ‘wallah’ means?”

“I assumed it was an Indian name.”

“It is an Indian word, not a name. Thomas told me it means ‘person.’ From what he has said, that is how Esther thinks of her monkey. As another person. You are asking the impossible if you suggest that she set the beast aside.”

With a sigh, she said, “I try to understand her affection for it, but I find it difficult when the creature spends half its time doing things too disgusting to discuss.”

Justin laughed. “My dear Angela, you are charmingly naïve.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

She pulled her hand from between his as she flung them out. “There is so much of the world I wish to see and learn about. I would like to see it all.”

“I have seen enough to be glad to be at Harrington Grange where I can immerse myself in the life I have chosen.”

“That is fine as long as you do not stay here simply to hide.”

“Hide?” He shook his head. “I have nothing to be ashamed of, Angela. If Oslington has told you otherwise, you should not heed him. He is—”

“My employer.” She came to her feet. “A fact I should not forget. As he does not wish you to call here, I must ask you to leave.”

“After.” He stood.

“After what?”

“After this.” He grasped her arm and spun her up against his chest. His mouth covered hers before she had a chance to protest.

But she did not want to protest. As he kissed her gently, she wanted to be nowhere else but here. Her arms curved up around his shoulders as he deepened the kiss until she could not still the quivers rushing along her. She had imagined being kissed, but her fantasies had been insipid imitations of this splendid delight.

When he raised his lips away, she did not step back. She reached up and ran her finger along one of his dark brows. He smiled, tilting his head to press his lips to her palm. That sent a surge of the feverish fire through her again, but it was not what she yearned for. She guided his mouth back to hers. He tugged her to him, even tighter, until she was unsure if the frantic heartbeat throbbing through her was hers or his.

She eased away, dazzled by the emotion sweeping over her. Her breath thudded in her ears, and she had to fight her desire to rush back into his arms. When he uncurled his fingers along her cheek, she closed her eyes and savored the rough texture of his skin.

At a childish squeal, Angela stiffened. She could not move before Esther came around the hedge, racing after her monkey. Grasping Justin’s arm, Angela pointed toward the gate. Oh, why had he lingered here? She should have insisted as soon as she saw him here that he leave posthaste.

She gasped in astonishment as Wallah jumped up onto her arm and raced along it to perch on Justin’s shoulder. She reached for the monkey, but it shrieked at her as it buried its face in Justin’s hair.

“Don’t hurt him!” Esther cried as loudly as the monkey’s shriek.

“Me or your pet?” Justin tried to untangle the monkey’s tail from around his neck.

“Wallah is just showing you how much he likes you.”

Angela said, “Esther, convince Wallah to go with you. Lord Harrington must be on his way.”

“Yes, he must,” said the duke, coming around the shrub. “We do not welcome trespassers at Oslington Court, Harrington.”

“Is
this
your way of proving that? Setting monkeys upon them?” Justin returned, a cold tone that Angela had never heard tightening his voice. Squatting, he added, “Miss Sutton, if you will please retrieve your pet, I would be greatly in your debt.”

Esther faltered, looking up at her furious guardian. When Angela motioned to her, she edged closer and picked up Wallah. The monkey clung to her and chattered.

“Thank Lord Harrington for helping you keep Wallah from escaping from you again,” Angela murmured.

“Thank you, Lord Harrington,” Esther said, oddly dutiful.

“Take Wallah back inside.”

Esther nodded and rushed toward the house.

Angela wished she could follow because the rage between the two men was almost visible. They stared at each other like hissing cats seeking any weakness. When she started to speak, Justin put his hand on her arm.

“I will take my leave, Oslington,” he said.

“You will not return.”

“I have no interest in returning, but I want you to understand that no one within these walls invited me. When I chanced upon Miss Needham, I took the opportunity to engage her in conversation.” Turning, Justin did not smile at Angela. “Until we have a chance to speak again.” He picked up her hand and bowed over it as if they were the least of acquaintances. Out of view from the duke, his thumb stroked her palm in a sinuous circle. “Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon.” She struggled to keep her voice even, but it wavered on the two words.

