Ruin Me Please (22 page)

“Speaking of
the
d
uke
—
Declan, did you say?”  Freya’s eyes gleam
ed
with humor and forgotten tears.

Dobbins picked that moment to announce dinner.

Poppy was grateful for the interruption. 
“
Wonderful
,
I am famished
.
” 
She
attempted
to alleviate some of the tension in the room
.
  Freya was not speaking with Durham.  Durham looked pitiable
as he
apparently
was working on enhancing his
foxed
state
with another tu
m
bler of caramel colored liquid
.  Miss Harris seemed oblivious as she diligently worked on her needlepoint.  Piper was discussing something apparently rather dull with Seymour, based on the look on
his
face.  This announc
e
ment could not have
come at a more opportune time.

Chloe
pursed
her lips.
“Do not think we will al
low you to avoid this topic for
long Poppy dear
,
”
she
warned.

“Honest to goodness
.
  You all know I am an open book.  I am not attempting to avoid anything
.  W
hy would I hide anything from my two dearest friends?
”  Poppy
rambled
incessan
t
ly,
smil
ing
sweetly
.
“
W
e must not allow dinner to grow cold
.
”  Skipping a
head of them to the
dini
n
g
room,
she laughed before
call
ing over her shoulder
.  “Mrs. Hastings would be so u
p
set and we would
not
want that now, would we?” 
She grinned
over her shoulder at her friends.

Taking hold of Parker’s arm, Poppy
walked
alongside of him.

Declan
hid a
grin as he watched
Poppy practically skip
across the room.  Well, at least she
was
wearing shoes
tonight
.

“Sweeting, what are you up to?” 
He quirked
his brow
. 
“
I could see you girls plotting and planning in the corner.” 
He patted
her h
an
d affectionately
.
“
Should I be afraid?”

“Oh poo
h
.
”
S
he
wrinkled
her dainty nose.  “W
e were just catching up
,
silly
.
  We have not seen each other in weeks.” 
She hit
him s
oftly on the arm with her fan.

“Hey
,
”
Parker said, rubbing his arm.

Poppy rolled her eyes.

“Hmmm…well behave
,
Poppy. 
You promised you would curb your hoydenish ways while we had guests. 
It looks like I already have one friend to watch
over
.
”

“Whom a
re you speaking
of?”

“Durham,” he stated without hesitation.

Poppy peeked
over her shoulder
as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, fee
l
ing the heat
of Declan’s gaze
,
seeing
the hunger in his eyes as they
wandered greedily over her back. 
Poppy shivered, pulling
her paisley shawl
snugly
around her shou
l
ders.

Parker looked
down at the top of
Poppy’s h
ead
.
“Are you cold
,
m
’
dear?”

“Perhaps
,
just
a little
.
”
Poppy
met his gaze with a far too innocent look, s
mil
ing
at her attentive brother.

Parker pulled away from Poppy
and
turned to t
heir small group of friends.  “I believe we can all dispense with formalities while we are together.  We will be dining
en famille
for the r
e
mainder
of this
house party
so in the future we will
not
need
to
dress so formal.” 
He smiled
as he looked around stopping at each
one. 
“We have
known all of you for years in some form or another.  There is no need for us to sta
nd on ceremony while at home.
  I’m in the mood for something more casual.
”

“Of course
I agree wholeheartedly
,” Poppy
stated,
smiling brightly.

“We should all take this time to become better acquainted and forget past grievances.”  Parker’s eyes stopped at each one in the room, stopping on Durham
, h
e smiled
.
“Let us e
n
deavor to have a pleasant meal and enjoy the entertainments that have
been prepared for
us during this house party.”

Chloe spoke up first, “I agre
e.
I would prefer to dwell on more pleasant topics, instead of whether I used an
incorrect utensil or ma
d
e some unforgivable faux pas with titles.  I believe we all desire a ho
l
iday fr
om the strictures of society.”

All nodded and smiled.

