An Escapade and an Engagement (2 page)

‘Do you really expect me to believe you were only trying to
fight him off because you feared discovery?’

Though now he came to think of it she must have come here of
her own free will, even if she
had
taken fright at
the last minute.

‘Yes!’ she cried, lifting her chin to glare at him defiantly.
‘Not that I expect a man like
you
to understand,’
she said with contempt. ‘But since my grandfather has forbidden Harry to
approach me we
can
only meet in secret.’

He had not thought he could get any angrier. But her words were
so inflammatory. What did she mean,
a man like you?
Why could she not just express her gratitude that he was here to rescue her?
And, most of all, why wouldn’t she get out of the way so he could just lay into
this sneaking, slovenly excuse for a soldier?

‘Did it never occur to you that your grandfather might have
your best interests at heart? That it would be better to stay away from
him?’

Lady Jayne was a great heiress. Her grandfather, so Berry had
informed him, had no direct male heir, and it was common knowledge that he
intended to bequeath to her the bulk of his fortune. Some penniless nobody was
obviously not a suitable partner for a girl who would inherit so much. All this
Harry had to recommend him, by the looks of it, was a handsome face, a pair of
broad shoulders—and a ruthless streak.

‘So you mean to betray us?’ she said frostily.

Harry moved to stand beside her. He took her hand in his and
raised it to his chest, where he pressed it to his heart.

‘This is not the end. I shall not let it be. I swore that I
would not let anything part us and I meant it. I still mean it.’

‘Oh, Harry,’ she said, turning to him with a woebegone face. ‘I
shall never forgive myself if he has you flogged.’ She shot a glance of loathing
in Lord Ledbury’s direction. ‘I knew I should never have agreed to this
meeting.’

And as they stood there, gazing soulfully into each other’s
eyes, Lord Ledbury felt his irrational spurt of anger drain away.

If she was in love with this man, no matter what his own
opinion of him was, no wonder she had behaved the way she had done in that
ballroom earlier. Lord, he knew just how she must have felt. Had not his own
grandfather ripped him from all that he knew, all that he loved, and set his
feet on another path—one that he would never willingly have trod?

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ he snapped, annoyed that he was now
obliged to continue in the role of upholder of propriety or he was going to look
a complete fool. Even though half of him wished he could walk away and leave
them to it. ‘Stop acting like some heroine out of a bad melodrama and call your
maid over. It is time you went home.’

She made no such move—only hung her head, looking
shamefaced.

‘Oh, Lord. Never say you came out without her?’

She could not even raise her eyes to meet his when she
nodded.

This was getting worse and worse. He could not in all
conscience leave her alone with a man who had no scruples about enticing a
trusting young woman to meet him in secret, at dawn, without even the benefit of
a maid to keep things within spitting distance of propriety.

‘I suppose I shall be obliged to escort you home, then,’ he
snapped. ‘And we’ll have to hope nobody catches the pair of us—else
we
shall be the ones embroiled in scandal.’ Which
would completely ruin his plans.

He’d decided that since marrying was his inescapable destiny he
would jolly well find a wife who would be such a superlative countess that
generations to come would speak of her in awe. He wasn’t necessarily going to
find her in Almack’s. He’d made a point of launching his campaign in the house
of a man of little wealth, but sterling character, to demonstrate that attaching
a woman of high rank was not his primary objective. He wanted the woman he
married to have a certain…
something
that everyone
would recognise.

Even him, when he came across it.

There was no way he was going to live down to his family’s low
expectations by tumbling into a match with a girl he scarcely knew in a way that
reeked of suppressed scandal.

‘Well, what are you waiting for, man?’ He turned the full force
of his frustration on the hapless young soldier. ‘Get back to your barracks
before I think better of covering for the pair of you. And pray that your
absence has not been discovered.’

They both turned to him, faces alight with hope.

‘You mean you have changed your mind?’

‘I can still change it back if you don’t remove yourself from
the vicinity, double-quick,’ he growled at the soldier. ‘But first your name and
rank.’

