Miss Hillary Schools a Scoundrel (11 page)

Drew berated himself for having agreed to chaperone his sister for the duration of the stay at Irvine Castle, but he couldn’t bow out. Gabby had kept her part of the agreement. Just because Drew had changed his mind about Lana didn’t mean he would break his word.

His sister dragged him to the great hall where their mother had planned
another
dance. Women were always anxious to dance, but he supposed a waltz provided the only proper excuse for a lady to get close to a gentleman. The double standard hardly seemed fair.

Irritation swelled within him as no less than five gentlemen, those bloody rakehells Brookhaven and Fielding included, raced to reach Gabby first without trying to look too conspicuous. On second thought, the rules governing ladies’ behavior worked well. He’d not like any of the men touching his sister outside of the ballroom. He didn’t especially appreciate their eager attentiveness in the ballroom either. Drew crossed his arms and glowered, imitating the look his brother often bestowed on him.

The lucky gentleman to reach Gabby first beamed, but one glance at Drew tempered his enthusiasm. “My lord, might I request your sister’s dance card?”

Drew deferred to Gabby. He would not assume his sister wished him to make her decisions, given her strong opinions on certain matters.

“I would be honored, Lord Holt.”

One by one the gentlemen made the same request until her card had filled. Gabby didn’t turn away a single suitor, much to Drew’s discontent.

Before her first dance, he drew her close to murmur in her ear. “Make Brookhaven and Fielding behave, princess, or else I will settle the matter on the morrow.”

Her face paled. “You wouldn’t dare challenge either gentleman. I’m telling Mama.”

“Mama couldn’t stop me, or Rich for that matter, if any gent treated you improperly. Now, make them behave and save me an early wakening. You know I don’t care for mornings.”

Gabby rolled her eyes. “Cease your fretting. Mama watches me like a hawk. I’ll not do anything to make her swoop down and snatch away my chance to be presented next season. Go dance with Lana. I’m properly chaperoned.”

She nodded toward an alcove where both parents vigilantly stood watch. So much for having his parents’ trust. It was just as well. Perhaps he could leave the ballroom early and put these past several days behind him. He could return to London on the morrow and forget all about Lana and his ridiculous yearnings.

Misleading her had been cruel. When he had set out to prove to himself he could bed her, he hadn’t considered her feelings in the matter. Self-loathing churned in his belly, and he turned on his heel to escape the ballroom, but he glanced over his shoulder before he reached the double doors. He wished to see Lana one last time, before she belonged to another. He scanned the crowd, his heart skipping when he located her.

Lana sat along the outskirts of the room as if she wished to go unnoticed. Longing flooded through him, and that horrible emptiness that had plagued him these last few weeks returned. He’d hated every minute of hunting today. The one occasion when he glimpsed the fox all he could think of was Lana’s fiery locks falling around her face. Staying away from her had ripped his insides out, and he didn’t want to walk away now.

This evening she wore an emerald and cream gown that displayed her assets to great advantage. Drew’s breeches tightened, and he forced his gaze from her.
Hell’s teeth.
He was a man of four and twenty, not a green boy without mastery over his body.

He stalked to the refreshment room. Requiring something stronger than punch, he poured a glass of port, downing it in one gulp. He poured another and attempted to conjure the least arousing things he could imagine—dividing 476 into 8,982; sitting on the church pew next to Mother; rolling dice with Norwick.

His mind refused to cooperate with the distractions, and his thoughts strayed back to Lana. What if he
could
love her? Perhaps his interest wouldn’t wane as he feared. He had held no desire for any other woman since his arrival in Northumberland, since the Eldridge ball if he were to be honest. Was it outrageous to believe he possessed the same capacity to love as his father loved his mother and Rich loved Phoebe?

When he gained better control over his body, he returned to the ballroom to seek out Lana where he’d spotted her earlier, but the chair was empty. Alarmed, his gaze darted around the ballroom until he discovered her in Bollrud’s arms. She tilted her head and bestowed a flirtatious grin upon her dance partner.

