Regency Romance Collection From Christina Courtenay (24 page)

‘Very well, I shall look forward to it.’

Lexie thought to herself that it would be preferable to staying at Hawthorne where Jasper seemed to have taken permanent root. He was supposed to have stayed for a few days only, according to Margaret, but so far he showed no signs of leaving and he and George were as thick as thieves. They had been out late every night, gaming in some nearby tavern apparently, but before they left, Lexie had to endure their boorish conversation at dinner. Not to mention Jasper’s leering glances.

When she came down the stairs later, Jasper was unfortunately the first thing she set eyes on. He was lounging in the hall, leaning a shoulder against the door leading into the library, and he smiled when he caught sight of her.

‘Ah, Miss Holloway, I hear you’ve had a busy morning.’

‘What do you mean?’ Lexie sighed inwardly. No doubt the servants had gossiped and it was too much to expect that they would keep Synley’s visit a secret.

‘I was told you had to use your healing skills on none other than Lord Synley. What happened?’

‘Oh, it was just a scratch. I came across him at the edge of the park and he’d had a run-in with a poacher or some such. I thought it best if he came to Hawthorne to have his wound seen to, in case it was worse than it looked. I have some skill in such matters.’

‘And was it?’

‘No, as I said, it was nothing really.’

‘Well, I’m glad to hear that. We wouldn’t want to lose our illustrious neighbour, now would we?’

Lexie gritted her teeth. She wanted to tell him that Synley wasn’t
his
neighbour at all and it was none of his business, but because Jasper was George’s nephew, she couldn’t be rude to him. ‘No, indeed,’ was all she said in the end.

CHAPTER FIVE

The Ketteridge’s lived in a neat little Queen Anne house on the edge of the next village and Lexie could see it had been done up in the latest style. It was immediately apparent that Lady Ketteridge had her husband wrapped around her little finger, and Lexie was sure the decor was all her doing.

‘This is beautiful, my lady,’ she told their hostess, although in truth she thought it all a bit overwhelming. There were cushions and knick-knacks on every surface and a profusion of bright colours that didn’t quite match. It was as if an over-exuberant child had been let loose with a set of paints.

‘Why thank you, Miss Holloway. I had a decorator come up from London to advise me. Mr Ashdown is all the rage, you know.’

Lexie didn’t doubt it, but wondered how many other people had been persuaded to adopt this lavish style against their better judgement. Fashion was a strange thing.

‘Ah, there you are, Synley. I didn’t think you would make it.’ Their hostess left Lexie without so much as a glance and headed for the latest arrival. Lexie stiffened and turned slowly to see if it really was him. She hadn’t expected him to attend since Jasper and George had been so adamant that their neighbour never socialised.

He seemed to be on remarkably good terms with Lady Ketteridge, however. She was hanging onto his arm and smiling up at him in what Lexie could only term a flirtatious manner, and he smiled back and put a hand over hers. A stab of jealousy shot through Lexie, but she pulled herself together.
He is still not yours and never will be, so don’t be so silly
.

She would have liked to ask him how his shoulder was faring, but couldn’t find an opportune moment. His appearance at the party caused quite a stir and although not everyone seemed pleased to see him, there were plenty of others who welcomed him. Lexie glanced at him from time to time to see whether his wound was bothering him, but he gave no sign of it, so she had to be content with that.

Dinner was a jolly affair, with much banter and laughter, and afterwards there were card tables waiting in the salon.

‘Do please be my partner at whist, Miss Holloway,’ Jasper begged, and Lexie couldn’t think of a polite way to decline. She was forced to spend the rest of the evening with him looking at her across the table, even though she would much rather have watched Synley. He in turn was monopolised throughout by Lady Ketteridge who was akin to a leech, in Lexie’s opinion. George was happy, however, since he finally had his chance to win some money off Synley.

Lexie felt her spirits sink lower and lower as the evening progressed, and a headache began to build behind her eyes. She tried to ignore it, but finally she could stand it no more.

‘If you will excuse me, I fear I must ask Margaret to take me home,’ she said to the other card players at her table. ‘I don’t feel well. A migraine I believe.’

Margaret, however, was having a wonderful time and wasn’t ready to leave yet. ‘Just take the carriage, dear, and ask the coachman to return for us. You don’t mind, do you?’

Lexie frowned, wondering if it wasn’t improper for her to travel alone, but then the pounding in her head persuaded her that she didn’t care. ‘Very well. Goodnight then.’

