Page 48 of A Lady of Conscience

“It quite slipped my mind,” James said, still looking at Hannah.

“Please pass on my congratulations to Lady Katherine,” Miss Paley said.

“I will convey them to her at the first opportunity,” he said. “Miss Heywood? The ruins of a Norman church lie not far over that hill. I had planned to explore them further, if you would care to join me?”

Miss Paley’s lips thinned. “That dreary place? It’s nearly a mile away.”

“An easy enough walk,” James said. “If Miss Heywood is at all interested.”

Hannah managed a small smile. “I would very much like to see the ruins,” she said. “Thank you, my lord.”

* * *

James offered his arm to Hannah as they ascended the hill, and she took it. “Lady Carleton assured me you would be here today,” he said.

“You spoke to her?”

“I called on her yesterday evening to pay my respects. One can’t arrive in Bath without notifying its leading hostess. Not if one has any hopes of attending the best parties.”

Hannah didn’t reply. They walked together in silence for several steps. “How do you know Miss Paley?” she asked at last.

Ah.

So that was it.

James had sensed there was something amiss. The smile she’d given him when he’d arrived had been guarded. Even the hand she’d rested on his arm was light and noncommittal, as though she might remove it any moment and draw away from him again. He felt a flicker of apprehension.

And of satisfaction too, he was ashamed to admit.

If Hannah was in any ways jealous of Miss Paley, it could only mean that she was coming to care for him a little.

“She’s the sister of a fellow I knew at Eton,” he said. “I met her many years ago when I went to stay with him over a summer holiday. It isn’t a visit I look back on with any degree of fondness.”

“She told me that she saw you in London but a few days ago, and that she danced with you at a ball given by the Marquess of Deane. Is that true?”

“It is.”

“Is that what you did while you were in London? Attended balls?”

“Among other things.”

Hannah fell quiet again. She remained silent until they had nearly crested the hill. “I had not thought—” She broke off before she could finish.

James slowed on the path to look at her. “What hadn’t you thought?”

“That you were in such good spirits while you were away.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Miss Paley claims that, during your brief time in town, you resumed your courtship of the marquess’s daughter, Lady Augusta.”

James somehow managed to keep his countenance. Whatever his actions in London, and whatever his thoughts about the suitability of Lady Augusta as a prospective bride, he had never had the smallest intention of hurting Hannah.

“If that’s what Miss Paley has told you, she has been woefully misinformed,” he said.

“Then, you didn’t resume your courtship?”

“There was no courtship to resume.”