Love in the Highlands (11 page)

"Oh my goodness!" Lavina exclaimed, full of admiration. "He really stood up to her. What a brave man!"

"He isn't afraid of the Queen, my dear, and she knows it."

"Even so, to defy the Queen to her face!" Lavina said, deeply moved. "We have misjudged him, Papa."

"We have, indeed, my dear."

"I must thank him, and assure him of my true gratitude."

She turned quickly to go in search of the Marquis, but in the doorway she stopped and looked back.

"Papa, what did he mean about being 'safely out of throwing distance'?"

A look of distinct unease passed over the Earl's face.

"Well, my dear – "

"Papa!"

"You have to understand that his first aim was to protect you – "

"Papa!"

The Earl sighed and abandoned himself to his fate.

"He said that there was no question of your attending the reception tomorrow, because, as your fiancé, he would not permit you to do so."

"Permit?"

"Well my dear," said the Earl, wishing he could die, "when a woman becomes engaged to a man, it is understood that he assumes a certain authority – "

"Permit?"

The Earl gulped.

"That man talked about what he would and would not allow me to do?" she demanded, outraged.

"Only to save us, my dear, by diverting the Queen's wrath to himself. He said that it would not be proper for you to attend a reception to which he was not invited, and that he positively refused you his permission to do so. Lavina, where are you going?"

"To commit murder," she flung over her shoulder.

Her inquiry after the Marquis from a passing servant produced the information that he had gone to the stables. Lavina hurried on, but while she was still some distance she saw him galloping in the direction of the hills.

She ran on to the stables.

"I need your fastest horse," she told the astonished hands.

"His Lordship just took the fastest," a groom told her.

"The next fastest then. Hurry."

In minutes they had brought out a lively animal and struggled to put a side saddle on his back, while he danced about disobligingly, snorting fire.

Lavina knew just how he felt.

At last she leapt onto his back and galloped off into the distance, headed the way she had seen the Marquis go.

After going for a few miles at full speed she saw him, far ahead. He slowed and stopped, then looked back at her, before continuing. She urged her mount to even greater speed until at last she was galloping beside him.

Neck and neck, mile after mile, until at last the horses

slowed from weariness. The Marquis pointed to a stream ahead.

"Our animals have certainly earned the chance to drink," he said. "Let us see to their needs first, then you can tell me what you think of me."

She agreed, and only when the beasts had dipped their heads thankfully into the cool, running water did she allow herself to say,

"When you said you were getting out of throwing distance, I didn't think you'd go to these lengths," Lavina said.

"Well, I knew you would be unreasonably angry."

"Unreasonably? How dare you talk about what you will allow me to do, as though I were a child."

"Not a child, an engaged woman with a sense of propriety."

"But you know that isn't really true," she said furiously.

"Not true that you have a sense of propriety? I hope, for both our sakes, that you are mistaken."

"I mean that I am not an engaged woman."

"For the moment, you are. That gives me certain rights over your behaviour, some of which I am certain that you know about. You're an heiress, aren't you? Your mother left you a great fortune."

"How did you – "

"You surely don't imagine I consented to an engagement without first ascertaining your wealth."

"You didn't have time," she retorted swiftly.

"True, but the wealth of every heiress is known throughout the London clubs. I believe there are even places where fortune hunters can obtain lists, for a fee."

"And are you a fortune hunter, sir?"

"No, luckily I can afford not to be, but that is not true of all men. Picture the poor fellow's dismay if he proposed for your money and found you'd dissipated it before the wedding. So, to protect him, the law says that his fiancée may not dispose of her wealth without his permission.

"Don't breathe fire at me, I am merely giving you an illustration. Your behaviour is very much my concern, and, as I have always made plain, I intend to exercise my authority over you."

"How many times must I say that you do not have any authority over me?"

"You may say it as often as you like. It remains the case that I do. I warned you at the start that I expect you to behave with propriety."