Justin walked away.

The duke said nothing as he watched his neighbor disappear among the bushes that framed the garden. He looked at Angela. “Miss Needham, I will see you in my book-room for tea this afternoon.”

“Your Grace, I would be glad to discuss this with you now.”

“Now would not be wise.” His mouth worked as he looked in the direction Justin had walked. “Not wise at all. By tea, I shall be composed enough to speak to you of this unfortunate incident.” He walked toward the house.

Angela sank back onto the low wall. The duke was enraged to discover his hated neighbor here with her and Esther. He was sure to demand an explanation, and she must give him one that would keep him from turning her off from Oslington Court.

But what could it be? To speak the truth would guarantee that she was banished back to London. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together over her heart. She would be condemned to return in disgrace to her brother’s house. And, so much worse, she might never see Justin again.

The book-room was nearly lost to the soft hush of a twilight that claimed it. Sunlight had been banished to hide beyond the thick drapes drawn at the windows. With the servants retired on the far side of the green baize-covered doors to their section of the house and the children confined to the nursery and their teatime rituals, Angela could believe she was the only living soul in Oslington Court. Although Hervey had not abandoned his obligation to wait outside the book-room for the duke’s next command, the butler seemed as ancient and unmovable as the stone walls of the house.

The duke looked up from his book when Angela entered the book-room. She was struck anew by the contrast between him and Justin. Even in the informal privacy of his book-room, the duke wore a dark brown coat, his collar held tightly in place by an elegantly tied cravat. He did not rest his feet on a stool, but sat as straight as if he were watching his company pass by on parade.

“Miss Needham,” he said with a nod as he set himself on his feet.

“Your Grace, if this is a convenient time, I would like to speak to you.”

“If this is about this afternoon and …” He grimaced, and she guessed he did not wish to speak Justin’s name. “I have given the incident much thought, and I find that I have no wish to discuss that matter further as long as you assure me that you had no foreknowledge of Harrington’s visit.”

“No, Your Grace.” She kept her eyes lowered, glad that he could not read her thoughts within them. Did her eyes still glow with her delight at Justin’s kiss? Had they been alight with elation when she had stood between the two men in the garden? Impossible! She had been so distressed then that there should have been no hint that she had been in Justin’s arms, his lips over hers. Now the joy was like a slow-boiling pot within her, a bubble rising now and then, unbidden, from her very center to spread a smile across her face. She must not let her own happiness betray her.

“Esther told me that you had asked Harrington to leave.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” How much else had the little girl been privy to? If Esther had seen Angela in Justin’s arms, surely she would have mentioned that to her guardian.

“Then I have nothing else to say to you on this.”

Angela nodded, knowing that she had been given a reprieve from being sent from Oslington Court in disgrace. “Thank you, Your Grace.” She hesitated and raised her eyes toward his, unsure if he wished her to leave.

He flinched as their gazes met. He looked at his book, then back at her, once more composed. “I should ask you, I collect, for a report of how Leonia is progressing with her lessons.”

“She has mastered the art of paying calls with ease, and we are working on developing her skills with conversation.”

The duke motioned for her to be seated. When she was perched on the very edge of a green settee, he took his chair again. The tea tray was on a table beside him, but he did not reach for the pot. “I am pleased to hear that. She will need to know every intricacy of what is expected of a young woman when she goes to Town.”

“We have had our sessions at least twice a day, but she needs to practice those skills with someone other than the members of this household. She should call on your neighbors.”

“She is my ward, and many of the ladies in the shire possess a higher rank than her late father’s. They should call here first.”

Angela smiled. “So I told Leonia when she asked me impatiently when she could begin to use her
cartes des visites
, which arrived yesterday. She informed me that many of your feminine neighbors called shortly after her arrival at Oslington Court. No doubt, they are waiting for her to return the calls.”

He picked up his book, obviously desirous of returning to his reading, and tapped his fingers on its spine. “Then do what is required, Miss Needham, to initiate the process. I trust you will oversee Leonia’s calls.”