She made her farewells to Lady Ketteridge, who barely noticed. Lexie felt Synley’s gaze on her, but avoided looking at him. It was with relief that she sank into the soft seat of the carriage and closed her eyes.

Approximately half way back to Hawthorne Manor, Lexie was startled into full awareness by a pistol shot. ‘Stand and deliver,’ she heard someone shout, at the same time as the carriage came to a halt.

‘What on earth ...?’ she muttered. She hadn’t realised there were highwaymen in these parts. It was such a small country lane, after all. Surely there would be richer pickings on the main roads?

She glanced out the window and saw that there was indeed a man on horseback aiming a pistol at the coachman. This didn’t frighten her, it merely made her angry. She was wearing a necklace she’d inherited from her mother, and it was the only piece of jewellery she owned which was actually worth anything. ‘I am
not
parting with it,’ she muttered, undoing the clasp and slipping it under the seat cushion for the moment.

She knew George kept a pair of pistols somewhere in the carriage for just this sort of eventuality and she began to root around in the various pockets until she came across them. They were both loaded and she cocked one, taking careful aim out the window. She didn’t want to kill anyone, so she focused on a tree branch just to the left of the highwayman’s head, then pulled the trigger.

The man jumped, startling his horse, which began to rear up.

‘Leave now. I won’t miss with the next one,’ she shouted.

At the same time a shot rang out from behind the highwayman as well, and he swivelled round, clearly confused. Another horseman appeared round a bend in the road, and the highwayman took off. He must have known he was outnumbered on this occasion, Lexie thought, and he did the only thing he could – retreat. The second horseman gave chase, however, and thundered after him, past the carriage. Lexie didn’t have time to see who it was, but stayed where she was, grasping the second pistol just in case the highwayman decided to return.

‘Are you hurt, Miss?’ the coachman called out, his voice quivering.

‘No, Ogden, I’m fine, thank you. And you?’

‘Not a scratch, Miss. Just had a fright, is all. We’d best continue with all speed.’

Lexie was about to agree, but again caught the sound of hoof beats approaching. ‘No, wait. Someone’s coming.’

The second horseman returned and jumped off his horse, landing just outside the carriage door. ‘Lexie? Are you all right?’ Synley peered in through the open window.

‘My lord! I thought you were busy playing cards.’

‘No, I tired of it soon after you left.’ He smiled. ‘May I ride with you as far as Hawthorne? I’ll tie my horse to the back of the carriage.’

‘If you wish.’

Soon after, he jumped in and joined her on the back seat, taking both her hands between his in the darkness. ‘You are certain the highwayman didn’t harm you? I’m sorry I couldn’t catch him, but he disappeared into the forest.’

‘No, on the contrary, I almost shot him.’

‘Ah, so that was you, was it? I wasn’t sure who had fired on whom.’ He chuckled. ‘I should have known a mere highwayman was no match for you.’

Lexie knew she ought to pull her hands away, but it felt so wonderful to have them held thus, she left them where they were. ‘I must own I didn’t know there were any hereabouts. No one told me.’

‘That’s probably because there aren’t. I don’t believe that was a real highwayman at all. It was just someone out to frighten you.’

‘What?’ She looked up, but couldn’t see his expression. ‘Why? I mean, do you think it was connected to what happened yesterday?’

‘Possibly.’

‘Then it
was
I who was the intended target.’

‘No, I don’t believe so, but it’s a strange coincidence nonetheless. We will both have to be on our guard and never go anywhere alone from now on. Do you agree?’

‘Absolutely. How is your shoulder?’

‘Much better, no doubt thanks to you.’ She heard the smile in his voice. ‘Speaking of which, I wanted to thank you properly for your assistance.’

‘Oh, but you already did.’

‘Not like this.’

Before Lexie could protest, he had bent down to capture her mouth with his. A part of her had been wishing he would do just that, since the dark interior of the carriage was the perfect place, but she was still shocked when it happened, because she knew he shouldn’t. It didn’t take long for her lips to remember his lesson of all those years ago, however, and soon she forgot everything except how wonderful it felt to be kissed by him. It was as if time had stood still and she was back in that orangery once more, falling in love with a stranger all over again.

Only he wasn’t a stranger this time.

He pulled her closer, his hands stroking her back and running through her hair, which had come loose from its elaborate arrangement. In return, she allowed her fingers to skim his broad shoulders and felt the muscles underneath that she had seen at such close quarters only the day before. They were as hard as she’d imagined, his skin warm through his coat. She breathed in his scent, something exotic and exciting, and felt the blood fizz through her veins.

