To Tame a Highland Earl (10 page)

“
Is it in the newspapers?”
she said with an innocence that didn’t fool him. “I suppose it is,”
she went on, “but news that London’s most eligible bachelor is off
the marriage mart is the talk of the town.”

“
I believe Lord Gregory has
that honor, not I.”

“
Nonsense,” she said.
“Every mamma in England hopes you will marry her daughter. But it
seems those hopes are dashed.”

Erroll wasn’t lost to the innuendo in the
words those hopes. So Diana was letting him know that she was
available for a liaison, despite his imminent nuptials. Somehow, he
wasn’t surprised.

“
What a shame,” Miss
Crenshaw said.

“
A shame?” Diana
repeated.

“
A shame that so many
mammas must now look elsewhere to marry off their simpering
daughters.”

Erroll looked down at Miss Crenshaw in
surprise. Surely his prospective bride wasn’t jealous?

“
I doubt those mammas would
appreciate their daughters being referred to as simpering,” Diana
said.

Erroll swung his gaze onto her. “I feel
certain no one will tell them.”

Her face reddened.

“
Be that as it may,” Miss
Crenshaw interjected, “any hopes that have been dashed as a result
of Lord Rushton’s betrothal will stay dashed.”

Well, well, this was a delightful turn of
events. The little minx wasn’t going to take Diana’s jibes lying
down. They would have a grand time before she cried off.

“
I am certain Lord Rushton
will deal with them as he sees fit,” Diana said.

The malicious note in her voice was even more
than he’d expect. “Really, Diana,” he drawled, “you’re starting to
bore me.”

Her eyes flew to his.

He laid a hand over Miss Crenshaw’s fingers,
which still grasped his arm, and said to her, “I believe we were
about to take a walk, my dear.”

She cast a nervous glance at Diana and he
understood her anxiety.

“
Miss Crenshaw and I
haven’t had a moment alone.” He smiled at Lady Barrett. “You
understand the need for discretion, Diana.”

Her mouth thinned and he knew she understood
the warning. But he had no illusions. She wouldn’t heed him.

“
Perhaps it would be best
if we returned to the ballroom,” Miss Crenshaw said.

“
Nonsense,” Erroll said.
“There’s no need to waste a perfectly lovely night in a stuffy
ballroom.” He began to lead her away.

“
Damn Scottish bastard,”
came the barely audible words behind them.

Erroll halted, but before he could turn, Miss
Crenshaw whirled and demanded, “I beg your pardon?” The chilling
tone in her voice sent an odd ripple of warmth through him. She
added as he turned, “Are you insane?”

He noted the anger in her voice, but it was
condescension that dripped from her words. His mother would be
proud. No woman could cut a person to the quick—when
deserved—faster than his own dear mamma.

Diana drew a sharp breath and opened her
mouth to reply, but Erroll murmured, “Beware, Diana.”

Her eyes flew to his. She stared for a long
moment, then whirled and started toward the mansion. Erroll didn’t
wait for Miss Crenshaw to attack again. He steered her back toward
the gardens and began walking.

She twisted and looked over her shoulder.

“
What are you doing?” he
demanded.

She faced forward. “That malicious cat. I
wager her attitude was sweeter when you were bedding her.”

Erroll laughed. “Madam, you are a
delight.”

“
Rubbish. Do you think she
will remain quiet about us being out here?”

“
Likely, she has already
chosen the biggest gossip to spread the news.” If he wasn’t
careful, he might find himself at Gretna Green after
all.

“
This is what I get for
shooting a man with a past,” she muttered.

Erroll was certain she intended an affront,
but he laughed again. “Miss Crenshaw, you have had some bad luck,
haven’t you?”

“
If I set a wedding date
far enough into the future, I imagine one of your paramours will
shoot you and save me the trouble,” she replied. “Although, if I
married you first, I would be a very rich widow.”

He answered with mock gravity, “You would be
only as rich as I choose to make you.”

“
Oh no, my lord, you are
going to make me a very generous marriage settlement. Rest assured,
when you die, I will be a wealthy widow.”

