The Lady and the Earl (42 page)

Instinctively,
he acted.

Allana’s
forearms were resting on the table in front of her, one on top of the other. 
Declan
reached out and placed his hand upon
them
, and looked directly into her eyes.  Her eyes lit up when he touched her
, causing him to hesitate
.
  It was confusing, but he forced himself to focus on his purpose.

“No,” he said smugly.  He lowered his gaze to her lovely breasts and
leered
while gently brushing the tip of her left one with his index finger.  He returned eye contact to see a look of shock spread across her face and continued, “Thank you for gracing me with your,” he looked down at her breasts once more, “presence.” 

She looked horrified at what was happening
, so Declan continued
.  “
Perhaps
you
sh
ould
come by my office
later,
and we
will
put those to some use.” 

Her face went scarlet with humiliation.  She stood abruptly, practically upturning her chair, and rushed out of the room.

Declan
watched her go with satisfaction that quickly turned to disgust.  He
should not have done that
, but it
was necessary
.  She would
stop
trying if he kept treating her poorly.  His heart dropped when he thought of her avoiding him and eventually leaving him.  He picked up his book to study the sums one last time, but threw it across the room instead, scattering loose pages everywhere.  He
felt
very frustrated and confused.  He
was
beginning to realize just how much he needed Allana.

*
             
*
             
*

In retaliation
to
Declan’s
treatment of her
, Allana began spending more and more time away at her swimming hole.  She needed time to think and cry from her depress
ing
life. 
Declan
was pushing her away.  What more could she do?  She wanted to avoid him after his crude actions—they had been
quite
humiliating—but she knew if she did, she could never win his heart.  Crude or not, she
loved
him.

Thus, instead of avoiding
Declan
, she sought him out.  She continued to have breakfast with him and continued to ask him to ride with her each day.  She became more determined than ever to make him fall in love with her.  If he did
not
come to dinner, she would seek him out and have her dinner brought to him.  And as time passed, he even seemed to warm
slightly
, but
just slightly
.  He still hardly spoke to her, and he refused to touch her again. 

*
             
*
             
*

Declan
was confused by her persistence.  She should be avoiding him by now.  Instead, she seemed to be everywhere he was, making him
want
her more than anything
. 
His heart ached.
 
Everything in him wanted to give in to his desires
to woo her
and hope there was a chance for him.  But then she would leave for her rides and be gone for hours at a time without anyone knowing where she went. 

Where did she go all afternoon?
  He wondered.  Then h
e
would burn with jealously and rage because he knew she was with Lucas Hoffman.  The pain of it was unbearable. 
Declan
was falling deeper in love with her, and he couldn’t seem to stop it from happening.

Four weeks passed since their wedding, and once again
Declan
was in a foul mood when Allana came down for breakfast.  She looked beautiful, but she always looked beautiful.  She smiled at him warmly and asked her usual questions of: 
How are you this morning?  Did you sleep well?
and
so on, and so forth. 
Declan
’s
jealousy was at its peak. 
She’d
been gone for nearly eight hours yesterday, and rumor
said
she was with
Hoffman
the entire time.

He watched her eat her food in silence, growing more and more livid by each bite.   Finally, he could
no
t take it any
longer
.  “Where were you yesterday
?” he
asked coldly. 

She stared at him
uncertainly
.  “Why?” 

“You were gone for nearly eight hours, and I know you were not at your father’s because I went looking for you there.  I demand to know where you were,” he answered heatedly, looking at her crossly.

“You went looking for me
?” she
said
in surprise.
  “Why?  I’
ve given you every opportunity to join me, but you’ve refused.  Why do you suddenly care where I go now?” 

“Are you really so naïve
that you do
not realize what your actions accuse you of?  Do you really think ever
yone is blind to what you’
re doing?”  He laughed cruelly, the obvious suddenly occurring to him.  “That is why you spend so much time with me, isn’t it?  You believe if you
seem to be trying to make our marriage work, I will not see the truth.”

“
Declan
, p
lease.  You’
re not making any sense.  I do
n’t
know
what you are talking about,” Allana said. 

“Enough games, Allana.   Tell me the truth,” he growled, slamming his fists on the table
.  She jumped,
and her eyes widened in
fear.
  “Are
you
bedding another man
?”

Her fear quickly turned to anger.  “
Bedding another…,
”
she trailed off in astonishment. 
“How dare you!  Why would you think such a thing?” 

“What else am I to think?  You leave for hours at a time without a single person knowin
g where you disappear
to, and I’
ve heard from several sources you still have strong feelings for a certain
Lord
,” he spat.   

