A Lord Rotheby's Holiday Bundle (103 page)

Thank God. While she didn’t
particularly care to have anything more to do with the man, the
preponderance of him giving her the same attentions again was
enough to convince her she might need to seek some assistance from
Somerton, of all people. She shuddered at the thought.

With him, as well, there
had been no reoccurrence of that night’s events. She couldn’t say
it had been an entirely
un
pleasant kiss—far from it, truth be
told—but it had left her more than just a little baffled. The man
had an uncanny ability to intimidate her. Jane was none too keen
for him to see the effect he had upon her, lest he use it to his
advantage—and her disadvantage. But at the same time she was drawn
to him, as though some unknown force pulled the two of them
together, as though they were meant to be together.

What a laughable thought! She, a mere
country vicar’s daughter, meant to be with the Duke of Somerton? If
he hadn’t been thoroughly and completely disgusted by her actions
and still wanted some sort of connection with her, at most it would
be as a mistress—something Jane would never condescend herself to
become.

In all honesty, he’d made no
indication that he intended to pursue any sort of connection with
her since that moment, so Jane would do far better to push such
thoughts from her mind and move on to more important and pressing
matters—such as Lord Eldredge’s continued attentions, which, at the
moment, led her to believe he might soon be making her an
offer.

Drat it all.

How had she allowed things to come to
this? She never intended to lead the man along or give him the
wrong impression, but somehow she feared she had done just
that.

She
had
danced with him at a number of
balls. But how many other gentlemen had she danced with at each of
those balls? Far too many for her to count, to be sure.

And yes, she had spoken with him and
sat next to him at Lady Kirkaldy’s musicale Thursday last. But
honestly, she would have done the same with virtually any gentleman
in her acquaintance, and was forced to cut her attendance at the
entertainment short when Charlotte had become a bit too animated
during the intermission, knocking a glass of sherry over and
spilling it over the front of Jane’s gown. At that point, she’d
been forced—or should she say blessed?—to leave so she could tidy
herself up again.

Still, there was no attraction between
them, or at least none that Jane felt. She was afraid—very
afraid—that Lord Eldredge had developed a growing affection for
her. Perhaps a tendre, even. She simply must find some way of
convincing him she was unsuitable for him, and sooner, rather than
later.

He had called on her every afternoon
since their first meeting. At first, he would sit in the crowded
drawing room at Hardwicke House and speak with her about the
weather or the upcoming routs she might attend.

Then, he had started offering to
escort not only herself, but also Sophie, to Gunter’s for an ice or
for a lovely, afternoon stroll through Hyde Park.

Each of these endeavors was perfectly
acceptable to Jane—because she was never alone with the viscount.
He was never granted any opportunity to speak with her more
earnestly, more privately, because they were always surrounded by a
chaperone or two, at the very least, or often (as in the case of
the various balls) a veritable army of the same.

That had all changed now. Double
drat.

When he’d arrived this afternoon, he
had begged Cousin Henrietta for permission to take Jane for a walk
through Hyde Park—alone.

Cousin Henrietta, thrilled with the
progress of their “budding courtship,” as she was more than happy
to refer to it, had all too happily granted him his request. She’d
not even seen the need to send Meg along as a chaperone, since
countless others would undoubtedly be out at the park doing the
same thing. No harm to Jane’s reputation could possibly come from
such a stroll through the park with a perfectly respectable and
eligible gentleman, after all, so the dowager had practically
pushed her out the door with him with a smile as wide as the
English Channel.

“
It is such a beautiful
day, is it not, Miss Matthews?” he asked her as they ambled down
Grosvenor Square, heading away from Hardwicke House.

Lord Eldredge was rather tall, though
still stood about half a head below the duke. Drat, drat, drat.
There she went again, thinking about that blasted man. Jane growled
at herself beneath her breath and pushed the thoughts aside before
she answered his innocuous question.

“
Yes, my lord, it’s quite
lovely today. How very lucky we are to have the sun shining so
brilliantly. I am a bit bored with the constant clouds and rain
we’ve had of late.” Not to mention the constant discussion with
Lord Eldredge of the weather.

He smiled down at her, a
smile that would easily dazzle Charlotte. Handsome would not begin
to do the man full justice—he was downright gorgeous. Everything
about him was utter perfection, from his white teeth all in a neat
row, to his chestnut brown hair that fell
just so
across his forehead, to the
manner in which he held Jane’s parasol over her in just the precise
position to block the sun from damaging her complexion while still
allowing her to see for miles ahead without straining. He was
everything any normal, reasonable young lady would want in a
match—handsome, genial, titled, wealthy...

Clearly, Jane must not be normal. Or
possibly she was simply unreasonable.

Or, perhaps, she was neither normal
nor reasonable.

He patted her hand where she held onto
his elbow, almost in the way one would pat a dog for fetching and
returning a stick. “Yes, I’m afraid we’ve had far more cloudy days
of late than sunny days. But all that rain has produced some of the
most beautiful flowers I’ve seen in Town in years. Why, look at
this lovely field of daffodils! They are quite vibrant, don’t you
agree?”

“
Yes, quite.” Dear Lord,
must they discuss all of the flora and fauna of Britain on this
walk? She might never survive a full day in his company without
wishing to run screaming in the opposite direction for more
invigorating conversation.

“
I daresay, if I might be
so bold, Miss Matthews, you would look ravishing in such a shade.”
When she didn’t immediately respond, he rushed on, “Oh dear, have I
overstepped my bounds with you? I had thought...er, well, I
had
hoped
that
we...that we might be ready to move into more familiar
territory.”

