The Lady and the Earl (23 page)

She took an unsteady breath.  “
Does it matter to you?”

He smiled.  “No.  I find it…enlightening.”  His thumb stroked her cheek.

Allana swallowed.
  He was not fleeing.  He was touching her far too familiarly, and she did not care one
whi
t. 
She wanted to close her eyes and savor his touch, but
that would imply she wanted it.
  That would be scandalous.
 

“N
ow you know everything,” she whispered.   

“I am certain there are still some things you keep hidden.”  His eyes caressed her face tenderly
, lingering on her lips
.  “Allow me to see you again,” he pleaded.
 

She opened her mouth to say
yes
when her name was shouted from nearby, startling her and interrupting the moment. 
Lord
Cunningham dropped his hand and stepped back from her.  Allana took a deep, ragged breath.  Connor appeared.

“
Alla
—
Oh
, there you are,” Connor said, spotting her. 
“And Cunningham.
  We did
n’t
realize you were missing as well.  Had I realized you were with her, I wouldn’t have come back to search,” Connor finished irritably.
  “We wouldn’t have had to stop at all,” he said as an afterthought. 

“Yes, we were caught up in conversation and
didn’t
realize until just recently the group had moved on,”
Lord
Cunningham explained.

“Well, we have, so
mount
up, man,” Connor said impatiently.
 
“You too, Allana.
 
Hurry, hurry.”

Allana s
tuck her hands on her hips and gave Connor a
n irritated
look.
  “You
didn’t
have to come back.”

“After last week, I think I did,” he shot back. 

“You cannot always protect me, Connor.
”

“No, but I do what I can when I can,” he argued.

“
I survived eight years without you.  I think I can handle myself just fine now,” Allana retorted.

He frowned at her.  “Father gives you far too much freedom
.
”

“Father trusts me!” 
It was out of her mouth before she could think otherwise.  She stole a glance at
Lord
Cunningham to see if he was eyeing her in disapproval.  He was
not
. 
He was
simply
watching the two curiously.  “Forgive us,” Allana said.  “We do not always see eye to eye.”

“Understandable, but Connor is right.  We should mount up and rejoin the group,”
Lord
Cunningham replied.

Allana nodded and did as he asked,
finding Lancelot’s reigns
and mounting him
without assistance
.
  That raised an eyebrow and caused a frown to form on
Lord
Cunningham’s face. 
Perhaps she should have allowed him to assist her.
 

“Of course, she listen
s
to him,” she heard Connor mumble to himself.
 

Allana turned her nose up at him and urged Lancelot in the direction
from which
Connor
had appeared. 
Men!
 

The group was not far ahead.  They
had
stopped when Connor noticed Allana missing.  When Allana, Connor, and
Lord
Cunningham rejoined them, they started up the hunt once again.   

The rest of the morning went by in a blur.  The
hunting party
chased down one more fox and killed some pheasants in the mean time.  When the group returned to Tananguard
Manor
,
everyone
entered
for a late lunch.  That too was a blur.  The
l
ord
s and l
adies chatted animatedly about the day, but all Allana
could think on was
Lord
Cunningham.
 
She’d
confessed everything to him.  He even knew it was she who had assaulted him
four years ago
, yet he still asked to see her again.
 
Would he really call on her? 

She had conversation, but none again with
Lord
Cunningham and nothing she could recall.  She thought
she’d
been cordial to everyone who spoke with her, but her mind
was
elsewhere.  Was she truly this lost?  Yes, and she had been for some time. 
I
t was all
Lord
Cunningham
’s fault.  He was more than she ever hoped he would be.

It was nearing late afternoon before the group began to disperse. 
Some guests had stayed
for a few
nights
due to this eventful day, but they too were leaving.

“Allana, it was so good to stay with you,” Carmon
said
to her.

“I wish you could stay
longer, but I know you
have so much to do before your wedding
,” Allana said
in return.
 

Carmon b
eamed in excitement.
  “I do.  How I wish this happiness for you, Allana,” she said quietly.  “
Perhaps if you set
you
r sights higher
,
such as on
an e
arl
,
you might find it,
”
she teased
with a grin.

“Carmon!”
Allana said.  “Someone will hear you, and then rumors will spread.”

“Yes, but you do desire him.  You have as good as admitted
it
,” Carmon stated.

Allana sighed.  “Yes, I have, but I have not confessed this to anyone.  Please,
he cannot
know.  If he wishes to court me, I would welcome it, but I will not pursue him.”