"Are you saying that I do not?"

"I am, indeed. No lady of delicacy would be alone with a man in this isolated spot. If I should insult you with my advances there is nobody to help you."

"I rely on you, as a gentleman, not to insult me with your advances."

"But how if your reliance is mistaken?"

Lord Elswick's eyes were glinting strangely.

"Suppose I force my unwelcome attentions on you?" he asked.

For a moment Lavina found it hard to speak. Something seemed to be fluttering in her throat, and her heart was beginning to thump erratically.

"Since we are engaged," she managed to say with spirit, "the presumption would seem to be that your attentions are not unwelcome."

"Do you mean that you pursued me here in the hope of receiving them? Fie on you!"

"I – that is not what I meant – "

Suddenly he was standing very close to her.

"Didn't it occur to you that you were doing something dangerous in coming here alone with me?"

She took a shuddering breath. She would have moved backwards but she found she was standing against a tree.

"I – do not feel – in danger – " she stammered.

"How foolish of you," he said as he lowered his mouth to hers.

There was no escape, even if she were sure she wanted to. His arms were about her body, drawing her hard against him, while his lips caressed hers with ruthless purpose.

At first shock held her still. Then she made a sound of protest and tried to push him away, but he immediately tightened his arms. Anger began to flow through her veins like fire.

But suddenly it was a different fire, made not of anger but of excitement. If she had given in to it she would have strained against him, seeking more kisses and yet more. But pride would not let her do so. She was still angry with him, and if she yielded an inch it would be a victory to him in the battle between them, that had raged since the moment she had burst into his house.

He was proud, but so was she, and she would not let him think he had won her over in the slightest way. She could not afford to.

He seemed to sense her rebellion and began to move his lips more seductively over hers, as though determined to be the winner in this battle.

Lavina's head spun. Suddenly she no longer wanted to fight, but to yield, to give herself to him utterly and completely. Somehow her arms had found their way about his neck and she was pulling his head down to hers, kissing him back eagerly, feverishly.

"Lavina – " he murmured.

His voice seemed to call her back from a great distance. His mouth had released hers, he was looking down into her face with a look of stunned astonishment.

Her breath came raggedly, and suddenly she was herself again, shocked at her own behaviour. How could she have behaved so disgracefully, with such unladylike abandon? He had said that she had no sense of propriety, and she had proved him right.

She pulled away, and this time he released her. She walked a few steps away and stood there, breathing hard.

After a moment he came close, but did not try to touch her. It seemed a long time before he spoke.

"Forgive me. It is I who lack propriety. I should not have taken advantage of – that is – you are very foolish to be angry with me for – for what I said to the Queen."

"Am I?" she asked in a muffled voice.

"It is well known that Her Majesty believes in the subjection of women – "

Lavina turned and gave him an incredulous stare.

"As long as it's other women," the Marquis added wryly. "She has been known to speak about the 'dreadful wickedness of Women's Rights'. She deludes herself, of course, but she thinks this is what she believes. So I simply used the one argument that she could not answer. Can't you understand that?"

"I suppose so," she said reluctantly.

"I know that, for you, it goes against the grain to defer to me, but in that lies your safety, and your father's safety. It puts the whole responsibility for defying the Queen on to my shoulders, and I promise you I can fight the battle better than either of you."

"You are right, of course," she admitted reluctantly.

"I am doing this as much for your father as for you. His place at court means a lot to him, and if he offends the Queen too much, he may lose it.

"For your sake, he will take that risk, but he dreads a life without his occupation. If I can get the royal wrath directed at me, he may escape the worst."

"How kind you are," she said impulsively, forgetting how angry she had recently been with him..

"Nonsense," he said, with a return to the brusqueness that was more normal with him.

"But you are, to have thought of him, and how badly he would be hurt. That isn't only kind, it's imaginative."

