The Rake and the Recluse REDUX (a time travel romance) (86 page)

She stared at him, her eyes clouded.

He chuckled. “Their fiery mama, The Right Honorable Fallon Trumbull, Countess of Pemberley, is Gaelic. Now, remember the letter B?”

She blushed.

“In Gaelic, the B, coupled with the H…” He took her small hand in his and traced a H into her palm.

“H was for hand.”

“Yes, the B and the H together make the sound of a V. Do you remember the V?” He wickedly held two fingers up in the shape of a V.

She nodded again, her breath catching as her mouth went dry.

Perry smiled and let go of her hand. “That wasn’t very nice of me,” he admitted with a slanted grin. “I very much enjoy the effect I have on you. You have much the same effect on me, in fact.
Indeed
, I’m not convinced this little garden party is all that good an idea.”

“Oh, but it is. I would love to see Regent’s and the Zoological Gardens. Once we leave here, I imagine I’ll never return. Who, exactly, are Saoirse, Maebh, Poppy, and Isadore?”

“More cousins. There are eleven all told—the four ladies and seven gentlemen. They are all ladies of varying rank and of marriageable age. They came out together a year ago, to the disdain of the matchmaking mamas of the
ton.”

The truth was that every one of Perry’s cousins was stunningly handsome. The male cousins were built like their common grandsire: tall, broad in the shoulder, and lean in the hip, while the ladies took on the figures of their respective mamas. But the wives and daughters of the Trumbull lineage were never hard to look at. As different as they all were, the common thread between them was a mesmerizing countenance. Beyond that distracting exterior they were willful and all-encompassing, a difficulty for any weak man—and their children followed suit.

Lilly stared at him in awe. She understood the sheer energy and power of Perry, and when his brother was involved it was multiplied, not merely doubled. She couldn’t fathom what it would be like to be surrounded by seven men from the Trumbull lineage. She sighed. At least this would be the women. If they were anything like Francine she would certainly be terrified at first, but she hoped they would let her be.

Perry pushed back from the table. “Harper.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Have Gardner ready the landau, tell Kerrigan we are to be underway shortly, and have Cook prepare a basket for six, I believe.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Perry turned back to Lilly. “As for you, I will see you soon.”

She smiled at him warily. “Just—” She looked up imploringly.

“Yes, my sweet?”

She reached up, her hands tracing the scars across her face as though they were Braille, then looked down. “What will they—”

“They won’t. They know nothing of you, of your injuries, where you came from. They will accept you because you are with me. That is the only demonstration they will need to allow your presence.” He paused, seeing the true question about her scars. He took her hand and pulled her up before him. “Wear the crimson—the reflection of the color on your skin is rather stunning,” he said as he traced her chin. “It causes your cinnamon eyes to glow.” He held her gaze. “And the sweet red of your mouth to deepen.” He swept his thumb lightly across her lips. “No one will notice anything else. I certainly didn’t when first I saw you in it.”

She could scarcely breathe. “As you wish, my lord,” she replied
sotto voce.

His eyes narrowed upon her as he considered her words, then he released her quickly and turned and walked out. He had some plans to make for Lilly’s next lesson, and not much time to complete them.

Perry stood at the base of the stairs in a dove grey suit with a violet waistcoat and grey neck cloth. Her heart seized. He held a matching grey top hat with a band in the same hue as his waistcoat. His trousers were pulled in a straight line to his shoes. He was pulling on his dark grey gloves as she started down the stairs, his thoughts traversing his face. Lilly was amazed at the way his expressions could both thrill and ease her.

Perry looked up and graced her with a smile of pure excitement as he examined her crimson dress. It really did work to mask her scars in the most amazing way. The filtered light thorough her bonnet reflected off the bright colored dress and cast the same pale pink across her entire face, blending away the myriad of tiny scars until all one saw were her beautiful features. He would have to pay his respects to that seamstress. She was most certainly a master.

She returned the smile as he leaned toward her.

“The dress is beautiful, but the vision is quite breathtaking.”

Lilly blushed violently. “Harper, we’re off,” Perry grunted.

The landau came to a halt in front of a lovely Georgian town house of five bays and three floors. The impressive columns stretched the full front of the façade and a large open porch which overlooked the central gardens on the square and Kensington Gardens just across the road. Several sets of French doors were set into it, and as Perry reached to pull Lilly from the carriage, the central door swept open and a bustle of silks and satins burst forth.

“Perry, don’t you dare, we are so desperate for entertainment we’ve been watching the street for your arrival! Let’s be off, not another moment to spare,” said an excited woman with a riot of untamed curls flailing in all directions about her.

Perry chuckled and released Lilly, letting her slip back to the seat.

“Perry, top down! Top down! It’s a beautiful day, what are you hiding in there? Goodness, if I didn’t know better, I would guess—”

“Poppy dear, we were in such a rush to attend you we hadn’t the time,” Perry cut in.

“Oh, well, of course, I beg your pardon. However, now you’re here, we can pause one moment to set the roof aside,” Poppy said with a brilliant grin.

