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Fighting back angry tears, she hurried out of the shrubbery. The scrunch of footsteps behind her told her that the earl was following and she quickened her pace until she was almost running.
‘Wait—Mary—Miss Endacott. Please!’ He caught her arm, forcing her to stop. ‘If you return to the house in such distress it will not go unnoticed. My sister would not rest until she had the truth from you.’
‘I am not distressed,’ she flung at him. ‘I am furious!’
He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and held it out.
She looked at it for a moment, wanting to consign it and its owner to Hades, but her eyes were wet and it would be difficult to remain dignified with a streaming nose. She took the proffered handkerchief and proceeded to dry her face.
The fine linen was freshly laundered, but mixed in with the clean smell of soap was a hint of spices, the same that had filled her senses while he was kissing her. Even now the memory of it made her ache with longing to be in his arms again. To repeat the experience. Heavens, how could she feel this way when he had treated her in such a fashion? Yet a tiny whisper of conscience could not be silenced. She had tried to shock him, but she had wanted him to think her a radical, not a, a...
‘You have good reason to be angry,’ he said quietly. ‘I have offered you a gross insult and I would not blame you for wishing to make my abominable behaviour known to the world. It is no more than I deserve, but to do so would reflect badly upon others. Upon my sister and your cousin, and I do not think you would want that.’
‘It was not only your behaviour that was at fault,’ she muttered, incurably truthful. ‘I have not acted with proper decorum and constraint, where you are concerned.’
She remembered when he had come upon her by the stream, her skirts pulled up around her knees. The image filled her mind, clear as a painting. Might he not think she had been deliberately leading him on?
‘What did you do, apart from take pity on a stranger and introduce yourself to me at the Bentincks?’
So he had not misinterpreted their meeting by the stream. Alongside her relief another emotion bubbled up. Her legs from knee to toe had been on plain view. A young man had once praised her neat ankles and now she felt a tinge of disappointment that the earl had not even noticed them.
‘No...’ he shook his head ‘...I have repaid your kindness very ill, but I do not want to make a bad situation any worse by subjecting you to questions you would rather not answer and possibly causing a rift between Hattie and her friends.’
‘Much as it pains me to admit it, you are right,’ she said bitterly, ‘I would not want anyone else to know of this.’ She took a few deep breaths and said coldly, ‘I am better now. Let us return to the house. We will forget this conversation ever took place, if you please.’
‘As you wish.’ He stepped aside. ‘Shall we go?’
They set off, keeping a space between them, as befitted distant acquaintances.
I might have been his mistress. I might have shared his bed.
Mary buried the thought. A free union, without marriage, to a man she truly loved and respected, that was something she might one day contemplate, but not a brief coupling with someone who was almost a stranger. She had not been prepared for how strong a lustful attraction could be. Her response to the feel of his lips on hers, the instinct to return his kiss, to mould herself to his body, that had shocked and surprised her, but Mary told herself now to put aside her distress and embarrassment. Such an experience would help her to be a better mentor to her pupils.
The gardens seemed to go on forever. Had they really walked so far? At last they reached the house. Lord Randall opened the door for Mary to enter. She dared not look up at him, but her eyes strayed to his body as she passed, remembering how she had laid her head against that superbly tailored coat, taken in the detail of each minute stitch, the fine embroidery on his waistcoat, the intricate folds of his neckcloth. The shameful thing was she wanted it all to happen again.
No, Mary, stop it!
‘I am leaving the day after tomorrow,’ he informed her, his steady voice indicating that his thoughts at least had moved on. ‘I shall take my leave of Mr and Mrs Bentinck now, so there will be no need for us to see each other again.’
‘None at all,’ she replied. ‘I shall make sure both your handkerchiefs are laundered and returned to you by then.’ She preceded him into the drawing room. She kept her head up, hoping her face showed no signs of the turmoil within. Only a little longer and her ordeal would be over.
‘So there you are. I vow I was about to send a search party into the shrubbery!’ Harriett’s knowing glance brought the colour flooding back to Mary’s cheeks.
She is teasing. She cannot know anything.
‘Quite unnecessary,’ Lord Randall responded coolly and Mary felt a sudden urge to laugh. His tone held the merest hint of disapproval for his sister’s levity, as if he was affronted she should even consider he might be dallying in the gardens. ‘We stopped to admire the rhododendron ponticum on the west terrace.’
‘Yes, yes, it has taken very well, has it not? I sent to Hackney for it, to Mr Loddiges’s nursery.’ Mr Graveney chattered on, delighted to discover the earl shared his interest in horticulture.
Mary took her seat beside Harriett, relieved that the conversation had moved on, although her mind was still too disordered for her to take part. She almost jumped when Harriett reached out and took her hand.
‘It has been so good to see you again, Mary, are you sure it is necessary for you to leave on Saturday?’