‘Thank you, sir,’ he said. ‘Lieutenant Kendell, sir.’ Then,
pausing only to press one last kiss upon Lady Jayne’s hand, Harry made a run for
it.

Chapter Two

L
ady Jayne gazed up at him, a perplexed
frown creasing her brow.

‘Why did you let him go?’

He looked steadily back at her, wondering why she wasn’t asking
a more pertinent question. Such as, how could Harry have just abandoned her
without so much as asking his name? He could have been one of the most notorious
seducers of womankind for all he knew.

‘I can always report him later, if you like,’ he replied
scathingly. It was what he ought to do. He eyed the object of Lady Jayne’s
affection with disdain as he scuttled away into the shadows. It was hard to
believe a man could behave so dishonourably towards a woman with whom he was
genuinely in love.

‘No, no! Please don’t!’ She seized his arm. ‘It is all my
fault. I know it was very wrong of us to meet in secret, but he loves me so very
much…’ Her little fingers kneaded at his sleeve as she plunged on. ‘And I know I
should not have come here without bringing my maid. But you see the doors are
all locked tight at night, and I could hardly expect Josie to climb out of a
window, could I?’

‘You climbed out of a window?’ A sudden foreboding gripped him.
‘How do you plan to get back in?’ If he was going to have to knock upon her
front door to return her to her guardians at this hour in the morning, the fat
would be in the fire and no mistake.

‘Oh, the same way, of course. But never mind that. It is Josie
that I am worried about. She did try to talk me out of coming. I promise you she
did. But she is only a servant, after all. She has to do what I tell her.’

‘And you took ruthless advantage of the fact?’

‘I…I suppose I did, yes.’ She caught her lower lip between her
teeth. ‘And now, if you tell anyone I was out here without her, when she is
under such strict orders never to let me out of her sight, they will turn her
off without a character. Which would be grossly unfair. Oh, no…’ Her eyes
shimmered. ‘I could not bear it if she was to lose her job and Harry was to be
cashiered out of the regiment just because I have not behaved as I ought.’

To his astonishment, one single, enormous tear rolled down her
cheek. And it struck him that everything about her behaviour at the ball earlier
had been an act. And that Berry would never have said what he had about her if
he’d seen this side of her. She might have appeared cold and haughty on the
outside but inside she must have been counting the minutes until she could
escape. It put him in mind of the way he’d been at that age, at stuffy dinners
put on by the regiment to persuade local dignitaries they had nothing to fear
from having them quartered nearby. All the junior officers had been under strict
orders to be on their best behaviour. And later they’d made up for it by running
out into the backstreets and behaving completely disgracefully as an antidote to
all those hours of hypocritical posturing.

Lady Jayne might have come out here without a thought for
anyone but herself, but now that he’d made her see that her misdemeanour could
wreak havoc on the lives of others she was genuinely contrite. Just as sorry as
he’d
been the day after that banquet when the
locals hadn’t seen the funny side of finding that ugly statue in the middle of
the river, bedecked in pondweed, but had regarded the desecration of their
patron saint as an act of sacrilege.

‘Never mind all that for the moment,’ he said brusquely, to
mask the fact that he was sorely tempted to promise her he would never breathe a
word to anyone. And that wasn’t just because of her contrition. Even if she
hadn’t cared a rap for the repercussions, he didn’t have any right to castigate
anyone for climbing out of a window to escape the crushing sense of family
expectation. Not when he had done more or less the same thing himself. The only
difference between them was that he’d had the liberty to walk out of his own
front door when he’d felt the walls of his own personal prison closing in on
him.

‘What we have to do now is get you home without your escapade
becoming common knowledge. Where do you live?’

‘Oh, then you mean to help us?’

Her whole face lit up. She gave him such a dazzling smile that,
in spite of that tear on her cheek, or perhaps because of it, he suddenly saw
why her Harry had been unable to resist her. Any man with red blood flowing
through his veins would risk the wrath of his commanding officer for a chance to
hold such a divine creature in his arms. And for a kiss… What would he not risk
for one kiss? The mere thought of bending to sip at that little rosebud of a
mouth sent blood flowing hotly through his veins.