The carriage drew to a halt and they sprang apart, their breathing somewhat ragged. She wanted to tell him off for taking liberties, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. They would have been lies in any case, because she had enjoyed the experience immensely.

He must have done as well, since he whispered, ‘I’m not sorry this time either, Lexie. Goodnight.’

And with that he jumped down and held out a hand to help her descend. She took it, her own shaking in his steady grip, but she managed to hold her head high and just say, ‘Goodnight, my lord. Thank you for your company.’

What else could she say, after all? There were servants present.

‘How are you feeling this morning? I do hope you’re not coming down with anything? I wouldn’t want Rupert to catch an illness.’

Lexie looked up from her luncheon and watched her sister trail into the room. There were dark shadows under Margaret’s eyes and a slight frown marring her brow. Of course it was natural for a mother to think first and foremost of her child, but the implied suggestion that Lexie would be responsible should Rupert fall ill annoyed her.

‘I’m perfectly well, thank you. It was only a headache. Lady Ketteridge’s salon was so stuffy.’

‘Do you think so? I didn’t suffer in the slightest, but then George and I were on a winning streak.’ Margaret smiled at the memory of their triumph. ‘We won fifty guineas off Lord Synley. It was no wonder he left so abruptly.’ She laughed.

‘Well, that should please George then,’ Lexie commented.

‘Oh, indeed, but now he thinks Lady Luck is on his side and he wants to take advantage of it. He’s asked me to organise a small soiree here at the end of the week and is hoping Synley will agree to play some more. Such short notice, of course, but with your help, I’m sure I can manage it. You don’t mind, do you?’

Lexie thought privately that it wouldn’t matter whether she did. No doubt she’d be expected to help in any case, as long as she was dependent on George and Margaret for her board and lodging. She sincerely hoped she could find another post as a lady’s companion soon as she didn’t want to be used in this way by her relatives for the rest of her life. There were times when she wondered if perhaps she should have accepted one of the marriage proposals she’d received after all. But she had always been headstrong and knew in her heart she could never be the sort of wife a man expected in a marriage of convenience. She’d watched her parents through the years, and many of their acquaintance, and decided such a life was not for her. She would rather live in penury.

She quelled a sigh now and replied to her sister. ‘No. What would you have me do?’

‘If you could write the invitations, that would be splendid. Here is a list of the guests and the exact wording you should use. I prepared it earlier.’ Margaret pulled a folded piece of paper out of her skirt pocket. ‘You’ll find everything else you need in the escritoire in the morning room.’

‘Very well, I’ll see to it straight away as Rupert has persuaded Melton to help him practise shooting.’

‘Thank you, I knew you would. You’re frightfully efficient.’ Margaret laughed once more and sat down to pick at her lunch while Lexie stood up and headed for the door. Just before she reached it, Margaret added, ‘Oh, and do write a little personal note to Lord Synley, won’t you? Something to make him attend for sure.’

‘Like what?’
Do please come and don’t forget to kiss me again?
Lexie tamped down on that thought. No doubt he was regretting it after all, since he hadn’t appeared for their ride that morning. She couldn’t blame him. It should never have happened and her response ... well, she didn’t even want to think about that. He must think her incredibly forward.

‘Oh, I don’t know. “We would be especially pleased to welcome you to Hawthorne now that you are honouring your neighbours with your presence once more” or words to that effect.’ Margaret waved a hand as if she didn’t much care what Lexie wrote, as long as Synley came.

‘I’ll see what I can do.’

Synley stared with a frown at the invitation he’d just received. He should have known that going to Emma’s card party would bring on a flood of such trivial entertainments and now he’d have the devil’s own time rejecting them all. Well, not all perhaps. He’d have to venture out occasionally, but not every week and not to socialise with toads like George Hawthorne and his abominable nephew.

Torrington. Now there was a man Synley could well do without ever seeing again, but he seemed to have taken up permanent residence in the neighbourhood. One was forever tripping over him and if rumour was to be believed, he was becoming very friendly with Emma. Synley had seen no sign of it the night before, but in a way he hoped it was true. That might rid him of two problems at once.

He sighed and threw the invitation onto his desk.
I am deluding myself.
The main problem with attending a party at Hawthorne would be seeing Lexie again, which would not be wise. Last night, he’d behaved badly and taken advantage of her vulnerability after the bogus highwayman’s attempt to frighten her. Not that she had seemed scared, quite the opposite, but she had been alone and in need of protection and instead he had ...