Page 6 of An Accidental Elopement

For some insane reason, the scene played for Archie’s inner eye: Him holding a gun and making Miss Gaywood strip out of her dress to put on a pair of pantaloons. They would show off her legs exquisitely. He was sure that they were slender but shapely like the rest of her.

The vision of Miss Gaywood in pantaloons and little else did nothing good for the situation in his own trousers. King Edward I, 1272-1307. King Edward II, 1307-1327. King Edward III, 1327-1377. Thank Heavens for rigorous tutors who had drilled the list of monarchs into his memory.

“Would you only consider it?” Archie prodded.

“Yes, if you were forcing me at gunpoint there would be a very real chance that you would shoot me afterward and I am not sure that I would wish to be found dead in a pair of pantaloons.” Miss Gaywood was actually smiling at him now and Archie could not help but laugh out loud at her joke. Was she flirting with him?

“What is so amusing?” the eldest Miss Drummond said as she turned her horse to ride next to them.

Archie sighed inwardly. It seemed to be her line and the fun always went away at that point. He was happy that Miss Gaywood simply said:

“It cannot really be explained.”

And then proceeded to talk about dresses. He slipped away from the conversation soon after but felt a twitch of remorse at having to leave Miss Gaywood’s side. A woman who was both beautiful and had humor was rare indeed.

***

That evening Cecilia wanted to make sure that there would be no games when the men joined them in the drawing room. When the duchess left the table, she immediately sought out the eldest Miss Drummond in the hope of making an ally of her.

Despite her finding the woman a bit irritating, she might prove herself useful. At the moment Cecilia had been annoyed at Miss Drummond for interrupting their conversation that morning, but afterward, she had come to regret her bold words to Lord Archibald. They had been very close to flirting and the last thing she wished was to have him continue his advances on her.

Had she been younger and less experienced, she might have relished in them, but she knew now that nothing good could come of such attention: At most, it would end in a very lovely and unforgettable kiss after which he revealed that he had never been serious and that she was too dull and proper to keep his attention for any longer span of time.

“We should organize a dance when the gentlemen join us,” Cecilia said without much introduction.

“Oh, that would be wonderful,” Miss Drummond said and had an absentminded expression. Cecilia suspected that she was doing the numbers as to how many people there were. She had been doing them herself and if their parents did not participate, but if one of their mothers could be persuaded to play the pianoforte that would leave five couples.

“We should talk to Her Grace to be certain that it will not be a nuisance,” Cecilia said and the two went to seek the duchess’s permission. With that granted and the promise that the duchess would play, it was only to sit back and wait for the men to join them.

Flint was not much of a dancer. It was one of the only things that Cecilia found was a true flaw in him. He might be a bit too serious at times and his kisses might not ignite the passion in her that she hoped, but he was nice and pleasant. She was certain that he would make a dutiful and faithful husband.

She immediately sought him out as the dance was announced. She did not wish to dance with any of the other gentlemen nor have any of the other ladies dance with him. Especially not Lady Hester. They had been seated opposite Lady Hester and Flint’s twin brother Percy at dinner and she had noticed with growing frustration how Flint would suddenly cut into their conversation.

As they danced, she could not help but notice how elegantly Lord Archibald danced though. Despite his height, there was a certain grace to his body as he twirled the youngest Miss Drummond and the two of them seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

It did not seem to be a family trade, being a graceful dancer. Lady Hester danced just as stiffly as Flint as she danced with Francis Drummond. They broke away to dance with others and Cecilia could tell that Flint had lost track of the dance because he did not meet her when he should. Instead, he was one or two paces behind and turned abruptly towards her, seemingly in the hope of catching up.

Cecilia was not exactly sure what happened but one moment she was standing upright dancing, and the next she was lying on her back with Flint on top of her. Flint rolled off her and people crowded around her. Pain shot up her leg.

“Are you hurt, Ceci?” Algernon asked in a low voice as he crouched beside her.

“My ankle, I think,” she breathed as she pushed herself up to a seated position.

Her brother wriggled her foot gently.

“It’s just a sprain,” he declared. “Can you stand?”

Cecilia got up with his help, but it was clear that her foot would not support her. In a swift motion, Algernon placed an arm behind her back and one under her knees and lifted her. He started walking through the drawing room with her towards her room. Cecilia rested her head against his shoulder, trying to crush the image of her being carried off by Lord Archibald instead of her brother.

Four

"Lord Archibald, Lord Archibald," the elder Miss Drummond called down the hallway.

Archie flinched at the use of his first name. Of all the ridiculous names his parents could have saddled him with, they had gone with Archibald. Granted it had been his maternal grandfather's name and the man had been a marquis, but still... what was wrong with Richard, Edward, or George?

But no matter his first name, it did not solve the more important problem of the very persistent woman who was chasing him down the hallway of the ground floor of the estate. She had done nothing the past few days to hide that she would very much like to be Lady Archibald Montagu. Archie had done all but downright shout at her face to show that he was not interested.

When the elder Miss Drummond called his name again, he hurried through the nearest door, knowing that there was a secret passage between this room and the next. He could hide in the secret passage for a couple of minutes when the elder Miss Drummond had searched both rooms, then retreat from the building.