“
You seem quite certain I
will die first.”

“
If Lady Barrett is an
example of your past paramours, it is a foregone conclusion. Why
does the spiteful thing detest you so?”

“
I didn’t want to marry
her.”

“
I can’t say I blame you,”
Miss Crenshaw said.

They neared the tall bushes that marked the
garden entrance. “Indeed, why?” he asked.

“
I have never liked
her.”

“
In truth, I never much
liked her either,” he said.

“
Then you deserve
everything she has planned for you.”

Erroll was beginning to enjoy himself.
“Again, you are quite right,” he said.

A small cry from the garden brought him to a
halt and, an instant later, a young woman darted through the large
hedges on the left.

Miss Crenshaw stepped forward, but Erroll
held firm to the hand still entwined with his arm. “The lass will
come to us,” he whispered.

The girl reached them, and Miss Crenshaw
gasped. “Lady Gallagher?” This time, he allowed Miss Crenshaw to
pull free of his hold. “Are you all right? What are you doing
here?”

She glanced in the direction she had come,
then answered in a shaky voice, “Yes,”

A large figure separated from the dark
shadows of the garden, answering Miss Crenshaw’s second
question.

The man slowed. “Halifax,” Erroll said as he
neared.

“
Lord Halifax,” Miss
Crenshaw said.

The note of censure in her voice was obvious
to Erroll—to Halifax as well, when he said, “Miss Crenshaw.”

Lady Gallagher shrank closer to her as
Halifax stopped in front of them.

“
Out for a stroll, I see,”
Erroll commented.

“
Just as you are,” Halifax
replied without apology.

“
I hadn’t realized you and
Lady Gallagher were to be married,” Erroll replied. “My
felicitations.”

“
Don’t be a fool,” Halifax
shot back.

“
I am never a fool.” Erroll
looked at the girl. “Lady Gallagher, it would be best if you
returned to the party.”

She glanced at Lord Halifax.

“
No need to worry about
Neville, my dear. Run along.”

“
I will take her inside,”
Miss Crenshaw said.

“
Nonsense,” Erroll said.
“She will go straight to her mamma, where she should have remained
in the first place. Right, Lady Gallagher?”

“
Yes, my lord,” she said in
a small voice, but made no move to leave.

“
There is no reason your
mamma need learn of your mistake,” Erroll said. “I am sure you
learned your lesson.”

“
Oh, yes, my
lord.”

“
Good. Be sure to
straighten your dress before you enter the ballroom.”

She gave a small gasp and hurried toward the
mansion. Lord Halifax started after her.

“
I hear Lord Gallagher is a
tolerable shot,” Erroll said.

Halifax stopped and faced him. “Then you must
have heard I am a better shot.”

“
I think you flatter
yourself.”

“
I do not care for threats,
Rushton.”

“
I don’t blame you,” Erroll
replied. “I care nothing for them, either. Neither do I make
threats.”

“
What business is this of
yours?” Halifax demanded.

Erroll sighed. “None.”

“
Then we understand one
another.”

“
Sadly, we do
not.”

“
Then allow me to clarify,”
Halifax said. “Do not interfere in my affairs.”

“
Affairs?” Miss Crenshaw
repeated, and Erroll silently groaned. He’d known that would be the
word to prod the lady from her cooperative silence.

“
You would do well to keep
your fiancé in check, Rushton.”

“
How dare you?” Miss
Crenshaw seethed.

“
No need to worry, my
dear,” Erroll interjected. The lady was going to get him into more
trouble than he was already in. “Neville is no more a fool than I.
He is well aware that I am an even better shot than Lord
Gallagher.”

“
Is that a
challenge?”

Erroll didn’t care for the feral tone in the
man’s voice. “A reminder,” he said. “Really, Halifax, what do you
want with a girl barely out of the schoolroom?” He regretted the
question the moment it left his mouth. He knew exactly what the man
wanted with a young girl.

“
I did nothing you have not
done many times over,” Halifax said.

