The Lady Forfeits

His gaze narrowed on the cause of these inappropriate imaginings. ‘And which of the three Lady Copelands might you be in regard to age?’ In truth, Gabriel had not been interested enough in the three wards that had been foisted on him to bother knowing anything about them apart from the fact they were all of marriageable age! Time enough for that, he had decided arrogantly, once one of them had agreed to become his wife. Except none of them had, he recalled grimly.

‘I am the eldest, my lord.’ Diana Copeland stepped further into the room, the sunlight immediately making her hair appear more gold than red. ‘And I wish to talk with you concerning my sisters.’

‘As your two sisters are not in this room at the moment I have absolutely no interest in discussing them.’ Gabriel frowned his irritation. ‘Whereas you—’

‘Then might I suggest you endeavour to make yourself interested in them?’ Diana advised coldly, the narrowness of her shoulders stiff with indignation.

‘My dear Diana—I trust, as your guardian, I may call you that?—I suggest that in future,’ he continued smoothly without bothering to wait for her answer, ‘you do not attempt to tell me what I should and should not interest myself in.’ A haughty young miss too used to having her own way presented no verbal or physical challenge for Gabriel after his years spent as an officer in the King’s army. ‘As such, I will be the one who decides what is or is not to be discussed between the two of us. The most immediate being—why it is you have chosen to come to London completely against my instructions?’ He stepped forwards into the room.

Whatever sharp reply Diana had been about to make, in answer to this reminder of the arrogance with which she viewed Lord Gabriel Faulkner’s “instructions”, remained unsaid as he stepped forwards out of the sunlight and she found herself able to see him clearly for the first time.

He was, quite simply … magnificent!

No other word could completely describe the harsh beauty of that arrogantly handsome face. He possessed a strong, square jaw, chiselled lips, high cheekbones either side of a long blade of a nose, and his eyes—oh, those eyes!—of so dark a blue that they were the blue-black of a clear winter’s night. His dark hair was fashionably styled so that it fell rakishly upon his brow and curled at his nape, his black jacket fitted smoothly across wide and muscled shoulders, the silver waistcoat beneath of a cut and style equally as fashionable, and his grey pantaloons clung to long, elegantly muscled legs, above black and perfectly polished Hessians.

Yes, Lord Gabriel Faulkner was without doubt the most fashionable and aristocratically handsome gentleman that Diana had ever beheld in all of her one-and-twenty years—

‘Diana, I am still waiting to hear your reasons for disobeying me and coming up to town.’

—as well as being the most arrogant!

Having been deprived of her mother when she was but eleven years old, and with two sisters younger than herself, it had fallen to Diana to take on the role of mother to her sisters and mistress at her father’s home; as such, she had become more inclined to give instructions than to receive them.

Her chin tilted. ‘Mr Johnston merely advised that you would call upon us at Shoreley Park as soon as was convenient after your arrival from Venice. As, at the time, he could not specify precisely when the date for that arrival might be, I took it upon myself to use my own initiative concerning how best to deal with this delicate situation.’

Haughty as well as proud, Gabriel acknowledged with some inner amusement at the return of that challenging tilt to Diana Copeland’s delicious chin. She had also, if he was not mistaken, already developed a dislike for him personally as well as for his role as guardian to herself and her sisters.

The latter Gabriel could easily understand; as he understood it from his lawyer, William Johnston, Diana had been mistress of Shoreley Park since the death of her mother, Harriet Copeland, some ten years ago. As such, she would not be accustomed to doing as she was told, least of all by a guardian she had never met.

The former—a dislike of Gabriel personally—was not unprecedented, either, but it usually took a little longer than a few minutes’ acquaintance for that to happen. Unless, of course, Lady Diana had already taken that dislike to him before she had even met him?

He quirked one dark, mocking brow. ‘And what

“delicate situation” might that be?’

A becoming blush entered the pallor of her cheeks, those blue eyes glittering as she obviously heard the mockery in his tone. ‘The disappearance of my two sisters, of course.’

