The Incorrigible Mr. Lumley (6 page)

“I felt our meeting yesterday did not
qualify as an introduction. Lady Hannah mentioned having met you at
Miss Brown’s tea, so I begged her assistance.”

“Yes.” Joanna turned to Lady Hannah. “I
didn’t recognize you at first. I’ve met so many people so quickly,
I’ve difficulty matching names to faces. Is your mother here?”

“Yes, but she’s sitting with one of her
friends, so my dear brother volunteered to escort me around the
room to find you. He is so good to me.”

Joanna wondered what cataclysmic events
would have to transpire for Robert to come to her aid thusly.
Thankfully Mama’s good spell continued, and as long as Mama enjoyed
these evenings Joanna was unlikely to find herself at his mercy.
Aunt Ophelia attended almost as many assemblies as Joanna, so she
would step in happily if the need arose. “You are lucky to have
such a kind brother.”

Mr. Lumley brushed aside his sister’s
praise. “Lady Hannah has a partner for the next set, but I find
myself in need. I’m certain your card filled first thing this
evening, but I can’t risk not asking. Is there a chance you’re
free?”

For a moment she couldn’t draw a breath.
He’d sought an introduction and wanted to dance with her. After
riding off so abruptly when she’d caught his horse. He was the last
man she would expect to see at the ball, much less dance with. But
he was inordinately handsome and his family well thought of, so it
might raise her standing in the eyes of others to be seen on his
arm. Not to mention, she couldn’t refuse him without causing a
scandal. “Yes, I am free.”

He responded with a half smile that sent a
wake of warm ripples throughout her.

Lady Hannah spoke. “My brother tells me you
enjoy riding. None of my friends in London cares for it. Would you
allow me to join you one day?”

“That would be delightful. I often ride
alone for that very reason.” In truth, other than Amelia, Joanna
had only a few friends in Town, and none had been raised around
horses like she had. They preferred to be seen sporting about in a
curricle, or some gentleman’s phaeton.

Lady Hannah’s next partner arrived and began
conversing with her, and Mr. Lumley moved to Joanna’s side. He bent
to speak near her ear. “I must thank you again for catching
Triton.”

Joanna smiled politely, wickedly trying to
remember if he’d actually thanked her at the time. “It’s really
nothing more than I would have done for anyone. Any horse, for that
matter.”

“You must be quite the horsewoman. I don’t
know that I’d allow my sisters to ride Triton, or any
stallion.”

Her smile dropped at his words. “Oh, you
restrict which horses your sisters may ride?”

He laughed. “It’s not likely they would
listen to my commands, if I did. I think Hannah is much like
you.”

He continued to watch her, and his gaze
probed deep into her soul. She shivered at the familiarity he
presumed. It was not as if he could actually know her secrets just
by sight, though. She lifted her chin a small measure but didn’t
look away. “How so?”

“She knows her mind and refuses to be told
what she thinks, what she believes, if it runs contrary to her
mind.” His voice was tinged with admiration. That surprised
Joanna.

She tipped her head to the side in a nod. “I
think she and I might become good friends, in that case.” Against
her will, her lips spread slightly. She didn’t wish to give the
impression the offer of friendship extended to Mr. Lumley, too.
After their brusque meeting, she would need to know him better
before deciding that.

The musicians played a few warning notes.
Mr. Lumley offered his arm. “We must take our place.” He led her
onto the floor, coming to stand in the two lines beside Lady Hannah
and her partner. Amelia was nowhere in sight.

When Joanna’s gaze returned to her partner,
Mr. Lumley winked. She gasped. What was he about? She hadn’t taken
him for the flirtatious type. He was showing himself to be
everything but the snobbish prig she’d first met. Instead of
responding, she pushed her single, long curl behind her shoulder
and looked away. She would not play his games.

A shiver of curiosity deep inside begged her
to reconsider.

As the music began, Mr. Lumley walked
forward and circled her. “Do you attend many race meetings?”

“As many as I can. I’m afraid my mother
expects me to stay in London for the Season, so I’ll miss many of
the spring meetings.”

He continued to time his conversation for
when they drew close. “Yes, mothers are like that. Mine has similar
ideas about my time.”

“Yours is eager for you to find a match? I
thought that urgency was reserved for eldest sons.”

Chuckling softly, he took her hand in the
next set of steps. “Perhaps in some families. I have the
inconvenience of having parents who married for love. My mother
wants the same for all eight of her children.”

Eight children. She hadn’t realized his
family was so large. Lady Hannah had been alone with Lady
Bridgethorpe when Joanna met her, so Joanna was uncertain how many
sisters she might have. Like most girls, Joanna had longed for a
sister while growing up. And there were times in recent years where
having someone to confide in would have been an immense pleasure.
Amelia was the dearest of friends and confidants, but having to
write letters when they weren’t in London took away the joy of the
moment when there was news to share.

Joanna and Mr. Lumley separated and strolled
around the other couples. When they met again, she asked, “Are any
of your brothers or sisters married?”

He shook his head, his smile becoming
flirtatious once more. “My mother would tell you I am married to
the stables, but I beg to differ. The horses keep me busy, I’ll
admit, but I haven’t felt the need to marry before Knightwick
does.”

Joanna heard Lady Hannah’s laughter, as Mr.
Lumley must have, for he nodded her way. “I believe Lady Hannah
will be the first of us to find love.”

Something in his voice made Joanna look up
in time to see the wistful emotions passing over his face. All too
soon, he was again the affable gentleman. She spent the rest of the
dance trying to determine what his thoughts had been in that
moment. The idea of losing a beloved sister, perhaps. She couldn’t
imagine he wished to be first to find love, after saying he was in
no hurry to marry.

