Lovett picked up his cards and fanned them. ‘I blame the Potentials. Since they came along, he’s been hiding a little too often for my liking, which is a ridiculous state of affairs for a man who claims he is going to marry one of them. It is their fault that I am being dragged to the Castle. The moment Her Grace informed His Grace that she had invited those girls, he insisted that I come too. Although, in fairness, every time they have guests at the Castle I am press-ganged into service. I have a great talent for saving him at just the right time, you see. Not that I mind really. I consider it a good trade. I save him and in return I get to drink his port.’
He grinned and took another swig. ‘In the last year I have had to invent so many excuses to help him escape, he has started to call me his saviour! Surely, if he was that keen to be caught in the parson’s trap, he would be falling over himself to woo one of them? But not His Grace. In fact, if you want my humble opinion, I don’t think any one of them is even remotely suitable.’
‘Really, Lovett? Do tell.’
So much for not thinking abouthimtoday.
* * *
They made good time, arriving at the Castle just after lunch. Bennett had already made up his mind to have it out with Miss Mansfield and see why she was being so stand-offish, and if he had to humiliate himself by apologising for winking, then so be it. It would teach him a valuable lesson. He knew better than to behave in any way other than appropriately. He could only imagine what his father would have said.Dukes do not wink, Bennett. It simply isn’t done.
Fortunately, her carriage arrived almost as soon as he dismounted, so he marched towards it with renewed purpose. Whatever he had done wrong, he had to make it right. Aside from his wholly inconvenient attraction to the woman, the insight that she’d given him into the lives of the ordinary people was invaluable. Bennett wanted to improve their lot in life. Of that he was now quite certain. In fact, he intended to make it his mission. Miss Mansfield might well be able to steer him in the correct direction. How exactly was he supposed to do his duty to the nation properly if things were strained between them? Therefore, burying whatever hatchet he had inadvertently wielded was the most sensible course of action, and that had absolutely nothing to do with the odd, tender, wholly inappropriate lustful feelings he had for her.
He saw his butler climb out first, closely followed by the woman who consumed his thoughts. She almost tripped on the last step but managed to right herself in time. It was only then that he realised that Lovett was, perhaps, not the sort of person she should have been left in a carriage with. The man tended to use the journey from Mayfair to Aveley as an opportunity to sample Bennett’s port. And his brandy. Neither of them noticed him as he walked towards them because, for some inexplicable reason, Lovett appeared to be counting out coins and placing them in Miss Mansfield’s outstretched palm. She appeared to be gloating. Lovett was definitely listing.
‘Lovett!’
The butler snapped to attention. ‘Your Grace. I trust you had a pleasant journey.’
‘Not as pleasant as you, by the looks of things. Have you been at my port again?’ Bennett already knew the answer. Lovett was definitely exhibiting the damning effects. Prematurely grey hair a trifle untidy. Cravat skew-whiff. A rosy glow to his complexion that only came from either rigorously polishing the silver or a healthy tot of spirits.
‘Once again, Your Grace, you have caught me out. In my defence, I would state that it was a new barrel and I was only tasting it to see if it was up to standard. Your Grace will be pleased to hear that I can now confirm the new port to be most excellent. Would Your Grace like his tea brought to the drawing room or the study?’
Bennett made a mental note to have further words with his errant butler later when he had less pressing matters to attend to. If only he did not need him so very much. His mother had blithely invited a ‘few’ guests for afternoon tea tomorrow and only Lovett would know the precise moment to believably extricate him from that hideous gathering. And the wily butler knew it. ‘The drawing room, if you please.’ One day he would tell him off. His butler bowed and left, and his aunt’s startled-looking companion went to follow.
‘Miss Mansfield. Might I have a word?’
She blinked at him like a startled deer, her cheeks suspiciously rosy and her eyes a little bright. ‘Of course.’
Correction, he was definitely going to kill Lovett later. It was one thing to steal a man’s port, it was another thing altogether to ply young ladies with it. She blinked again and then, as an afterthought, added, ‘Your Grace.’
Instantly, that felt very wrong. He did not want her using his silly title; he much preferred the way she said Ben. Just Ben. It had come out like a sigh and made his flesh warm just thinking about it. He should instruct her to call him Ben from now on, although how he was going to find the right words to explain that to her without panicking and barking at her like a subordinate he had no idea.
Already he could feel his posture stiffening, as if his veins were suddenly filling with lead, and he had no idea what to do with his hands as he led her around the side of the house, where they would not be overheard. In desperation he clasped them behind his back, until he remembered that she had admonished him for that. Instead, he let his arms dangle, feeling a bit like a chimpanzee, and tried to formulate an apology in his suddenly dry mouth.
‘I should like to apologise, Miss Mansfield.’ Why was his voice clipped?
This was met with confusion. ‘Whatever for?’
‘For whatever I did to upset you during our visit to Seven Dials.’ He shifted his weight awkwardly and then cleared his throat. There was no point in procrastinating, no matter how mortified he was by the subject matter. ‘I had thought that we were getting on famously. Perhaps my behaviour towards you was briefly a little coarse...’
‘Coarse?’ Now she appeared genuinely baffled and was staring at him as if he had suddenly sprouted two heads, instead of merely looking like a stiff, awkward, lead-veined ape. Or perhaps she was merely just being polite and knew exactly what he was talking about after all.
‘There is no need to spare my feelings by pretending you do not remember my shameful lack of manners. Dolly was making insinuations about our relationship and you were very embarrassed. At the time, winking at you like that seemed amusing.’ Good heavens, he was actually starting to blush. Despite the cold, he could feel the heat of it burning his ears.
‘Winking?’
‘Yes.’ His whole face was ablaze now and his hands were desperate to cover it. Instead, he clasped them tightly behind his back and tried to brazen it out. ‘I winked at you and you blushed.’
‘I remember the winking.’ Her lips began to twitch at his obvious discomfort and then bloomed into a smile. ‘I found that quite charming.’
Now he was even more confused. If she found him charming then, he must have done something quite unforgivable afterwards. ‘Then what did I do to offend you?’
‘You really haven’t offended me.’ The amusement slid from her face and her expression became pained before she quickly turned and began to hurry away. ‘Please do not give it a second thought.’
‘Amelia.’ Her footsteps slowed and he saw her shoulders slump as she exhaled. Waited.
‘Why are you avoiding me?’ Bennett lightly touched her arm and turned her to face him again. ‘Whatever I have done to upset you, I sincerely apologise for it.’