‘What?’ Gabriel gave a start. He had known the Copeland sisters had chosen to absent themselves from Shoreley Park, of course, but once he was informed of Diana’s presence at Westbourne House, he had assumed that her sisters would either be staying with her here, or that she would at least have some idea of their whereabouts. ‘Explain yourself—clearly and precisely, if you please.’ A nerve pulsed in his tightly clenched jaw.

Diana gave him a withering glance. ‘Caroline and Elizabeth, being so … alarmed by your offer of marriage, have both taken it into their heads to leave the only home they have ever known and run off to heaven knows where!’

Gabriel drew in a harsh breath as he carefully placed the glass of brandy down upon the table before turning his back to once again stare out of the window. While he’d known the three Copeland sisters had absented themselves from Shoreley Park, to now learn that his offer of marriage had actually caused the two younger sisters to run away, without so much as informing their older sister of where they were going, was not only insulting but, surprisingly, had also succeeded in affecting Gabriel when he had believed himself to be beyond reacting to such slights.

He had been forced to live in disgrace all these years, always knowing that of all the people Gabriel had previously loved or cared about, only his friends Blackstone and Osbourne believed in his innocence. It had meant he hadn’t particularly cared, during his five years in the army, as to whether he lived or died. Ironically, it had been that very recklessness and daring that had succeeded in making him appear the hero in the eyes of his fellow officers and men.

Realising that two young, delicately bred ladies had been so averse to even the suggestion of marriage to the infamous Lord Gabriel Faulkner that they had chosen to flee their home rather than contemplate such a fate had laid open a wound Gabriel had believed long since healed, if not forgotten …

‘My lord?’

Gabriel breathed in deeply through his nose, hands clenched at his sides as he fought back the demons from his past, knowing they had no place in the here and now.

‘My lord, what—?’ Diana recoiled from the icy fury she could see in Gabriel’s arrogantly handsome features as he turned to glare across the room at her with eyes so dark and glittering they appeared as black as she imagined the devil’s might be.

He arched a dark brow over those piercing blue-black eyes. ‘You did not feel the same desire to run away?’

In truth, it had not even entered Diana’s head to do so. It was not in her nature to run away from trouble and she had been too busy since discovering her sisters’ absence for there to be any time to think of anything else. But if she had thought of it, what would she have done?

Ten years of being the responsible daughter, the practical and sensible one, had taken their toll on the light-hearted and mischievous girl she had once been, until Diana could not recall what it was to behave impetuously or rashly, or to consider her own needs before those of her father and sisters. She would definitely not have left.

‘No, I did not,’ she stated bluntly.

‘And why was that?’ An almost predatory look had come over his face.

Diana straightened her shoulders. ‘I—’

Quite what she had been about to say to Gabriel she could not be sure as the butler chose that moment to enter with a tray of tea things and place them on the table beside the fireplace. A tray of tea things set for two, Gabriel noted with some amusement; obviously, from that flicker of disdain he had seen on the fair Diana’s face a few minutes ago, she did not approve of the imbibing of strong liquor before luncheon, if ever.

To hell with what the Lady Diana approved of!

Gabriel moved with deliberation as he picked up the glass of brandy he had been enjoying earlier and threw the contents to the back of his throat before replacing the empty glass down upon the table beside the tea tray, the smooth yet fiery liquid warming his insides, if not his mood.

He waited until the butler had left the room before speaking again. ‘I believe you were about to tell me why it is you did not choose to run away as your sisters have done?’ he asked.

‘Would you care for tea, my lord?’

His eyes narrowed at this further delay. ‘No, I would not.’

Blonde brows rose. ‘You do not care for tea?’

‘It is certainly not one of the things I have missed in all these years of living abroad,’ he said drily.

Diana continued to calmly pour a cup of tea for herself before straightening, her gaze very direct as she looked across at him. ‘I trust your journey from Venice was uneventful, my lord?’

He gave an impatient snort. ‘If you are intending to distract me with these inanities, Diana, then I believe I should warn you that I am not in the habit of allowing myself to be distracted.’

‘I have heard you were considered something of a war hero during your years in the army,’ she commented.