Men were such a silly sort. They knew they
must marry at some point, but worked so hard at making certain it
couldn’t happen. There must be a kind of freedom in bachelor life
that women didn’t experience. She had friends who swore they
preferred spinsterhood, but Joanna wondered if that was sour grapes
speaking. Even with her concerns of losing the time to spend in the
stables, she looked forward to having a home of her own, and
children to share her days.

When their set ended, Mr. Lumley walked her
back to where her mother sat. “May I get you a glass of
lemonade?”

“No, thank you.” She fanned herself with her
silk fan. None of their friends had returned yet. Finding a topic
of conversation with this man was easy, though. “Will you be racing
more than one horse this year?”

“Yes, Lumley’s Lass is doing well. And your
brother’s runners? How many is he entering?”

“Patriot is the only one he’s raced so far.
He doesn’t tell me his plans, however, so I don’t know about future
meetings.”

“I realize I misspoke earlier, but I do find
it unusual that he lets you…no, wait, that will get me into trouble
again. I don’t use my runners as pleasure horses while they are
competing. I worry about injury. Your brother doesn’t seem to have
that concern.”

Joanna laughed, knowing just how wrong that
was. “When Patriot leaves London for the next meeting, I won’t see
him again until I return to Hampshire after the Season. I’ve argued
in vain I trained that horse, and most of the ones he’s bred in the
last few years, so I ought to know how to ride without injuring
him.”

A faint line appeared across his brow as he
looked at her. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were serious when you
mentioned training horses. I thought, perhaps, your brother humored
you. Do you work with another trainer?”

“No, Father released the man who worked for
him a year before his death. My brother and I both work with the
foals, but mine seemed to be more competitive as they matured.
Robert reluctantly let me continue, especially when Father died and
he had so many duties to attend.”

Mr. Lumley tipped his head to one side as he
continued to study her. “You must have a special touch.”

Joanna smiled, but had to look away. Meeting
his gaze sent shivers through her. Was it simply because he allowed
her to talk horses in a ballroom, something she never imagined she
would do, or was there some other emotion he awakened? Before she
could think longer on it, Amelia joined them and the conversation
turned to more acceptable topics. But as she danced with various
partners the rest of the evening, her thoughts continually landed
on Mr. Lumley.

The ride through Hyde Park the Lumleys and
Lady Joanna had planned for the following day was postponed due to
rain, but the next day dawned clear and bright. Late that
afternoon, David watched Lady Joanna descend the staircase, her
pale green riding habit making her blonde hair that much brighter
beneath her matching hat. She tugged on her gloves as she came
down, apparently unaware of her audience. When she looked up, her
step faltered, but she caught herself with a hand on the
banister.

He was able to hide the reflexive jerk of
his body, scrambling to catch her if she fell. He walked toward
her, holding out a hand. “My lady, you will have all the other
young ladies scurrying to their modistes after they glimpse your
gown.”

Lady Joanna shook her head. “Such a
taradiddle. But they might look at your waistcoat and presume we
planned our dress to match.”

He glanced down, not remembering what he’d
donned, and saw his green woolen waistcoat. “Imagine that. Lady
Hannah wore lavender, so we three shall look like a rose garden.”
She took the arm he offered and he led her outside where Hannah sat
on her horse awaiting them.

Lady Joanna’s groom held Patriot’s bridle,
and had placed a mounting block for her to use. Once she was
comfortably in the saddle, the three riders started down the street
at a leisurely pace.

Hannah rode up on Lady Joanna’s left side.
“I hope you have no plans to run your horse. I could never keep up
while riding sidesaddle. You must come to Bridgethorpe during the
summer so we might sneak away and be scandalous horsewomen.”

Lady Joanna laughed. “The other ladies I’ve
met in Town grow faint when I mention riding astride.”

“As well they should,” David chimed in as he
came up on her right. “Young ladies should spend their time
improving their minds, not baring their ankles on the heath.”

“You seem to have forgotten how much you,
Knightwick and your friend Laurence Pierce bared while swimming in
the pond.” Hannah’s smirk promised to embarrass him in as many ways
as possible.

“A lady would never mention such a thing,
nor admit to having lurked in the trees when her brothers and a
friend were skinny-dipping,” he argued.

“I was not lurking. I was sketching the
hollow tree. You all made such a racket I ran to see what was
amiss. Thankfully you were all in the water by the time I arrived,
or I might have shocked our art tutor with my advanced anatomy
education.”

David had to laugh along with Lady Joanna.
Hannah was too bold by half. He decided to take control of the
conversation. “Do you draw, Lady Joanna?”

“A little, but not very well. And never
studies of the physical form. Although I’ve an entire booklet of
horses from our stables.”

He had to drop back when they came into
traffic, but he directed them toward less busy streets so they
might ride three abreast. “That sounds like a defiant daughter’s
excuse to spend more time with her horses.”

She glanced David’s way. “My mother couldn’t
understand how deep my passion for them ran. And my brother was
certain I’d outgrow my love of riding.”

“As did mine,” Hannah said. “It’s as if we
could have no interest whatsoever in horses once we begin to wear
our hair up.”

David leaned forward to glare at his sister
on the other side of Lady Joanna. He’d neglected to mention he
wished to build a friendship with the lady, apparently. “Your
demonstrated interest tended toward braiding manes and naming
foals. Forgive us for not realizing they included racing contest
entries.”

Lady Joanna laughed. “I love all things
about the stables.”

“Surely not the odors,” he said.

She reached down and patted Patriot’s neck.
“The odors are part of the package. Admittedly, I prefer the sweet
smell of alfalfa and fresh straw to the earthier scents of the
early morning. But you won’t find me fainting dead away should I
step in something whilst crossing the street.”