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She bristled at the smile in his voice. “Are you admitting you are indeed the serpent I have deemed you?”
“Why should I bother? You have already condemned me and begun tying the knot in the noose,” he said, his low laugh eliciting a shiver. “But whether or not you’ll be able to get the rope ‘round my neck remains to be seen.” He withdrew, still chuckling.
Harriett managed to calm herself before Russell’s return, which was blessedly not too long in the coming. The m
orning was passed in conversation, cards, and even a bit of song as at one point one of the other ladies began to play the harpsichord in the drawing room. Harriett had been right about one thing: she and Lily were the absolute envy of the other ladies, Nanette in particular. The woman stared at them like a baleful Fury.
After being forced for three solid hours to endure Manchester’s company, Harriett had no choice but to acknowledge that he was as skilled as her sister at making people like him. Even Russell warmed to him over the course of the afternoon. Her enemy was gregarious and charming almost to the point of making her forget what an ass he really was.
Almost.
Lily went to visit another friend and Russell excused himself to find the gentlemen’s, leaving her alone with Manchester.
“Russell’s putting it on a bit thick, don’t you think?”
“No more so than you,” she quipped.
“Or you, for that matter. Do you honestly think he’ll come to your rescue?”
“From what would I require rescuing?” she said, eyeing him with disdain. “And in case you were unaware, Lord Russell and I are friends. I feel no need to ‘put it on’ for him, Your Grace.”
His expression remained one of amusement. “If that is what you call friendship, then it is no wonder we are having so difficult a time achieving that blessed state, you and I.”
“If you wish to befriend me, you may start by ending this charade of yours and leaving me alone,” she hissed, glancing about to be sure no one overheard them arguing. Do not lose your temper, Harriett!
“Ah, but where would the fun be in that?” he asked, his lips parting in a toothy smile. “Besides, I would much rather be in here with you than out there.”
“And why is that, may I ask, when I so clearly wish nothing to do with you?”
He leaned forward, his honey-brown eyes full of mischief. “Because I wish to be certain I know the real you before I decide.”
A rash of goose bumps rose across her skin. “Decide what?”
“What to do with you.”
And there the conversation ended, because at that moment Russell returned. Harriett was half tempted to send him off to fetch her something so she could continue the discussion with Manchester and find out what exactly he’d meant by “do with you,” but Russell’s expression on seeing the man sitting beside her told her he wasn’t about to go anywhere any time soon for any reason. She had no choice but to bite her tongue and carry on.
Papa and the hunters returned shortly, saving her from further anxiety. It was a jolly, rowdy return, and her windblown sister was at the heart of it all. Harriett observed Cat’s glowing face and triumphant demeanor, as well as the admiring way the heir of Winchilsea gazed at her.
“I took the paw, Harriett!” she gasped. “Well, I and Hammond, that is,” she amended, glancing at the man beside her with bashful eyes.
His already ruddy cheeks deepened in color. “We rode like the wind, did we not, Lady Catherine?” he said, his voice trembling with excitement.
“Indeed we did, my lord. It was exhilarating,” said Cat, favoring him with an equally adoring gaze. “I’ve never felt so alive.”
Harriett could almost see Cupid’s golden arrow slicing through the man’s chest to lodge deep in his heart. She shook her head and smiled. Heaven only knew what she would give to have been born with Cat’s seemingly innate skills. She waited while the others in her little group congratulated the pair on their skill, and then Cat and her new beau insisted she come away and celebrate with them. Glad for any excuse to leave behind the irksome Manchester, Harriett pulled Russell along with her.
She turned ask Lily to join them, but Lily wasn’t paying attention. She was already walking away with Manchester. Harriett’s stomach knotted as the sound of his laughter drifted back above the din. For a brief moment, she saw his smiling profile as he turned to listen to whatever Lily was saying.
He really was quite handsome when he smiled like that. Movement to the side drew her attention, and she marked the approach of Nanette Finchly. The girl gave her a look that would have doused Hell’s fires and then turned to follow Lily and Manchester, her intent to join them clear.
Free to do so amid the group of noisy merrymakers, Harriett chuckled aloud. If all went well, Nanette would keep Manchester well occupied this evening.
The early dinner given by their hosts was a cheery affair. The hunt was recounted and the victors toasted numerous times until Lord Sandwich was rosy-cheeked and a bit tipsy. Harriett sat with his lady wife, Dorothy of the Berkshire Fanes, with whom she was well familiar, and the two women quietly renewed acquaintances.
When at last it was time to prepare for the ball, Harriett and Cat, along with Lily and many other ladies who’d arrived that morning, were ushered to one of several large guest suites designated for their use. Thankfully, Nanette was not among her group. On entering, Harriett saw that their maids waited with their gowns and the accoutrements necessary for proper beautification.
As she dressed, Harriett ruminated on her sticky situation. Manchester’s presence today had altered things. She’d had to be a bit warmer toward Russell than she’d originally planned. As a result, Russell now thought she was far more inclined toward him than she was. What started out as a friendly invitation to tentatively open things up between them had practically turned into courtship in a matter of hours.
