His horses were fresh and not the mild pair he’d had the other day.
“I thought as much. It is hard to tell with Miss Corbet. At times there is a softness in her eyes when she looks at him, but the minute he approaches her she becomes Boadicea.”
“The warrior queen?” He feathered a corner in the neatest fashion. Rupert was an exceptional whip. “I agree with your analogy. Miss Corbet is quite fierce.”
“She’s had to be, looking after her sisters and father as she did.”
“I did not know.” The corner of his lip turned up. “I’m sure Beresford has his work cut out for him.”
For some reason, even though she had made the comparison, she did not appreciate his humor. “And you find that amusing, my lord?”
Rupert gave her a steady look, his brow raised in a quizzical fashion. “I have had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with Beresford lately. If I were a less cultured man, I’d say he is the closest thing to a barbarian I’ve ever seen, but I have met those who are true barbarians.”
She had yet to meet a more well-traveled, educated gentleman than Rupert, or one as manly. There was no doubt he would one day be a leader in the House of Lords. Other than his lamentable tendency to prefer Cleo over Vivian, she could find no fault with him at all. Though that was rather a large defect in his character. “In your travels?”
“Indeed. Years before he died, my grandfather Stanstead arranged for my Grand Tour. In addition to the more sedate parts of Europe, I traveled to the Levant and Constantinople. I was fortunate that the war ended when it did.”
“He must have cared for you a great deal.” She had been thinking lately about her own parents. When Vivian had complained to her mother about her husband, shortly after their marriage, Mama had told her there was nothing to be done but put up with it.
“His goal was to raise a man who could be trusted to care for the earldom.” Rupert’s tone was unusually severe, and the corners of his mouth, which usually held a smile, turned down.
“I too was molded into a being who would do as she was bid.” Such as marry Edgar and live unhappily until his death. No matter what fate threw at her now, Vivian was determined to be happy.
“I was fortunate that my mother had different ideas. She was the one who taught me to love life and those around me. Where my grandfather taught duty toward one’s dependents, she showed me that caring for them from my heart was the way to help them.” He blinked several times. Was he close to tears? Vivian had never seen a man so moved. “I’m sorry to bore you.”
“No.” Vivian had responded in the polite tone she’d been taught for years to use, but she wanted to shout it. “You should never feel that I am not interested.”Oh God, now what?“I am intrigued with your life. I mean to say, you seem to know so much for . . .”
“For my age?” Rupert replied, his tone as dry as the dirt on the path.
“Of course not.” He didn’t act like any of the young gentlemen she had ever met.
“I must apologize again.” This time his tone was even but distant. “It’s been a trying couple of days.”
As it had for her. “I’m sure whatever your concerns are, they will come out to the good.”
A coach ahead of them had stopped as two elderly ladies exchanged greetings.
He looked at her with an expression she could not decipher. “I pray you are right.”
Silvia glanced first at Vivian then at Nick. At the ball, he had said it wasn’t what she thought. Silvia didn’t believe him, but she supposed she should hear him out. Then she could send him on his way with a clear conscience, and they could both get on with their lives.
He placed her hand on his arm. “Where is the best place to go?”
“Near the wall.” She firmed her jaw. There was no point in allowing him to think she would forgive him. “That way, if you start yelling, no one will be able to hear you.”
Silvia could almost feel his teeth grind, but he didn’t say a word. When they reached the end of the path, she stopped and faced him. “What do you want to say?”
Nick took a large breath and blew it out. “Silvia, I made a terrible mistake.”
“I shall not disagree. There is nothing new in that.” She infused her voice with as much disdain as she could. As far as she was concerned, he’d spent his life making them.
His large form was suddenly hovering over her. “Only when it comes to you.”
What the deuce did he mean by that? She didn’t want to look at him, but she did. A crease marred his broad forehead, and for the first time since she was sixteen, he appeared unsure of himself. “What did you do now?”
“Not recently, although I suppose I could have behaved better and told Edgar to go to the devil.” Nick rubbed his hand down his face. “Four years ago, when I left, I should have told you the reason.”
Silvia bit the inside of her lip. She really did not want to hear this. “What reason could there have been but another woman?”