Fire raged in Drew’s belly, and he shoved his fists to his side. He had no right to rip her from Bollrud’s arms, but he would bloody well like to make it his right. When the dance ended, Drew weaved through the guests loitering around the dance floor, attempting to intercept her. Before he could claim Lana, another gentleman approached then led her on the floor. She beamed at him as well when they moved into position.

Bollrud sauntered over to Drew, looking extremely confident. “I have to thank you, Forest. It appears your advice to court Miss Hillary’s mother is working to my advantage. The young lady’s manner toward me has warmed considerably. I believe the time has come to offer for her hand.” The bugger chuckled as he moved past.

When the music ended, Drew practically sprinted to Lana before anyone else could reach her. Taking her arm, he escorted her back onto the floor.

“This dance is mine, peach.” He didn’t leave any room for misinterpretation. He wasn’t making a request.

“Of course, Drew,” she purred, catching him off guard. He had expected her to respond with anger, or at least irritation. Instead, she smiled and glanced at him from beneath her lashes. “I thought you would never make your way to me tonight.”

Lana’s eyes darkened to the color of a lush forest as she snuggled closer to him. Hell’s teeth! She had deliberately made him jealous.

“You know exactly what you’re doing to me,” he growled.

“Do I?” She fluttered her lashes like the most experienced coquette. “You are difficult to read sometimes, my lord. Please, enlighten me. Tell me what it is I’m doing to you.”

Challenge rang clear in her words. How could his unspoiled peach behave in such a brazen fashion?

Her lips brushed his earlobe. “Maybe it is better if you show me,” she whispered.

His body sprang to attention again, and there would be no way to tamp down his passion with her in his arms.

“Meet me outside by the maze entrance in ten minutes. We have much to discuss.” He led her to the sidelines then darted from the hall.

***

Lana gaped at Drew’s back as he stalked from the ballroom. Had she just agreed to meet him in the garden or had he simply assumed her a willing partner?

Double
drat, what have I done?

Following her discussion with Lady Audley, thoughts of Drew had absorbed her afternoon. Lana had mentally debated the merits of a continued association with Drew. She had even confiscated a sheet of foolscap and found a quiet corner to create a list of pros and cons comparing him to Bollrud before burning it in a grate.

At the conclusion, Bollrud’s cons outnumbered those in Drew’s column, but Drew’s one negative was insurmountable. He didn’t want a wife. In her mind, she had thought the matter decided. She would accept Lord Bollrud’s offer when he made it. Yet, when Lana had dressed for the evening, she’d chosen a gown to please Drew.

Their encounter last evening left no doubt in her mind Drew desired her, but he had also been honest. He would never settle for one woman, and Lana would never settle for heartache. It had been silly to incite him to jealousy. There was nothing to gain.

She wrung her hands, her body burning with shame. The other evening Lana had teased Drew when she had suggested she was impure, but after her behavior tonight, he would believe her ruined for certain.

Scanning the room, she found her mother occupied by Bollrud and made an instant decision. She would meet Drew and explain her flirtation had been an act, impulsive and appalling. Lana remained an innocent. She must turn her attentions toward finding a husband, and Drew must focus
his
attentions on someone more suited for his type of play.

Her gaze dropped to the floor as she maneuvered through the crowd, praying no one took notice of her departure. Once in the hallway, Lana hurried toward the blue parlor. An alternate route should keep anyone from witnessing her exit. She would discourage Drew once and for all and return to the dance before her mother noticed her absence.

She stepped into the crisp darkness and shivered. Fog hovered along the ground so that she could barely make out the maze from the veranda. She descended the stone stairs with caution and wandered to the entrance of the hedge maze. Wishing she’d remembered her shawl, she moved farther into the enveloping blackness.

“Drew,” she whispered. Lana rubbed her hands up and down her arms for warmth. “Drew?”

Charming by day, the gardens were menacing in the darkness. The topiary dragons flanking the maze entrance transformed into sinister monsters leering through the mist. Her knees knocked. Perhaps she should return to the house. She could explain her mistake as easily in the light of day. Spinning around to dash back to the house, Lana released a strangled cry. A tall figure approached, his features obliterated by the fog and darkness.