"You are making a fuss about nothing," he said coldly. "It is merely the most efficient way of managing things. The Queen's wrath means nothing to me because I wouldn't have a place at court for anything she could offer.

"With your father, it's different. He's a convivial man. He likes people, enjoys having them around him. With me, it is different. So don't start attributing sentimental motives to me. Kindness has nothing to do with it."

Lavina looked at him with a touch of sadness.

"I don't believe you," she said at last.

"Then you should know better," he said flatly.

"Why do you hide your better self from people? Would it be so terrible if the world knew you have a side that is generous and sensitive?"

"You were wiser when we first met," he declared. "Then you were hostile to me. You tried to hide it because you were asking my help, but your dislike was there. You should have remained hostile, and I advise you to do so."

"Nonsense!" she said loudly.

He stared.

"What did you say?"

"I said 'nonsense'. If you can say it, so can I. I never heard a man talking such gibberish in all my life." Her lips curved in an ironical, almost teasing smile.

"So you advise me to stay hostile to you? After the way you just kissed me? Was that designed to make me feel hostile."

She had him there, she was glad to see. He coloured and for a moment his composure deserted him.

"You have a very sharp tongue," he said at last.

"Not sharp," she said, shaking her head. "Swift. Like my perceptions."

"And what – exactly – do you think you perceive?"

She gave him the same smile.

"I'll tell you that another time."

"Yes, let us return," he said with an effort. "We have both talked more than enough nonsense."

For the reception at Balmoral Lavina's appearance was a triumph of Mrs Banty's art. Her gown, with a bustle and a long train was made of cream silk with a matching over-skirt of silk gauze, and a deep flounce of lace.

As the crowning touch she wore the Elswick emeralds which the Marquis, once more using the wonderful modern telegraph system, instructed Hunsbury to bring north.

"I would have brought them with me if I had anticipated this situation," he told Lavina, "but I must confess the Queen's wits were more devious than mine on this occasion. But I think I've made up for it by the other item Hunsbury will be bringing with him."

It turned out to be an exquisite diamond engagement ring, which his mother had previously worn.

Now she was trumpeting to the world that she was unavailable to Prince Stanislaus.

"And by the way," the Marquis added, "The Prince is rather on the short side."

"You know him?" she asked quickly.

"I have encountered him during the course of my travels," the Marquis said coolly. "It hasn't left me eager to know him better. My point was that ladies who wish to earn his goodwill always wear their lowest heels.

"Then I shall wear my highest," Lavina said defiantly.

The Marquis grinned his approval.

The McEwuans felt no resentment at not being included in the invitation. They had never been part of court circles. They cheered the other three on their way with genuine, kindly enthusiasm.

By royal decree, 'tartan would be worn' by those entitled to wear it. Lord Ringwood had borrowed his cousin's kilt, somewhat reluctantly since he lacked the tall, elegant figure necessary to do it justice. But, as he explained to his daughter with a sigh,

"If Her Majesty insists that I show my knobbly knees, then I don't mind doing so in order to placate her."

"Papa, I think you're absolutely heroic," Lavina exclaimed.

If her father lacked the figure to wear a kilt, the same could not be said of the Marquis. He appeared in the kilt of the McDonald clan, explaining that one of his aunts had married the Laird.

"When my valet knew that I was coming to Scotland he insisted on packing it as a precaution," he explained.

He had the long, straight legs necessary to show the kilt as its best, and the broad-shouldered height needed by the black velvet jacket. For once his hair was brushed into a fashionable style.

It was a pity, Lavina thought, that he did not go into society more often, for he was handsome enough to turn all heads.

It was about five miles to Balmoral, and as they drove through the countryside the day was turning to a soft, enchanting twilight.

Lavina knew that she looked her best in the gorgeous dress, and the emeralds, and at any other time she would have enjoyed the prospect. But tonight she could think only that the Queen was very determined to trap her, and her only safety lay in the Marquis, sitting opposite her.