‘Imperative, I assure you,’ she responded. ‘My assistants at the school are very good, but they write to tell me there is a great deal of activity in Brussels—’
Lord Randall cut in. ‘I did not know your school was in Brussels.’
She managed to look him in the eye, albeit briefly.
‘Because I did not mention it, my lord.’
‘No.’ The earl turned a frowning look upon his sister. ‘Odd that Harriett should not mention it, either.’
‘Oh, well, it slipped my mind, Brother, but it is a most fortuitous circumstance for you, Mary.’
Mary shook her head. ‘I do not see...’
‘While you were in the gardens we came up with the most perfect plan.’ Harriett continued as if she had not spoken. ‘Mrs Bentinck and I agreed that we should feel so much happier to know you were not making that long journey alone, Mary. So Randall shall escort you!’
Chapter Three (#ulink_b1fa07ab-4ac8-5f1d-a183-3186b27b4bc1)
‘No!’
‘Impossible!’ Randall’s curt exclamation was as instant as Mary’s faint denial. He glowered at his sister. ‘Impossible,’ he said again. ‘I depart on Friday and will be travelling in haste.’
‘No, how can that be so when you have two carriages with you?’
‘But I shall be riding.’
‘I am sure Mary will not object to being alone in your carriage.’
‘But I do object,’ put in Mary, her colour considerably heightened. ‘I could not possibly impose upon Lord Randall.’
‘Now it is not like you to be missish for the sake of it,’ said Mr Bentinck. ‘What could be better than to have his lordship escort you to Brussels? It means you will have to leave a day earlier, of course, but Mrs Graveney has already told us that the earl has his own private yacht at Folkestone. So much more comfortable than taking the packet from Dover, what?’
‘I do not want to give up my last day with you,’ replied Mary firmly.
Randall glared at his sister, willing her not to continue with this farce. She ignored him.
‘That will be a wrench, of course, Mary, but I am sure Mr and Mrs Bentinck would be much happier to know you have an escort.’
‘I do not need an escort, Harriett, I am an independent woman.’
‘Of course you are, but you are also a sensible one, and with Wellington gathering so many troops together you may find it difficult to get a passage from Dover, not to mention the trouble you might experience once you reach the Continent. And it is not as if Randall does not have room for you,’ Harriett continued, breaching her brother’s next line of defence. ‘I saw the two carriages when they arrived; there is plenty of space for you and your baggage. Well, Justin, what do you say?’
Randall surveyed the assembled company. What could he say? To refuse Mary his escort would be extremely uncivil and against his own code of honour. That she was equally unhappy with the situation was evident. He managed a stiff bow.
‘If Miss Endacott would accept a place in my carriage, I would be only too delighted to escort her to Brussels.’
* * *
Mary cast a fulminating glance at the earl. She had been hoping he would provide some incontestable excuse why he could not take her up. If she was to refuse his offer now her cousin would be sure to ask why, and Harriett, too, would not rest until she had uncovered the true reason.
Mr Graveney broke the tense silence with a little laugh.
‘Poor Miss Endacott. It goes against the grain, I am sure, to be beholden to any man, does it not? And an earl, at that. I am sure you would much rather make your own way to Brussels.’
‘I would indeed.’
‘But my wife is quite right, my dear. With the current unrest in Europe you would be much safer travelling under escort and there could be none better than Lord Randall. We would all of us sleep easier in our beds to know you were with him.’
‘It is best to give in,’ said Harriett cheerfully. ‘Remember the Laytmor motto, Mary, semper laurifer. We always succeed. You cannot hold out against us.’
Mary bit her lip. Did she have any choice?
‘Miss Endacott,’ Lord Randall addressed her. ‘I appreciate that we have not long been acquainted and I am aware that our opinions are very different. However, they are right. There is danger for any young lady travelling alone. If you would honour me with your company for this journey, you will be treated with every respect and courtesy. You have my word on that.’
Mary knew he was referring to what had occurred in the gardens, he was telling her she could trust him. There was sincerity in his eyes, but more than that, there was understanding in their blue depths. She nodded.
‘Then I accept your offer, my lord. Thank you.’
A sudden murmur went about the room, as if everyone had been holding their breath waiting for her answer. Harriett clapped her hands.
‘Then it is settled. Randall shall take you with him, Mary. He travels with quite an entourage, you know—two carriages, his valet and groom—I am sure that it will be the most enjoyable journey you have ever undertaken.’
* * *
Harriett’s words came back to Mary as she stepped into Lord Randall’s elegant travelling chaise early on Friday morning. The carriage was well sprung, the seat and backrest thickly padded: physically she was assured of every comfort, she had no doubt, but after what had occurred, how could she be in the earl’s company without feeling some constraint? Her only consolation was that Lord Randall was riding, so she was relieved the necessity of conversing with him.