She had heard of his time in the army? Had she heard something of those other, much more damaging rumours of his behaviour eight years ago, too?

Gabriel’s expression became closed as he observed Diana through narrowed lids. ‘And what else have you heard about me?’

Guileless blue eyes met his unblinkingly. ‘In what context, my lord?’

Over the years Gabriel had faced down enemies and so-called friends alike, without so much as even the slightest possibility of any of them ever getting the better of him, but this young woman, who had lived all of her life in the country, nevertheless showed no hesitation in challenging him.

‘In any context, madam,’ he finally replied.

Slender shoulders lifted in a dismissive shrug. ‘I make a point of never listening to idle gossip, my lord. But even if I did,’ she continued, just as Gabriel felt himself starting to relax, ‘I fear I have not been in town long enough, nor is my acquaintance wide enough as yet, to have had the time or opportunity to be made privy to any … confidences.’

If Diana Copeland feared anything, then Gabriel would be interested to learn what that something was. She had certainly shown no hesitation as yet in speaking her mind, clearly and often! And if Gabriel had his way, this young lady would be returning to the country long before she had the opportunity to become “privy to any confidences” …

She raised one delicately arched brow. ‘Perhaps you would care to enlighten me?’

She was good, Gabriel recognised admiringly. Very good, in fact. She showed just the right amount of calm uninterest to indicate that the subject on which they spoke was of little or no relevance to her. If Gabriel had been less sensitive to the subject himself, he might even have been fooled by her …

‘Not at this moment, no.’ His jaw tightened. ‘Nor have I forgotten our original subject.’

‘Which was …?’

He drew in a deep and controlling breath, even as his hands flexed impatiently at his sides. ‘I wish to know why, instead of disappearing before my arrival in England as your sisters have obviously chosen to do, you have come to stay at Westbourne House instead?’

She straightened haughtily. ‘Are you, as the new owner of this property, expressing the sentiment that I no longer have that right?’

Gabriel made another attempt to regain control of the conversation. Something he was finding it harder and harder to do the longer it continued! ‘No, I am not saying that. As my ward you are, of course, perfectly at liberty to continue using any of the Westbourne homes or estates. It is only that, in this case, you must have been aware that once I had learnt you weren’t in Shoreley Park, Westbourne House was sure to be my first choice of residence?’

‘I was aware of that, yes.’

‘Well?’ Gabriel found himself becoming more and more frustrated with this conversation.

She sipped her tea delicately before answering. ‘Surely the reason for my being here is obvious, my lord?’

‘Perhaps to make enquiries about your two sisters?’

‘That was my first concern, yes.’

‘And your second?’ That nerve was once again pulsing in Gabriel’s jaw, and if he was not mistaken, he was developing a twitch in his left eyelid too!

Diana sat forwards to carefully place her empty teacup down upon the silver tray, that slight adjustment in her pose revealing more of the deep swell of her creamy breasts. Full and plump breasts, Gabriel noted admiringly, and slightly at odds with the slenderness of the rest of her revealed by the cut of her gown.. Born and raised in the country or not, Diana Copeland was every inch a lady, he noted as his gaze trailed down her graceful slim arms and her elegant hands in their white-lace gloves. A self-confident and outspoken young lady who—

‘My second reason for awaiting your arrival here is, of course, that I have decided to accept your offer of marriage.’

If Gabriel had still been enjoying his brandy at that moment, then he would surely have choked on it!

Chapter Two

Diana remained outwardly calm as she stood up to cross the room with purpose and rearrange the flowers in the vase that stood upon the small table near the window, having averted her face, she hoped, before any of the inner trepidation she felt in having voiced her acceptance of this man’s offer of marriage could be revealed.

His lordship’s surprise on hearing that acceptance had been all too obvious in the way those midnight-blue eyes had widened incredulously, followed by his stunned silence.

At any other time Diana might have felt a certain satisfaction in having rendered speechless a man of Lord Gabriel Faulkner’s obvious arrogance and sophistication. Unfortunately, in this case, and on this particular subject, she would have welcomed almost any other response from him.