Drat. She’d been right in
her assumptions, then. Jane really wished she had been wrong about
this premonition, but this man, for some unknown reason, thought
she held an affection for him which she absolutely
couldn’t
, even if
she
would
.

Lord Eldgedge certainly was
a very kind man, and he would be a perfectly acceptable—even
desirable—match for some lucky young lady. But why must
she
be cursed with such
luck?

Everything happening in her life of
late seemed to be having the opposite effect from what she
intended. In all the time she had been in London, she’d still been
unable to sneak out to look at potential storefronts for her future
business, let alone do anything else in preparation for it. Cousin
Henrietta had kept her so busy with social obligations that there’d
been no time for Jane to do anything on her own.

But none of that mattered at the
moment. Lord Eldredge was looking at her with a slightly pained
expression, but one that he was desperately trying to hide from
her. Hurting him more than necessary was out of the question. But
she must make the man understand that there could be no future
between them.

Double drat. “My lord—“

“
Please. Call me Miles. I
would really love to hear you say my Christian name.”

Oh, goodness. She might
have already made a bigger mull of things than she’d originally
thought. “
My lord
,
I believe it would be highly inappropriate for us to behave with so
much familiarity at this point in time, sir.”

“
Is it truly too soon, Miss
Matthews? Have I made some dreadful mistake, then? You don’t hold
me in the same affection in which I hold you?” He paused and stared
out across the park they were nearing. “Because I
do
hold you in a certain
affection. I think I might—”

“
Oh please, sir. Do
not
say the words.” Drat,
drat, drat. How had she allowed this man to fall in love with her?
And she hadn’t seen it coming at all, even though Cousin Henrietta
must have noticed. Why else would she have been so keen to rush
Jane out the door with him, if not for the glimmer of hope she had
for their future?

Dozens of fashionable ladies and
gentlemen loomed in the not-so-distant foreground. Lord Eldredge
stopped their progress before they were within earshot of any
potential gossips and turned to face her directly.

“
But I must. I believe I
love you, Miss Matthews. I brought you out here alone today to ask
you for your hand—to ask you to marry me.” His earnest eyes bored
holes into her. “To ask you to become my viscountess.”

“
Please do not ask that of
me. Not now.”
Not ever.

“
Then when? Oh dear...you
aren’t...is there another?” Anguish tore across his
face.

“
No, of course not,” Jane
all but snapped. Gracious, she needed to get a hold on herself. She
took a moment and willed her voice to return to that of a sane,
calm woman, not a raving shrew. “There is no one else in my
affections. But—”

“
But you simply need more
time,” Lord Eldredge cut in, breathing a sigh of relief. Blast and
damn, why could he not understand? “Don’t say no, then, Miss
Matthews. Not today. I’ll just have to increase my efforts to woo
you, and ask you again when I believe you might give me the answer
my heart desires.”

Oh, damnation.

He resumed his position by her side
and returned her hand to his arm. “Shall we continue to the park,
then?” He pasted a false smile, betrayed by the hurt lingering in
his eyes, upon his face and led her on.

When they had only walked a few more
paces down the lane, the Duke of Somerton, of all people, pulled up
alongside them in his curricle, heading the opposite direction
toward Hardwicke House. He inclined his head in their
direction.

Jane’s attention, however, turned away
from him and to the pair of horses leading his chariot. Her heart
beat a frenetic tattoo against her chest and she found it terribly
difficult to take a full breath, let alone hide her panic from
anyone present. Instinctively, she pulled herself as far away from
the beasts as she could, but Lord Eldredge placed a hand against
her back and held her still.

“
Good afternoon, Your
Grace,” he called. “Miss Matthews and I were just out for an
afternoon promenade through the park.”

“
Eldredge,” came the
clipped response. “And Miss Matthews,” followed, a bit more
softly.

For a brief minute, Jane was able to
pull her eyes away from the rabid beasts snorting and rearing their
heads in her direction to look up at him. His eyes singed her with
their intensity before they returned to her escort.

For at least that moment, she was glad
for Lord Eldredge’s support against her back. Her fear of the
horses might have been enough to send her into a fit of the vapors
of its own accord, but with the heat of the duke’s anger added to
it, she would otherwise surely be flat on the ground.

But why on earth was he so furious?
Had she unwittingly broken another of the man’s ever-changing
rules? She was just preparing herself to ask him that very question
when the horse nearest to Lord Eldredge, and therefore nearest to
herself, reared back against the harness and whinnied. Blood
rushing downward from Jane’s head all the way to her toes. At any
moment, she might disgrace herself before not only the duke and
Lord Eldredge, but also the growing crowd passing the afternoon in
the park.

Sit. She needed to sit.

And breathe. Breathing was an absolute
necessity.

Jane waved her free hand toward a
nearby bench. “I...I...think I should—”

But then it all went black.

~ * ~

“
You should have bloody
well caught her,” growled out a familiar masculine
voice.

“
And perhaps you should
have controlled your horses,” countered another. “Couldn’t you see
she was afraid? She was shaking visibly, you know.”

“
I might ask you the same
question, Eldredge. You took her out from my house, away from my
mother and sisters. You were responsible for her health and
safety.”

“
If you thought me an
unsuitable escort for her, you should have made your feelings known
before now.”

The arguing voices were causing her
head to throb, and Jane had the uncomfortable realization that she
was somehow perched between the two men blaming each other for her
situation, one hard male body pressed against each of her sides,
holding her upright.