“I know,” Carmon said.  “And for your sake, I hope he does
come
calling.”

The young ladies said their farewells, and before long, the grand manor was nearly empty except for one man,
Lord
Cunningham.  Allana was surprised he was still
t
here, but hadn’t she seen Connor drag him off somewhere earlier while the others were departing?

“I should probably be on my way as well,”
Declan
began.  “Thank you for allowing me to join you today.  I must say, it was the most enjoyable hunting experience I’ve had in a very long time.”  H
e looked directly at Allana
.  “It was a pleasure
to see you again
,
Lady
Allana. 
Until next time.”
  He bowed
,
and she curtsied in
re
turn.
  “Marcus, Lilly, Connor.  Pleasure as always,” he finished,
nodding
to the rest of the group. 

“Cunningham, you are always welcome in our home,” Tananguard replied. 

Declan
smiled.  He
took
one last glance at Allana before
slipping out the door.

“What a gentleman,”
Lord
Tananguard said.  “Very agreeable, wouldn’t you say?”  Both he and Connor were looking at Allana while Lilly was watching them.

“Yes, very,” Allana replied
staring at the door
through which
Declan had just disappeared.
 

“
Did you have an enjoyable day
?”
Lilly asked her.

“Hmm?
  Oh,
it was a very good day,
” she replied.  “I
think I will go upstairs and clean up for the evening
.”  She kissed all three on the cheek and
glided up the stair
s
to her room
.

*
             
*
             
*

Connor watched his sister wander away and smiled. 
“I think things are going nicely,” Connor said, grinning at his father. 
“Cunningham was quite interested in what I had to say.”

“
Perhaps we are rushing this
,
though.  Do you not think things wil
l progress without our help?” h
is father asked as he too watched Allana disappear up the stairs.

“What is going on here?” Lilly demanded.

“Nothing, nothing,” both men seemed to answer in unison.

“Marcus,” she warned.

“We simply have high hopes for the two
.  T
hat
’
s all
,
m
y love. 
Nothing to worry about.
”

“You better not
be
hiding something from me,” Lilly threatened.

“Why would I do that
?” he
asked innocently. 

She stared at him a moment before accepting his answer.

Declan
listened to
Marcus
intently, his mind racing as the
specifications
were given to him.
 
The hunt
had been
two days
ago
. 
On that day, after lunch,
Connor
had
pulled Declan aside to
informally discuss
a very unusual proposal
, a proposal that had been on
Declan’s
mind ever since.
 
It was quite an enticing idea, yet he was tentative
about
it
, taking him until today to hear the full details of what Marcus had to offer.  In short, wed Allana for the coveted piece of land he wanted.  Should he do it? 
He wanted to pursue her, but that
didn’t
mean marriage.  However, t
he land
tempted him something fierce. 
The things he
could use it for were endless…and she was
so
lovely.  To have her for his own, this woman who had plagued his thoughts for the past nine days….
 

“Your proposal is very
appealing
, gentlemen.”  He took a long drink of his wine.  “I believe I am getting the better half of the bargain though.”  He turned to look at
Lord
Tananguard
.
“I will marry her if she will have me,” he said quietly, and the men smiled.

The walk to the stables was agonizing.  Was he doing the right thing?  Would he regret making this choice? 
He barely knew Allana.  His first wife he married in haste and had regretted it the moment their vows were said. 
She’d
seduced him, manipulating him into marrying
her just for his title.  She’d never been faithful, and he’
d shared her bed only twice: the night he had taken her vir
tue
, and the night of their wedding. 
Allana
didn’t
seem anything like Rebecca. 
She
seemed too innocent.  She
s
eemed genuine in her character, but women were
practiced in showing only what they wanted a man to see.
 

“Leaving so soon, my
Lord
?” the stable boy asked
Declan
.

“Afraid so
.
I need to get back,”
Declan
answered.

“Very well, Sir.  I’ll fetch your horse.”

Declan
waited patiently for the boy to return with Colonel when he heard a musical voice coming from the back of the stables.  He smiled curiously and
trekked
back
to investigate.

“That’
s all you a
re getting.  You’re spoiled as it is,” Allana said to Lancelot as the giant horse prodded her shoulder for more oats.  “I said no,” she giggled as he nibbled at her shoulder. 

“Sharing a stall with the horses, I see,”
Declan
teased
her
from behind.