They set off at a frantic pace, the stops were short with barely time for Mary to drink the proffered coffee and nibble at a biscuit, but when the earl politely asked her if she would like more time she declined.
‘I was warned you travel at breakneck speed, my lord,’ she said as he accompanied her back to the carriage. ‘I am prepared for a little discomfort.’
‘I need to join my men as soon as possible. I have stayed too long in England.’
His cold tone vexed her and she retorted sharply, ‘Then pray, sir, do not mind me. I shall not hold you up.’
‘No, I do not intend that you shall.’
‘I expect no quarter from you,’ she told him bitterly.
‘Then you will not be disappointed.’
Biting her lip, Mary climbed into the carriage without another word and the door was closed behind her. Insufferable man, he seemed determined to annoy her. But as she settled back in his luxurious carriage she realised that she might be angry with him, but at least she was no longer embarrassed in his company.
The carriage door was wrenched open again and Lord Randall’s frame filled the opening.
‘Miss Endacott, we have a long journey ahead of us. Neither of us wanted to be in this situation, but it will be best if we remain civil to one another.’ His blue eyes bored into her and she felt compelled to respond.
‘You are quite right, my lord.’
‘I am not accustomed to looking out for anyone else when I travel. If there is anything you need during our journey, then you will tell me, if you please. I do not wish you to be uncomfortable.’
‘Thank you, I will remember that.’
With a nod the earl closed the door again and Mary sank back against the squabs. His speech had surprised her. She did not doubt he was sincere and a little smile tugged at her mouth. How infuriating of him to offer her that olive branch just when she had made up her mind that he was insufferably high-handed.
* * *
They reached Folkestone in good time for dinner. The landlord of the inn did not blink an eye when Lord Randall announced he would require another bedchamber for Miss Endacott. If he thought it odd that a single lady should be travelling alone with the earl, without even a maid to give her countenance, he did not show it as he escorted them to a private parlour.
‘No doubt, Miss Endacott, you will wish to rest and refresh yourself before we eat.’ Lord Randall dragged off his gloves and took out his watch. ‘Shall we say an hour?’
Mary inclined her head. ‘That will be more than sufficient for me, sir.’
‘Very well.’ His cool, aristocratic gaze moved to the landlord, who bowed low.
‘Dinner in an hour, my lord.’
Mary followed a serving maid to her bedchamber. Lord Randall had barely looked at her since handing her down from the carriage. It was possible he was embarrassed in her company, but she was beginning to suspect that this scant courtesy and abrupt manner was habitual. As soon as she was alone she washed her face and hands, then took out her hairbrush and began to brush out the tangles that a day’s travel had introduced into her hair.
Well, he had warned her, she should not complain. And besides, what was there to complain of? He had told her she only had to speak out if there was anything she required to make her journey more comfortable. She had been brought up to believe herself the equal of any man, so why should she object if she received no special treatment from the earl while they were travelling?
Mary paused, the brush strokes slowing. Strange that Lord Randall should be so lacking in social graces, when his father had been such a libertine. Perhaps his years of soldiering had coarsened him. Immediately she rejected the idea. Lord Randall’s manners were not coarse, it was merely that he did not flatter and cajole. She realised she did not mind his abrupt tone, in fact, she found it refreshing. Their walk in the gardens at Somervil had been perfectly amicable, until the moment he had made his disgraceful suggestion. Yet had she behaved much better? Had she not revelled in his kiss, in the feel of his arms about her?
A distant clock chimed, her hour was nearly up. Hurriedly, she re-pinned her hair. She would have to sit through dinner alone with the earl, and it would be very uncomfortable for them both if she showed embarrassment in his company. No, if he could cope with the situation, then so could she.
* * *
‘How is your room?’
‘Very comfortable, my lord, thank you.’
I can do this; we only have to remain polite to one another.
Mary walked to the table, which was already spread with a tempting array of dishes. The earl stood behind her, holding her chair. She could not see his face, but could feel his presence like a cloud hovering around her and she did not know if she preferred that or when he took his seat across the table and she was subject to his all-too-perceptive gaze. To avoid it, she surveyed the food on offer.
‘Are we wise to eat dinner, my lord, if we are sailing at midnight?’
‘Are you a poor sailor, Miss Endacott?’
At least he was not using her first name, even though the servants had departed. She tried to relax. He had given her his word he would treat her with respect.
‘My experiences so far have been very good, but I have not yet been aboard ship during a storm.’
She raised her head, listening to the wind buffeting the windows. The earl merely shrugged.
‘There is a light breeze blowing, nothing more serious. I spoke to my captain earlier and he is confident we will make a speedy crossing.’ He held up one of the dishes. ‘Come, try the chicken, it is excellent. And you will feel much better for a good meal, I promise you.’
