The Lady and the Earl (25 page)

“Of course I will.  Why wouldn’t I be
?” she
asked in confusion. 

He shook his head. 
“It was a pleasure as always, Allana.”  He tipped his hat to her before turning
to Fred
ric
.  “You are a very clever lad,” he said.  He pulled a coin
from
his pocket and flipped it to him.  “Thank you for readying my horse.”  And with that he slipped from sight.

Allana was still trying to catch her breath.  She glanced down at twelve-year-old Fredric and
scowled
.

“What?”
t
he boy asked innocently.

“You know what
.
”
  She placed her hands on her hips.

“I can’t say that I do.” 

“Freddy, you
a
re a
little devil
.  You interrupted on purpose,
” Allana accused.
 
The boy flushed red, and Allana laughed in delight.
 
“As good as a confession.”

“He was taking advantage.  I could not allow it,” Fredric
defended
.
 

“Well
then
, I know who to come to if I ever need a knight in shining armor
.”  She smiled and found him smiling in
re
turn.  The poor boy was smitten with her and had come to her rescue.  What else could she say?  “Come to the kitchen with me, and I will persuade Cook to give you a pastry.”

His eyes lit up, but he hesitated.  “I should get back to my chores,” he said. 

“Then I shall get you one and bring it to you,” Allana said.  She walked to him and kissed him on the cheek.  “Thank you.  You were wise to interrupt.”  She
hadn’t
wanted the interruption, but deep down she thought it
was
for the be
st
.  She should
n’t
become attached to a man who would
come to
realize
he did not want her.  Declan Cunningham would never be hers. 

“What!”
Allana
screeched
in a panic
.  “You did what!  How could you!”
  She began to
breathe heavily
.  Hadn’
t she said
Declan
would never be hers
?  Apparently, she was wrong. 
He would be
, but this was not the way she wanted it to happen.

“Allana, y
ou can scream all you
wish
.  It’
s going to happen.  In six weeks it’s going to happen.  It would be sooner, but he has to go to London next week on business,” her
father explained calmly.  “It’
s high time you married, and since you cannot seem to settle on a suitor, I am picking him for you.”

She looked at her father horror stricken.  “
In six weeks
?  But that’s so soon.  I don’t even know him,” she finished in a whisper.
 

“It’
s already settled,” her father argued. 

“He is a good man, Allana,” Connor said, coming to her side comfortingly.

Lilly burst through the stu
dy door suddenly, concern
on her face.  “What is going on here
?” she
demanded.  “I heard shouting.”

Allana pointed at her father and Connor.  “They are forcing me to marry.”

Lilly’s jaw dropped in shock.  “Marcus, is this true?” 

Lord
Tananguard shifted uncomfortably.  “Yes, but
—
”

“How could you, Marcus?  W
hy would you do such a thing?”

Lord
Tananguard suddenly looked un
certain.

“Who is it, and why?”
Lilly asked as calmly as possible.

“
Lord
Cunningham,” Connor replied. 

Lilly raised her eyebrows in surprise.
  She was the sole person who knew of Allana’s
infatuation with
Lord
Cunningham.
 

“And because it provides security to everyone including your unborn child.  If she marries him, your child will get Tananguard, girl or boy.  This is your home now, Lilly.  You will never have to leave it unless you wish to.” 

A look of understanding replaced Lilly’s look of surprise.  She sighed.  “You two seem to have thought of everything.  However, there is one thing you forgot.  Allana’s happiness,” Lilly said quietly. 

It was
Lord
Tananguard
’s
turn to
sigh. 
“My dear Lilly.
  You do complicate things.”  He studied Allana a moment, struggling within himself.  “Allana, it would be a good match, but Lilly is right.  If you refuse, I will not force you to accept this marriage.”

Connor stared at his father in surprise.  “But Father
—
”

“I
,
” Allana began to say at the same time Connor tried to speak. 

He stopped his words and stared at her, eyes wide and pleading. 

Allana almost smiled, but resisted.  Instead she s
aid, “
Lord
Cunningham
is
a good man, and I do find his company pleasant.  If it
benefits
everyone so much, how can I be selfish and
refuse
?”  Besides, it was
Lord
Cunningham!
  She was going to marry
Lord
Cunningham!  She really only made such a fuss for the principle of the situation.  It only made sense to fight the marriage even though she wanted it
.  Someone had to
put Connor and her father in their places for going behind her back to arrange it.  “I will do it.  I will marry him

Allana waited nervously for
Declan
to arrive. 
She’d
thought about hiding in her room all
day instead of meeting him for their scheduled ride.  But she
knew
she would have to face him eventually.  She might as well make it somewhere she was comfortable, and what better place than riding atop Lancelot.  If things got complicated, she could make a break for it.  Lancelot could outrun
Lord
Cunningham’s horse, couldn’t he?  She fidge
ted nervously.  No wonder she’
d had a restless night.  She was too anxious about today and her upcoming wedding.  She still couldn’t grasp the fact she was to be married to
Lord
Declan
Cunningham, the one man she thought farthest from her reach. 