“
You are misinformed,”
Erroll said. “I have never seduced a girl of seventeen.”

“
You were never caught
seducing a girl of seventeen.”

“
As I said, you have been
misinformed. I do not seduce virgins.”

“
No.” Halifax shifted his
gaze onto Miss Crenshaw. “You have no such luck. I, on the other
hand, would never be foolish enough to get caught in a woman’s
bedchamber.”

“
Very wise on your part,”
Erroll replied. “Lady Gallagher’s father would not have waited for
a dawn appointment, but would have shot you on the
spot.”

“
You know very well about
being shot on the spot, do you not?”

Erroll laughed. “Indeed I do. Fortunately,
Miss Crenshaw was not trying to kill me. Lord Gallagher, however,
would put a bullet between your eyes.”

“
His precious daughter is
none the worse for wear,” Halifax snapped.

“
I am relieved to hear
that,” Erroll said. “Now, if you will excuse us, Miss Crenshaw and
I will resume our walk.”

He clasped her hand and slipped it into the
crook of his arm.

Halifax gave a derisive snort. “Heaven help
the man who interferes with your pleasure.”

Erroll paused and looked at him. “I see we do
understand one another, after all.”

“
My lord,” Miss Crenshaw
said. “Please.”

Erroll broke his stare and looked at her. “Of
course, my dear.” Without another look at the earl, he led her into
the garden.

Inside the private shadows of the hedges,
Erroll slowed. They’d had two interruptions already, and he was
frustrated enough to go after Neville and shoot him just for sport.
He wondered what else could go wrong, then cut off the thought. The
way night was unfolding, a third surprise could find him shanghaied
on a ship bound for China.

“
That was good of you,”
Miss Crenshaw said.

He grunted. “Hardly. I never liked Halifax.
I’ve been looking for a reason to put him in his place. He took a
great deal of the fun out of the prospect by being such an ass. I
had hoped for more.”

She laughed, not a girlish titter or a
sensual throaty sound, but a delighted laugh that surprised him by
warming his insides.

“
He does lack a certain
amount of character,” she said.

“
I thought you had the same
opinion of me,” Erroll said.

“
As you said, sir, you do
not seduce children.”

Oddly, he was glad she noted that difference,
however slight a gain.

“
You are a man of
intelligence,” she said.

“
Indeed?” He would have
thought she saw him as the worst sort of idiot.

“
Oh yes,” she said. “Most
men would have issued a dawn appointment at being called a seducer
of children. You were wise to let the slur pass.”

“
You know very little about
male thinking, madam. I did not let the slur pass.”

She patted his arm as if talking to a child.
“Forgive me, I did not mean to offend your masculine
sensibilities.”

“
Masculine sensibilities? I
do not possess any sort of sensibilities.”

“
Of course not. I see that
now.”

“
Do not patronize me. Are
you always this contrary?”

“
Now you are being unkind.
I apologized. “

“
Never mind the apology,”
he said. “I have never had much use for them. I have something far
more pleasant in mind for our walk.” Like picking up where they
left off in the parlor. Erroll stopped and swung her into his arms.
Her body met his in an explosion of soft and hard, and his cock
throbbed with long-denied need.

“
My goodness,” she
said.

“
My sentiments exactly.” He
lowered his mouth onto hers.

Her body melted in his arms and he suddenly
feared he would be apologizing after all. She deserved more than a
tumble in Lady Grendall’s garden…didn’t she? Her mouth parted and
he flicked his tongue against the moist tip of her tongue. She
gasped and his erection thickened. He slid his tongue inside,
forcing gentleness when he wanted nothing more than to
thrust—hard—in every way.

She clutched his shoulders and he envisioned
her hold tightening even harder when he brought her to pleasure. He
felt his pulse in his private parts and knew once the throbbing
reached his head he would be done for. He had nearly passed that
point when they’d been in their hiding place. He became aware of
her palms on his chest and thought of them sliding lower to cup his
erection. Erroll broke the kiss and buried his head in her
hair.