He inhaled slowly, savouring the feeling of being a healthy
male responding to the possibilities inherent in being alone in a dark, secluded
place with a pretty female in an entirely natural way.

To say that it was a relief was putting it mildly. He had
assured his grandfather that medically there was nothing to prevent him from
siring the next generation of Cathcarts. But the truth was he had not felt any
interest in sex since he’d had his leg smashed at Orthez. All his energy had
been spent on surviving—first the field hospital and then the foul transport
back to England. And then one fever after another. And even though he’d been
mobile enough to think about returning to active service some weeks ago, until
his grandfather’s shocking revelation had put a stop to it, he’d had no
inclination to resume any kind of sex life. No matter how temptingly the offers
he’d received had been presented.

He couldn’t resist reaching out and gently, with one thumb,
wiping away the tear that had reached the point of her chin. And as he felt the
warmth of her skin against his own his body reacted as if he’d received a jolt
of electricity.

Her own breath hitched, as though the current of lust that had
seared through him had arced across to her, too.

It had been so long since he’d held a woman in his arms, so
long since he’d wanted to, that for a moment he was tempted to tell her that if
he might only kiss her…

He cleared his throat and forced his eyes away from her mouth.
What he ought to do was act the gentleman and take her straight home.

At once.

But the temptation to prolong this unexpectedly erotic
encounter was too great to resist. He found himself saying the first thing—well,
the first polite thing—that came into his head.

‘Perhaps if you could explain exactly how such a great heiress
comes to be tangled up with a man of his station…’

‘You sound just like my grandfather!’

Her scorn doused his ardour as effectively as a bucket of cold
water. Did he really look so much older than her that she bracketed him with her
grandfather? No wonder she’d flinched when he touched her. It was just as well
he had not voiced his crazy idea that she could purchase his silence on the
whole matter with a kiss. She probably already thought he was a brute for merely
breaking up her
tête-à-tête.

‘That is all he can think about,’ she grumbled, impervious to
the errant thoughts skirmishing through his brain. ‘Rank and fortune. He never
lets me meet anyone interesting or new! He was furious when he found out I had
formed an attachment to Harry. As soon as he got wind of our friendship and
learned that he has no title, no prospects at all, he forbade me to so much as
speak to him. And banished me to London.’

‘That sounds like an eminently sensible measure,’ he said,
loath though he was to take the side of anyone’s grandfather in the suppression
of youthful desires. ‘You are far too trusting for your own good. A girl with
more sense would know it really is not safe to meet men in the park, on her own,
at daybreak.’

Particularly not when that lush mouth of hers could have such a
startling effect on a man’s libido.

‘It certainly is not!’ She looked furious. ‘Because who knows
what
kind of person one might come
across…prowling around the place, spying on people…?’

‘I was not spying!’

‘Then what were you doing? Something underhanded, I have no
doubt.’

‘Not a bit of it. I simply could not sleep, that’s all.’ At her
look of scorn, he added, ‘My leg hurt like the very devil, and the damn London
servants will insist on banking up the fire and keeping all the windows shut. I
had to get outside and get some fresh air. Though why the d…deuce I’m telling
you all this I cannot think.’

She’d slipped under his guard, somehow. Taken him by surprise
with her line of questioning.

Nettled, he snapped, ‘That is all beside the point. I have no
need to justify my actions…’

‘No. You are a man,’ she said bitterly. ‘Men can do whatever
they want, no matter who they hurt in the process, and nobody ever calls them to
account.’

‘You could not be more wrong. A man with any pride at all puts
duty before his natural inclination. Duty to the Crown. Duty to his family…’ He
pulled himself up.

She’d done it again. Got him speaking his mind instead of
saying what was appropriate to the occasion. Though God only knew
what
was appropriate to say on an occasion such as
this. He would swear no etiquette book contained a chapter upon proper
conversation in which to engage whilst escorting a woman home from a clandestine
meeting with an ineligible suitor.