Perhaps, as Diana had initially refused his offer, the earl had now decided to withdraw it? In which case, she would not only have caused herself embarrassment, but also placed him in the awkward position of having to extricate himself from an unwanted engagement.

If that incredulity was for another reason, such as now that he had actually met her, the new Earl of Westbourne found either her looks or her character unsuitable in his future countess, then Diana was not sure—following other hurtful events of this past week—that she would be able to withstand the humiliation.

‘Correct me if I am wrong, but did you not say you are the eldest of the Copeland sisters?’ he finally managed to say.

A frown creased Diana’s brow as she turned. ‘I did, yes …’

He looked a little bemused. ‘My lawyer led me to believe that the eldest of Copeland sisters was already betrothed. Is that not correct?’

Diana drew in a sharp breath even as she felt the warmth colouring her cheeks. ‘Then he was misinformed, my lord. I am not, nor have I ever been, formally betrothed. Nor do I have any idea how Mr Johnston could even have heard such a thing,’ she added waspishly.

Gabriel studied her closely, noting that high colour in her cheeks, the proud almost defiant tilt to her chin, and the challenging sparkle in those sky-blue eyes. He wondered as to the reason for them. Just as he also questioned the precise and careful way in which she had dismissed the existence of any betrothal …

His mouth firmed. ‘I believe Johnston was told of the betrothal by one of your sisters.’

‘Indeed?’ Blond brows rose haughtily. ‘Then it would seem that the man was not misinformed, after all, but merely misunderstood the information given to him.’

Somehow he did not think so … He had inherited William Johnston, along with the title, estates and guardianship of the three Copeland sisters, from their father, Marcus Copeland, the previous Earl of Westbourne. The lawyer was a precise and self-satisfied little man whom Gabriel did not particularly like, but at the same time he believed the lawyer would make it a matter of professional pride never to be misinformed or mistaken concerning information he gave to one of his wealthy and titled clients. So why was this betrothal no more?

Gabriel looked at her directly. ‘Was it you or the young gentleman who had a change of heart?’

‘I have just told you there was no gentleman!’ she protested.

‘A young man, then. One who no doubt found the prospect of marriage to a titled young lady whose fortunes now rested on the goodwill of her guardian a far different marriage prospect than the eldest daughter of a wealthy earl?’ Gabriel enquired, eyeing her knowingly.

Diana withstood that gaze for as long as she could before turning away abruptly, determined he should not see the tears that now glistened in her eyes and on her lashes.

Damn the man!

No—damn all men!

And most especially Malcolm Castle for having the backbone of a jellyfish!

She and Malcolm had grown up together in the village of Shoreley. Had played together as children. Danced together at the local assemblies once they were old enough to attend. They’d taken walks together on crisp winter days and fine summer evenings. Diana had even allowed Malcolm the liberty of stealing her very first kiss after he had declared his love for her.

She had believed herself to be equally as smitten. Her father had shown no disapproval of their deepening friendship. Malcolm’s parents, the local squire and his wife, were obviously thrilled at the idea of a possible match between their son and the eldest daughter of the wealthy Earl of Westbourne. All had seemed perfect.

Except, as his lordship had just pointed out so cruelly, the penniless eldest daughter of the previous Earl of Westbourne had not been nearly as appealing as a prospective wife to Malcolm, or to his parents. Diana’s father had not expected to die so suddenly and had not set his affairs in order with regard to his daughters. Financially, they were completely at the mercy of the new earl’s goodwill—and as he had been away from society for so long, Lord Gabriel Faulkner was an unknown quantity.

Diana had, of course, noted that Malcolm’s visits to Shoreley Park had become less frequent after her father died. There had been no suggestions of their walking out together, let alone the stealing of a kiss or two, and of course there had been no attending the local assemblies because Diana and her sisters were in mourning. But Diana had not been concerned, had believed Malcolm’s absence to be out of consideration for her recent bereavement and nothing else.