Allana glared at him. 
“As I said before, I have invited you several times to join me, but you refuse.
  If I choose to stay away, it’
s my choice.  It does not mean I am running off to another man. 
That is absurd.  Where would you get such an idea?
”

“Are you deaf as well
?” he
asked, receiving an undignified
look
from
her
.  He rose from his chair, placing his hands on the table as he leaned over her.  “Do you not hear the servants whispering about you?  Everyone knows you were running off to
Lord
Hoffman when you had your
accident
.  It was even the latest gossip in London while I was there.  How do you think I felt when I found out my bride-to-be was running off to be with that maggot of a man?  And now you go to him every afternoon, doing your best to act as though it is not happening.  You
’
re
no better than my first wife!”
Declan
shouted angrily.

*
             
*
             
*

Allana
couldn’
t believe what she was hearing.  The blood drained from her face.  So that was
why
Declan
had acted so hurt and calloused toward her when
she’d
recoiled
from him a
month ago, and that i
s why he shunned her even now.  He thought she was running off to be with Lucas?  She shuddered at the idea.  Tears threatened to come as she looked up into
Declan
’s
angry face.  He hadn’t even bothered asking her if these rumors were true.  How could she defend herself without telling him the truth?  What could she s
ay or do in defense of what he’
d just said?  She did the only thing she could think of doing.  She stood from her chair and slapped him hard across the face.

“How dare you!” s
he hissed vehemently.  “Did it even occur to you to ask me?  Why would I invite you riding with me
every day
if I was sneaking off to my lover
?” she
quivered slightly as she continued.  “For your information, I am not spending time with another man.  I have no lover in my life right now.  There is only one man I want, but he is too blind and
foolish
to even realize it!” s
he shouted as the tears began to fall.  She turned on her heels and
stormed from the room. 

Allana didn’t even bother changing into a riding dress.  She simply strode out of the house, slamming the door behind her, and headed to the stables.  She saddled Lancelot and mounted, turning him in the direction of her swimming hole before deciding to head to the kitchen first.  She was
not
coming back until she was good and ready
.  B
ut if she planned on staying out all day
,
she needed nourishment to sustain her.  She snuck through the back door of the kitchen and spotted someone she hadn’t expected to ever see again.

“You!”
Allana exclaimed in surprise,
coming
face to face with
Lucas’s
maid
.
  “What are
you
doing here?”

Maggie’s face paled at the sight of Allana.  “Miss Allana…I…well
,
you see
—
”

“Spit it out, girl.  You’ve nothing to hide,” Annabel, the head cook, said.

Maggie eyed her,
then
eyed Allana. 
“
Lord
Hoffman threw me out after…
,
” she
trailed off, flushing red.  “He blamed me for what happened,” she finished quietly, looking down at her feet the entire time.  “Oh, M
iss, I a
m
very
sorry,” she cried.  Tears spilled down
her
cheeks.
 

Allana was caught off guard.  She thought she would never be able to like this girl after finding her in
Lucas’s
arms.  Now she found herself rushing over to Maggie and putting her arms around her.

“
Sh
h
h
.
  It wasn’t your fault.  It was
for the better.
”   

“Oh, thank you,” the poor girl replied, hugging Allana in return. 

“So what c
an I do for you, Lady Allana?”
Annabel asked
,
breaking up the moment.

“Oh…well…I was hoping you
might
pack me a lunch, actually.  I think I will go for a ride, and I do
n’
t
intend on coming back anytime soon.”  A look of envy crossed Maggie’s face, and a smirk crossed Annabel’s.  Allana blushed when she realized what these two ladies probably thought. 

“Will you
be needing
some ext
ras, or will it just be you?” t
he large cook asked with that smirk still on her face.

“It will just be me, thank you,” Allana replied tartly.  Oh, if only she could banish these ridiculous rumors. 
She’d
never even considered the servants, and
Declan
for that matter, thought she was having an affair. 
No wonder they were acting oddly around me,
she thought irritably.  She
just assumed the looks she’
d received from
Declan
’s
servants had been because she was the new mistress of the home.
  Now she knew otherwise.
 

Annabel packed Allana enough food for four, which annoyed Allana to no end, but she took it because she knew she would be gone all day and possibly into the night if it did
n’
t
get too cold.  She had a blanket in her saddlebags, and Lancelot would provide some heat and comfort,
so maybe she
would
stay out all night. 
Let
Declan
stew on that,
she thought.  Of course, then he would never believe she wasn’t having an affair, but she did
n’
t
care right then.  She was too humiliated and angry to care.