He eyed her with misgiving.

She clearly thought she was in love with her handsome young
officer. But she could not really know much about him if they had only managed
snatched moments together, like this. He wouldn’t be a bit surprised to find her
feelings had more to do with the uniform than the man inside it. He’d learned
from experience that a scarlet jacket could have a powerful effect upon a
susceptible female.

‘And speaking of family,’ he said, ruthlessly returning to the
most pressing issue, ‘your grandfather probably thought you would get over what
he hoped was just a girlish infatuation if he offered you other
distractions.’

Lady Jayne glowered at him before tossing her head and setting
off briskly along a path that led in the opposite direction from the one he had
used to enter the square. As he caught up with her, she said, ‘It was more than
that. I overheard him giving Lady Penrose strict instructions to get me safely
married off before the end of the Season.’ She laughed bitterly. ‘Though how he
expects her to accomplish that when he won’t allow her to take me anywhere but
ton
parties, where I mix with people I have
known all my life, I have no idea.
Ooh.
’ She
clenched her fists. ‘You cannot begin to imagine what my time in Town has been
like. Boring, boring, boring! I was beginning to think I knew just what a canary
bird feels like, shut up in a gilded cage, by the time Harry arrived in Town.
That first note he sent me, begging me to meet him…’ Her fists uncurled as she
trailed off.

‘He kept on sending notes to me through Josie. To let me know
which events he could gain entry to. And we began to meet in the gardens, or in
a quiet room of the house, while the balls were going on downstairs, with Lady
Penrose never suspecting a thing!’

He frowned down at her as they crossed the road and set off
down Mount Street. He wished he had not already given his word not to tell
anyone about this night’s assignation. The more he learned about Harry, the more
untrustworthy he sounded. And if anything happened to Lady Jayne because he’d
kept quiet about this night’s work he would feel responsible.

Although warning her guardians of what was going on would
probably not do much good anyway. From what Lady Jayne had just said, her
chaperone was clearly not up to the task of guarding such a highly spirited
charge.

He rubbed his hand over the crown of his head. He couldn’t
report her to those who ought to protect her. Should he just warn her, then, of
his mounting suspicions regarding Harry’s motives? No. Given her reactions to
him so far, she would probably assume he was yet another overbearing male
attempting to oppress her. And he rather thought she would derive as much
pleasure from flouting him as she did from outwitting her grandfather and
chaperone.

But she really needed somebody who knew about Harry, and the
lengths she would go to in order to get her own way, to watch over her. Somebody
who wouldn’t be fooled by the haughty, unapproachable facade she’d employed at
the ball.

‘Lady Jayne, I have given my word I will not say anything about
tonight. And I would never go back on my word. But you must see that I cannot
just let the matter rest. You have said yourself you are not behaving as you
ought.’

She looked mutinous as she said, ‘And just what do you mean to
do about it?’

He only wished he knew. For now, the best thing would be to
make a strategic withdrawal so that he could regroup.

‘I shall call upon you this afternoon, to take you for a drive
in Hyde Park. That is when I shall tell you what action I plan to take.’ Once
he’d decided what it would be.

‘I shall be ready,’ she said, lifting her chin in a fashion
that told him she was preparing to fight him every inch of the way. ‘This is
it,’ she said, waving her hand at the frontage of an imposing mansion.

Having shown him where she lived, she ducked down a passage
that led to the mews at the back.

Then she turned round and stood quite still, staring up at him
for a minute, with her head on one side as though trying to work him out.

‘You have surprised me,’ she said at last. ‘I would never have
imagined you could be so…decent,’ she finished on a shrug.

‘What did you think I would be like, then?’ It shouldn’t have
made such an impact to hear that she’d had any expectations of him at all,
considering they had only glanced at each other across a ballroom.

‘Oh, I don’t know… At the ball you looked so…hard. All those
women who threw themselves at your feet had about as much impact on you as waves
dashing themselves up against a cliff. And then, when you spoke of flogging
Harry, I really thought for a minute that…’