“It is unanimous
then
,
”
Poppy
said
.  S
he s
mil
ed
at Freya
then
turn
ed
her eyes longingly to
wards Declan.  Letting out a loud sigh, she turned back and
placed her hand on Parker’s arm.  “I for one am starved
.
  Let us enjoy the d
e
licious meal Mrs.
Hastings has
prepared for us.”

Once they entered the dining room, Poppy stealthily moved
towards Durham
and sat
next to him
. 
“Thank you, Durham.  You are exceedingly
kind
.
”
She smiled up at him sweetly
.

“
Lady
Poppy
.
”
H
e
bowed
shakily, grabbing
th
e back of her
chair
to keep from tumbling over before he sat
cautious
ly in the chair to
her left.

Poppy held back a grin at the
comically relieved
look that flittered across
his face
when he
finally
sat down.

“I understand that the rest of your family is traveling over the summe
r?
”
  She looked over the
bowl
of her glass, taking a fortifying sip of her wine.

“Yesh,
” he paused a moment to correct himself.
“Y
es they are
,
”
Durham replied with a slur.  “My Mother wanted to vishit…
visit Italy
again
.
”
  H
e attempted
to speak clearly
. 
“
S
he is sho
---s
o
ve
ry fond of their countryside.”

“I have always wanted to travel to the continent
.
”
  She sighed.  “Perhaps one day
I will
have
the opportunity
.” 
She took a moment to covertly glance towards Declan
, t
he co
r
ner of her mouth edg
ed
up in a fleeting smile.

Even in his intoxicated state, Durham noticed who she was making calf-eyes at so he i
n
quired.  “How long have you known Hawkshley
—
Hawkshley
—
Hawk?” 
H
e
looked co
n
fused as he
slurr
ed his words
.

W
rench
ing
h
er gaze away,
she
smil
ed
wryly.  “Interestingly enough,
” Poppy
replied
.
“
W
e met only this morning.” 
She noticed
the glass of wine in front of him
and
asked, “Would you prefer some coffee or tea,
m
y lord
?”

He had the grace to blush, then he
replied,
“Perhaps that would be best
.
”
  H
e slumped
a little in his chair.  “I may have had too much to drink already.  I apologi
she
.”
He rolled his eyes at his slurred words.

She patted his hand.
“It happens.  You probably should have eaten more today that is all.” 
She waved over a footman and
requested coffee and had her wine glass r
e
moved so as not to embarrass Durham.

He mouthed the words
thank you
, and
grinned.

Poppy cared deep
ly for her friends and family,
Declan could see it in everything she did.  He saw her switch out Durham’s wine glass.  He knew it was to help him avoid any further e
m
barrassment.  He watched her comfort Lady Freya.  He saw her support her brother.  It all seemed to come so easy t
o her.  No artifice or playacting.  His interest grew with each smile that crossed her face, each laugh that bubbled forth from her delicious berry red lips, and each mischievous glint from her sky blue eyes.

“Have
you
known
him
long?”  Poppy asked,
sneaking another look
at Declan
.

“All of us,
”
H
e
inclined his head towards Ashford
,
Seymour,
and
Hawksley
, “went to Ha
r
row together.” 
He caught
Declan’s eye.  “Have you heard of hish
.
..his many conqueshts?  A
l
ways did have a devilish reputation with the ladies
,
”
h
e said with smug delight.

“Oh
,
do behave
,
Durham.  Just because you have had a less than pleasant day does not mean I need to be the recipient of your bad humor.”  She smiled as she patted his hand again.  “You are deliberately attempting to provoke me by lashing out
.
”  Laughter lac
ed
her voice.  “
I refuse to take the bait.  I am sure th
e same
could be said for all of you
, so let us move on to a
n
other topic.” 
She patted his hand again
.
 
“
Why do you seem so unsettled this eve
n
ing
?
”
S
he glanced
at him shrewdly.
“
O
r do I already know the re
a
son?”