Until the previous week when Diana had learnt—from inadvertently overhearing two of the housemaids indulging in idle gossip—of the announcement of Malcolm’s betrothal to a Miss Vera Douglas, the daughter of a wealthy tradesman who had recently bought a house in the area.

To add insult to injury, Malcolm had called to see Diana that very same afternoon, full of apologies for not having told her of the betrothal himself, and insisting that it was his parents who had pushed for this other marriage rather than himself, and that, in spite of everything, it was still Diana that he loved.

Diana could perhaps have forgiven Malcolm if he had found himself smitten with love for another woman, but to hear from his own lips that he was only marrying this other wealthy young woman because his parents wished it was beyond enduring. A jellyfish, indeed! And one that she knew she could inwardly congratulate herself on being well rid of.

Except Malcolm’s defection had left her pride in tatters and made her the object of pitying looks every time she so much as ventured out into the village. So she had decided, with her usual air of practicality, that the perfect way in which to dispel such gossip would be if she were to accept, after all, the offer of marriage from Lord Gabriel Faulkner, seventh Earl of Westbourne. Marriage to any man—even taking into account that past scandal connected to Gabriel, which Diana’s neighbours had hinted at, but never openly discussed—surely had to be better than everyone believing she had been passed over for the daughter of a retired tradesman!

‘Am I correct in thinking that the dissolution of your previous engagement is the only reason you have now decided to accept my own offer of marriage?’ that taunting earl now prompted irritatingly.

How could Diana have known, when she so sensibly made her decision to accept his lordship’s offer, how wickedly handsome he was? How tall and muscular? How fashionably elegant?

How irritatingly perceptive to have guessed within minutes of her announcing her acceptance of his offer as to the real reason for her change of mind!

‘It was made more than clear that one of us must accept your offer if we wished to continue living at Shoreley Park,’ she informed him defensively.

Gabriel frowned darkly. ‘Made clear by whom, exactly?’

‘Mr Johnston, of course.’

Gabriel could see no ‘of course’ about it. ‘Explain, if you please.’

She gave an impatient huff. ‘Your lawyer stated on his last visit to us that, if we all continued to refuse your offer, we might find ourselves not only penniless, but also asked to remove ourselves from our home.’

Gabriel’s jaw tensed and he felt that nerve once again pulsing in his cheek. ‘Those are the exact words he used when speaking with you?’

Diana gave a haughty inclination of her golden-red head. ‘I am not in the habit of lying, my lord.’

If that truly were the case—and Gabriel had no reason to believe that it was not—then William Johnston had far exceeded his authority. It was not the fault of the Copeland sisters that they had no brother to inherit the title and estates, or that their father had not seen fit to secure their futures himself in the event of his death.

Damn it, Gabriel had only made his offer of marriage at all out of a sense of fairness, appreciating that, but for fickle fate, one of the Copeland sisters’ own cousins would have inherited the title rather than a complete stranger. A cousin, one would hope, who would have treated the previous earl’s daughters as fairly as Gabriel was attempting to do.

His mouth thinned. ‘I have no intention of asking you or your sisters to leave your home, either now or in the future.’

Diana looked confused. ‘But Mr Johnston was very precise concerning—’

‘Mr Johnston obviously spoke out of turn.’ Gabriel’s expression was grim as he anticipated his next conversation with the pompous little upstart who had so obviously put the fear of God into the Copeland sisters that they had felt as trapped as cornered animals. ‘This is the reason your two sisters have run away?’

‘I believe it was … the catalyst, yes.’

Gabriel eyed her curiously. ‘But only the catalyst?’

Diana grimaced. ‘My sisters have found life at Shoreley Park somewhat limiting these past few years. Do not misunderstand me,’ she added hastily as Gabriel raised his brows. ‘Caroline and Elizabeth were both dutiful daughters. Accepted the reasons for our father’s decision not to give any of us a London Season, or indeed his wish to not introduce us into London society at all—’

‘Am I right in thinking your father made that decision based on your mother’s behaviour ten years ago?’ he interrupted gently.

Blond lashes lowered over those sky-blue eyes. ‘Our father certainly blamed the … excesses of London society for my mother having left us, yes.’