“Where are you going, peach?”

Drew’s warm voice wrapped around her and she melted with relief. “Blast it, Drew. You scared the life out of me.”

“Your body has more sense than you do apparently.” Wicked amusement resonated in his words.

Lana pictured him smiling in that way he had. The smile he had bestowed on her the night he had rescued her from the Eldridge’s tree, the one that left her trembling with anticipation. “I’m surprised you came. It’s not too late to go back, Lana.”

“I’m… I’m not afraid of you.”

She accepted his arm when he joined her at the entrance and followed him into the maze. They stopped after a few steps. Drew released her arm and backed away, placing distance between them.

“I don’t want you to fear me, peach, but you need to understand the risk involved with your choice.”

Choice?
Her stomach plunged. She
had
made a choice, hadn’t she? Knowing what Drew expected of her, she had chosen to follow him outside. Lana risked everything by sneaking away to the garden. She was alone with a notorious rake, and she was contemplating surrendering to him.

In the ballroom, desire had darkened Drew’s eyes to a stormy blue sky, and his body had vibrated with need. God help her, Lana needed him too. Drew offered her passion, an experience she would never know with Lord Bollrud. Giving herself to Drew would violate everything she valued—her integrity, her family’s trust, her mother’s hope for a match with Lord Bollrud. If she gave in to temptation, she would never fulfill her duty to marry for she could never betray her future husband’s trust.

Her hands shook and she swallowed over the lump in her throat. “I do understand the choice I have made.”

“What do you want, Lana?” Drew’s strangled voice jarred her. “Please, make this easy on me. Go back to the house.”

She stepped toward him, reaching out to touch his forearm. “I don’t wish to go back, Drew. I want to be with you.”

He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a tender kiss on her exposed wrist. “For how long do you wish to be with me?”

Forever.
Lana could never speak the truth, or Drew would bolt like a frightened stallion. He quivered under her touch and her heart squeezed. When had she fallen for Andrew Forest, the most unavailable, disreputable man in England? If anyone should run, it should be her.

Drew blew out a long breath. “I don’t wish to hurt you, and I fear I’m only capable of bringing you heartache.”

A flash of disappointment had her blinking back tears. So, it was true. He desired nothing more than a night of passion. She intended to turn away, but her will was weak. “I don’t believe you will hurt me. Please, Drew.”

His fluid movements startled her. He captured her around the waist and pulled her against him. A frisson of apprehension stirred in her belly. Nonetheless, she stood toe-to-toe with him, trying to shore up her courage.

His thumb brushed her bottom lip. “So fearless, my little innocent.”

No.
Lana wouldn’t allow him to turn her away, not with his arbitrary rules for seduction. “I told you I’m not…”

Drew’s fingers nestled into her hair. Their bodies fused as his supple lips possessed her mouth, his tongue tracing the inner circle of her lips. Their sighs of pleasure merged, expressing the one word repeating in Lana’s head.
Yes.

With almost imperceptible movement, he drew her mouth flush against his and dipped his tongue into the recesses. The port on his breath was more intoxicating than the alcohol itself.

Lana’s arms encircled his neck as she pressed herself against him, wanting—
needing
—to be closer. Was it possible to absorb him, allow his essence to flow through her, making them one? His rapid withdrawal from her embrace left her in daze. Lana sought his warmth again, but Drew held her upper arms to maintain the distance.

“Not here, my sweet.” His words brushed across her like a caress. “I want to do this properly.”

She giggled. How did one go about properly doing the improper? Her eyes had adjusted enough to the dark to see the gleam of white as he grinned.

“I mean I wish to take my time making love to you without risk of discovery,” he amended.

She attempted to concentrate over the rat-a-tat of her heart sounding in her ears. “Where do you suggest?”

“It is early yet. We’ll take the carriage to Shafer Hall and return it before Rich and Pheebs need it.”

“What if someone notices our absence?”

“You shall pen a note for your mother informing her you’re feeling unwell and have retired early. I’ll have the footman deliver it when the carriage returns. I could be any place. No one will guess we are together.”