Perry looked to Gardner and Kerrigan, who jumped from the box to fold the enclosure and open the carriage.

“Much better—oh!” exclaimed a tiny, fairy-like girl with skin of porcelain and hair like the sun-kissed curling wisps of clouds.

The gaggle of cousins swarmed around Perry to get a look at the girl inside the coach, eyes wide and jaws dropped.

Perry cleared his throat. “Might I present Miss Lilly Steele, of Kelso,” he said resolutely.

A collective gasp sounded from the group and Perry chuckled. “Ladies, please, if you might stop swarming about, I could introduce each of you.”

“Oh my, of course,” came the voice from the girl closest the door.

Perry bowed and handed her carefully into the landau. “Miss Lilly, I present you Lady Isadore Calder. You met her brother, the Marquess of Canford, earlier,” he reminded her.

Lilly smiled as Isadore took the space nearest her.

“So very pleased to make your acquaintance, my dear,” Isadore said as she patted her on the knee. “What a beautiful dress. You must tell me the name of your seamstress. Why, it’s most beguiling!”

“Thank you, my lady,” Lilly said, watching her speech carefully. “You would need to ask Perry about the maker, though. He would know better than I.”

Isadore laughed and cast a sideways glance at Perry, who shifted uncomfortably. “You don’t say. Well, I will do that, but I beg you, call me Izzy. We’ll all get confused with all the
my lady’s
floating around, and everyone in the family calls me Izzy, so you must as well.” She gave Lilly a bright smile and patted her knee again.

Lilly looked up to see Perry quickly handing another girl in.

“Lilly, I would like to present Lady Saoirse.” He pronounced the name carefully. “And Lady Maebh.”

“Well, I must say you are a beautiful respite from the usual—”

“Maebh! Hush now, do not endeavor to embarrass our treasured cousin.” Saoirse turned and sat directly across from Lilly, pulling Maebh with her.

Lilly looked into the vivid faces of the sisters. Saoirse was tiny, her skin smooth and creamy and glowing amidst the wild mane of ginger curls that seemed to move on the breeze with a life of their own. Maebh was similar—at least in spirit—to the curls that adorned her sister, but her form was tall and willowy, her long ginger locks twisted on her crown.

“So you hail from Kelso—does this mean you are familiar with Roxleigh? Have you seen his Friesians?” Saoirse asked excitedly.

Lilly smiled at the girls, but Perry interjected another cousin before she could reply.

“
En fin
, the Lady Poppy,” he said, handing her into the landau and following her up. Poppy perched on the edge of the seat next to Lilly.

“Lilly, I’m so pleased to make your acquaintance, as we all are. I’m a bit surprised that Thorne managed to arrange this outing without a word as to the company.”

Lilly smiled at Poppy, watching her bounce and sway on the seat as she talked, her dark curls arranged over a pair of the deepest green eyes, wide as saucers, bright and sparkling like Perry’s.

“Calder did mention a surprise,” sweet, blonde Isadore said.

“I had no idea it would be this type of surprise,” Maebh said, inspecting Perry. It wasn’t often he introduced a lady to his cousins. In general, they were noticed in passing at the balls or on the town.

Perry looked from one bench to the next, wondering where to part the sea of silks to have a seat. He felt like a giant towering over a conquest.

As if in answer, Saoirse pushed Maebh over and patted the seat between them with a grin.

Perry sat carefully between them, avoiding their finery. He leaned back into the seat and stretched his arms out along the back of the carriage to prevent crushing his cousins.

“We’re off, Gardner.” He then gave a nod to Kerrigan, who mounted the rear of the landau with wide eyes.

The girls’ giggling sounded like a cacophony of sweet songbirds taking flight. Only Maebh didn’t join in their mirth.

Perry saw her glare and knew instantly the reason for her ill temper. A family outing was never used for his kind of conquest; it was sacrosanct, something for the family and those who were to be family. He shifted under her unspoken scrutiny, then returned the glare.

Maebh looked away, concentrating on the girl Perry had brought into the fold. There was something about Lilly she couldn’t quite grasp. She wished she could get a clear view of her face beneath that bonnet. She wanted to study her eyes and discover what it was that had Perry captured.

Perry grinned when she looked away, ever wary of the danger of his empathic cousin, then rested his gaze on Lilly, who was attempting to keep up with the countless questions volleyed her way. He prepared himself to intercede the moment she became unsure or uncomfortable.

“No—yes—yes—well, I don’t—oh, you mean—no, no, I didn’t—well, I never did becau—oh, all right.” She fielded the questions admirably, much to his delight.

Perry had Gardner circle the park toward the outside lane, then pull up adjacent to the lake. His men jumped from the carriage and Kerrigan retrieved rugs from the boot and spread them near a giant oak, then ran back for several large baskets of provisions.

Perry stood at the landau, handing down the endless train of females to the emerald carpet of the sprawling lawns before them. They milled in a swish of skirts and parasols, awaiting the last of them to alight. Only after Lilly descended did they turn as one, heading jovially toward the repast. Perry did not lose her hand once she was afoot; he wrapped it around his arm, escorting her to the picnic.