Page 26 of The Seduction of an English Scoundrel

“What is that, Jane?” he asked pleasantly.

“I am going to pretend that conversation in the street never occurred.” She cleared her throat. “And that incident between us in the Red Gallery yesterday.”

He picked up the newspaper that was wedged between them, deliberately dislodging her derriere in the process. “As you like.” The shadow of a smile crept across his face. “If you can.”

She folded her hands demurely in her lap. “It is already forgotten.”

He put down the newspaper, obviously not content to let matters rest. “Would you like me to refresh your memory?”

“Perhaps we should refresh your manners first.”

She had just decided how to deal with him. Handling awkward matters could not ruffle the feathers of a Welsham swan for long. Self-control came as naturally to this daughter of an earl as flirtation did to Sedgecroft. The situation simply required that she fight his manliness with etiquette.

“So, my lord. You look well rested this morning. Did you pass a peaceful night?”

There was a pause. She wondered suddenly if he might take her inquiry as encouragement to describe his nocturnal activities in titillating detail. She steeled herself for a recitation of naughty misadventures.

He glanced down at her, the glitter in his eyes making her catch her breath. “Let me think. A few hours after I left you, I caught Chloe sneaking out with the ladies in her social-reform society. They practically attacked me when I refused to let her go out on whatever misguided mission they had in mind. I had to lock her in her room.”

“That does seem a dangerous activity for the evening,” Jane agreed.

“That was only the beginning. I then proceeded to search the whole of Vauxhall Gardens for my brother.”

“Which brother would that be?” she asked, envisioning the crew of handsome blue-eyed rogues in the chapel yesterday.

“I was looking for Drake, who, as it turns out, was busy selecting which pair of boots he would wear for his duel in the morning.”

“He fought a duel today?” she asked in alarm.

“Fortunately not,” he said with a rueful sigh. “His adversary made a public apology a few minutes before the duel was to take place.”

“Good heavens, Sedgecroft.”

He leaned his head back, his blond hair brushing his collar. “It was anything but a restful night. Responsibility carries a price.”

So did deception, Jane thought with a pang of unease as he settled himself into a more comfortable position, his knee pressed to hers. His powerful build heightened her awareness of how precarious their relationship was. She wondered how he could be so different from his cousin Nigel. And why she could not have met him first. Not that he would have even noticed her with a mistress on each arm, or that she would have made any attempt to make him do so.

She stared out the window, pondering the strange quirks of fate.

The carriage came to a stop, snagged in the crush of early-afternoon traffic. Oxcarts, coaches, pedestrians darting across to the pavement, crossing sweepers clearing pungent manure from the street. She gasped as Sedge-croft rose, seizing her arm, and pulled her from the seat.

She glanced helplessly at her dozing brother. “Simon, wake up this instant, you worthless excuse for a chaperone.”

Simon gave a piggy snort and rolled onto his other side.

“Where are you taking me, Sedgecroft? There are people outside watching your carriage.”

“I know,” he said without a qualm. “That is one of my bankers and his wife on the corner. The woman happens to be a notorious gossip.”

“What am I supposed to be doing?”

He helped her down onto the pavement. “Enjoying yourself.” He lowered his voice. “Allowing me to spoil you. Stop frowning like an owl for one thing. Pretend to be delighted.”

“Delighted? Over what?”

“Over our blossoming romance, darling.” He beckoned to a pair of flower vendors on the corner, tossing a handful of coins into the baskets they held. The two older women blushed beneath their straw bonnets and thanked him by name. Before Jane could question him, she found herself smothered in masses of fragrant posies, a gift that the girl in her could not help responding to.

She bit her lip, her palms suddenly damp inside her gloves. That banker’s wife recognized her, all right. She felt the woman’s gaze go straight to her in scandalized recognition. Oh, how embarrassing. As if yesterday hadn’t been enough, although it was fun to be spoiled in public.