She thought of their conversation yesterday and blushed. 
Now it was obvious why
he
’d
been so concerned for her.  He knew she was to be his wife.  She felt her freedom slipping away as she pictured him forcing her to have escorts everywhere she went.  No, she wouldn’t allow it.  If he thought he could control her, he was in for a surprise.

The thud of horse’s hooves on the dirt road warned her of an approaching rider.  She was sitting on a log staring darkly at a smooth, out-of-place stone in front of her as she thought.  Nervously, she glanced up at the sound, expecting to see
her
Earl, and glowered.  Anger
surfaced
as her eyes fell on Lucas.

“What are you doing here
?” she
asked darkly. 

“It’s nice to see you again too,” Lucas said sarcastically.  “I returned early.  I decided it was not good to be away from you too long.” 

“Lucas, there is nothing left for us,” Allana said in exasperation, standing so she wouldn’t feel so small under his scrutinizing gaze.

“No, you’
re wrong, Allana.  We can and we will work through this hardship,” he stated calmly.

“No, we will not.”  He was infuriating.  How could he believe she would come meekly
back to him?

“Allana, I am not giving up.  Why are you?” 

Lucas looked bewildered, and that made Allana feel bewildered.  She sighed, doing her best to stay calm.  “I do not love you, Lucas,” she
said simply.

“What does love have to do with anything?  We are too perfect for each other to worry about love. 
There is an attraction between us that goes beyond love. 
I know you’ve felt
it
.”  She blushed uncomfortably.  “See?  You wou
ld not be blushing if you hadn’t
.”

“I do not feel it anymore, Lucas. 
And I haven’t for some time now, especially
after seeing you with that
woman
,” Allana said with distaste. 

“Are you still fuming abo
ut that?  Honestly, Allana.  It
’
s what men do.  Ask your brother,” Lucas said dryly. 

“Say what you will Lucas, but it was
n’t
right, and I will not be yours because of it.  Now if you will excuse me, I am waiting for someone,” she replied.  Connor was like Lucas?  No, he couldn’t be.  Was
Declan
the same? 
No, stop it
, she scolded herself.  Lucas was just saying these things to cause her doubt.

“Oh? 
Who?”
Lucas asked casually. 

Allana didn’t answer. 

“I think you’re lying to make me jealous.”

“Jealous!  Why woul
d I want to make you jealous?”
Allana asked incredulously.

“To get even with me for hurting you,”
came
his smug reply.

“I’
m not trying to make you jealous.  I
am
meeting someone, and here he comes.  Will you
please leave now?”
Allana finished with exasperation.  

Lucas looked at her in disbelief when spotting Cunningham coming their way.  “Why
you little
—
”

*
             
*
             
*

Lucas was the last person Declan expected to see this morning, and the sight of that man turned
Declan’s
stomach.  Was Allana one of his targets? 
“
Er
…Good morning,”
Declan
said, eyeing Lucas with reservation.  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”  He looked at Allana this time.

“No. 
Lord
Hoffman was just leaving.  Weren’t you Lucas,” Allana stated. 

“Yes, I suppose I was.  It was good to see you again, Allana.  Until next time,” he said acidly.  He turned his back to her, facing
Declan
.  He urged his horse forward, and as he was passing
Declan
,
he growled beneath his breath,
“Do
n’t
get too comfortable with her
, Cunningham
.”

Declan
frowned, growing rigid.  “Is that a threat
?” he
asked, turning his horse with
Lucas’s
movements.

Lucas smiled darkly. 
“A warning.”
 

Declan
opened his mouth to retort, anger
searing through him
, but Lucas spurred his horse to a gallop and was gone. 
Declan
clenched his jaw shut, glaring darkly at
Lucas’s
back.  He took several deep breaths to calm himself before turning to Allana to ask as casually as he could, “What was that about?” 
S
uspicion filled his being.  What connection did Allana have to Lucas?  Lucas had a disturbing reputation, seducing women simply for pleasure, destroying innocents. 
Again
Declan
wondered if Allana might be
one of
them.

“Nothing,” Allana said sourly. 

Declan
raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question her further.  Perhaps, she was not one of
Lucas’s
victims.  Perhaps she was one of the few Lucas could not sway to his bed. 

“Are you ready then
?” she
asked. 

“Of course,” he replied pleasantly, pushing thoughts of Lucas aside.  “Where are you taking me?”
  He climbed down from Colonel to assist her onto her mount.

“You wi
ll see.”  She smiled slyly
.