Guy racked his brains for something flirtatious to say, but quickly abandoned the idea. Just one look at the zeal in the limpet’s eyes as she undulated toward him and he realized that flirting with Miss Maybury was a very bad idea indeed. She really needed no further encouragement to throw herself at him. Especially when her invitation to meet him in the rose garden had terrified him quite enough! And then there was Lottie, who he had childishly ignored all morning. What the hell was he supposed to say to her?
Bloody hell, but this was awkward! “I am afraid all the front coaches are already filled, ladies.” The only sensible course of action now was to get both women into the carriages and beat a hasty retreat. He spoke to his brazen neighbor and tried to avoid all eye contact with the Valkyrie. “But there are two seats left in the back one.” He gestured to it. “If you will just follow me.”
Miss Maybury did not budge. “But Lady Frinton was most insistent about me traveling in the second, so somebody in there will have to move.” She clearly took her relocation as a threat to her place as a contender for his wife, which was ludicrous when he wouldn’t marry her if she was the last woman on the earth. “Let me see who has stolen my place and I shall personally evict them.” She probably would have too if the second carriage hadn’t chosen that exact moment to set off, closely followed by the third and fourth.
Miss Maybury blinked at them in outrage and likely would have chased after them if the fifth and sixth hadn’t also begun to move. The departure of those revealed his aunt, who had decided to leave the comfort of the first, still stationary, carriage to take charge once again. “What on earth is taking you so long?” She threw up her palms as if he was to blame for this protracted debacle. “It shouldn’t take twenty minutes to load up a few carriages!” It shouldn’t, but it had, and that was more her fault than his. She’d invited this infuriating bunch of women in the first place. Something he would have stated in his defense if his unreasonable aunt hadn’t turned her frown toward Miss Maybury and Lottie. “Hurry up and get in, gals, or you’ll both be walking back!”
That threat finally encouraged Miss Maybury to move, although she made no secret of the fact that she wasn’t happy as she claimed his arm again while he maneuvered her briskly to it. Especially when she saw that the final carriage contained only parents and none of her rivals. However, she stifled her irritation to make a meal out of being helped into the carriage, showing an unnecessary expanse of silk-stockinged leg before she turned and offered him her best come-hither smolder. “Don’t forget to smell the roses later, my lord.” Her gloved thumb caressed his palm for good measure.
“It’ll be too dark to see the roses if we don’t get a move on.” That timely snide comment came from Lottie, who wedged herself between them, forcing Miss Maybury to relinquish Guy’s fingers from her grip. Without thinking, he took her ungloved hand to help her up instead and instantly regretted it. Because Lottie somehow made all his nerve endings dance in a way no woman’s touch ever had before and he wasn’t anywhere near ready to accept that inconvenient truth either.
Unsettled, he instinctively yanked his tingling hand away with such force that she almost stumbled. Then, while he wondered how or if he should apologize, she shot him an exasperated look. Ashamed of his overreaction and out of ingrained politeness, he proffered his hand again but she glared at it like a snake. “I think I can manage a few steps by myself,my lord,so please do not put yourself out on my part.” She stomped up them and was three-quarters in when his aunt shouted.
“Travers! For goodness’ sakes, gal, can’t you see that I need you?”
Guy heard her huff before she turned and stomped back down the steps with her pretty nose in the air. “I’m coming, my lady.” By the way she averted her face as she marched past him, it did not take a genius to work out that she wasn’t impressed with his behavior.
That made two of them. But then again, he wasn’t impressed with hers of late either. Saving him, perhaps twice, from Miss Maybury’s clutches did not make up for the fact that she had done her utmost to throw him to the wolves in the first place.
Furious at himself, Guy stalked back to his carriage to wait for his aunt to stop dithering, but as he turned around, ready to tap his foot with impatience, there she was.
And next to her was a very peeved Lottie.
“I’ve set the final carriage going,” said Aunt Almeria unnecessarily as it trundled past. Which meant that Lottie was traveling with them. Thirty minutes of unwelcome and likely torturous enforced proximity loomed, which he really wasn’t in any way prepared for.
His aunt leaned heavily on him as he helped her up, but instead of taking the forward-facing seat next to his mother as she usually did, shesat opposite. “The pair of you take up far too much space and Constance and I need to stretch out. Travers can deal with your ridiculously long legs, and you can suffer hers.”
Unbidden, his mind pictured her bare legs at the pond. An image that had haunted his dreams and all his carnal fantasies ever since. Those ridiculously long and shapely legs clad in tight breeches rolled to mid-thigh. Paired with that soaking-wet linen blouse that had clung to her pert breasts like a second skin and left nothing to his imagination. He felt the beginnings of yet another Lottie-induced erection stir in his own breeches and seriously considered walking all the way home.
He attempted to assist Lottie and she ignored his hand and his gaze for the second time in as many minutes, preferring to haul herself up instead. She then stared any which way but at him as he climbed up behind her and did his best to arrange his own legs into the miniscule amount of space left without touching hers. The only way to do that was to spread his to either side of her tightly gripped knees as he lowered himself down. He pulled the door shut, rapped on the roof, and wished he was dead as soon as the carriage pulled away.
Because the scant inches of space that they had between their thighs, her knees, and his reawakened crotch in a stationary coach proved to be insufficient in a moving one.
Which meant that their thirty-minute ride home actually lasted an eternity and every fiber of his being yearned for her all the way.
ChapterTWENTY
When Lottie had taken an hour’s respite in her room while Lady Frinton enjoyed her afternoon nap, the subsequent planned activity had been a ramble in the woods. That was why she had donned a summer walking dress and a pair of sturdy boots. By the looks of all the debutantes in their fashionable, floaty muslins and ridiculously large and overly decorated bonnets, they had believed the same. Even Lord Wennington, who still could not look at her without his eyes hardening, was braced for an arduous afternoon in the great outdoors helping his silly entourage over imaginary tree roots that those simpering girls would not be able to climb over without his manly assistance. However, it now appeared that there had been a change of plan and by the twin gleeful expressions on Lady Frinton’s and Lady Wennington’s faces as they called for the amassed to all gather round, the two older women were up to something.
Something they had neglected to tell Lottie.
“In honor of this windless afternoon, we are going to partake of one of my son’s favorite sports—archery.” Lady Wennington smiled at him and his eyes narrowed. “Please do not panic if you have never tried it before, as he will give you personal instruction before the tournament commences.” Right on cue, all the silly girls began to twitter like the dawn chorus at the prospect.
“How exciting!” The entire shrubbery of silk flowers on the elder Miss Harper’s hat wobbled as she bounced on the spot. “I am bound to be useless with the bow and will need plenty of instruction.” A sentiment that was doubtlessly shared by the rest of this shameless gaggle.
As if she’d heard her, Lady Wennington continued with some bad news. “Fortunately, we have two proficient archers with us today who can help you learn the sport, including one who claims to shoot an arrow straighter than Robin Hood.” She did not need to direct her gaze to Lady Lynette because all eyes swiveled her way anyway. “And thank you, Lady Lynette, for telling me that this morning over breakfast as you are personally responsible for giving me this wonderful idea.”
Hoisted by her own petard and now in no position to dominate the viscount as she had so far all day, Lady Lynette’s smile was tight as she acknowledged that with a regal nod of her head.
“Now if you will all follow me out onto the lawn.” Lady Wennington waved a piece of paper. “I shall allocate the teams.” The statement started a stampede as most of the debutantes did their utmost to get out of the French doors first.
Lottie hung back as a good lady’s companion should and resigned herself to an afternoon of dull spectating while the young ladies all fell over themselves to make an impression on Guy. No doubt by being pathetically needy rather than shining at the sport. Once outside, she wandered to the bank of chairs that had been set up for the parents and felt a pang of pity for poor Guy, who stood amongst his wittering entourage only a few feet away, noting that he already looked like he wished he were dead. She couldn’t blame him. It was doomed to be a long and, for him, a very trying afternoon.
“What the blazes are you doing sitting down, gal?” Lady Frinton unceremoniously nudged her from behind with the tip of her cane. “Go and compete.”
“Absolutely not!” Completely forgetting her place, Lottie glared at her employer. “It wouldn’t be proper. I am your servant, not a guest.”
“Since when have you cared about propriety, Travers?” Unmoved,Lady Frinton jabbed her again. “And remember your mission.” Her conniving gaze wandered to the debutantes and back to Lottie as she whispered, “You are my eyes and ears, gal, and you can’t do that from here.” Before Lottie could argue, the old dragon flagged down her sister. “Constance! Which team is Travers on?”
