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“I’m very touched by your concern for my welfare,” Allegra told him after they’d once again drawn ahead of her maid. “I just don’t find the threat as credible as you do. Sapphira believes I’m such a lightskirt that I’ll be helpless to resist the persuasion of the first handsome rogue who shows me any attention. I assure you—” she paused, her face coloring “—despite…what just occurred, neither my morals nor my intelligence are that deficient.”
“I know they are not,” Will reassured her. “Lady Lynton obviously assumes you possess no more character or honor than she does.”
“Perhaps. But since we’ve both agreed that I will not be led astray, I’m in no danger. Once Sapphira discovers that I cannot be persuaded, she might try to entice some ‘gentleman’ to forcibly seduce me. But with Mrs. Randall or Lizzie or a servant always within calling distance whenever I stir from the house and a full staff nearby when I am within it, I cannot see how anyone could succeed in carrying me off. Sapphira may despise me enough to seek my ruin, but even I do not believe she would go so far as to hire some miscreant to attempt it.”
“Probably not,” Will allowed. “But a sufficiently motivated rogue might be able to overpower you before you could summon assistance.”
“If in future I am prudent enough never to walk more than a few paces ahead of my maid, I should suffer no further…indignities,” she said, softening the words by flashing him a swift, mischievous smile. “Besides, if it comes to that, I grew up around actresses. Though the world may doubt their honor, many are quite virtuous and have learned how to protect themselves, skills they passed on to me. I feel quite confident I could discourage any unwanted attentions.”
“Even against a taller, more powerful man?”
“A taller, more powerful man would not expect me to know how to resist him,” she pointed out. “Besides, since my friends among the staff here would not allow such a thing to happen under their very noses, nor have I any intention of driving with or strolling about with men I cannot trust, I doubt I shall have need of my skill. There, have I reassured you?”
“Somewhat. But do allow me to make you a list of men with whom you must never, ever ride or drive. I will not feel easy until I’ve done all I can to ensure your safety.”
Her expression softened. “I truly am touched by your concern.”
“You must know you are…special to me,” Will replied, substituting that word at the last instant for the “precious” he’d been about to utter. “I only wish I could do more. I’d warn Lynton, but his dislike for me is so intense, I doubt he would believe me. And regrettably, I cannot…restrain Lady Lynton in the manner I should prefer.”
Will didn’t realize he’d instinctively tensed his hands into fists until Allegra began to gently straighten each clenched finger. Further conversation was impossible while he focused on the glorious sensation of her fingers stroking his.
He barely suppressed a sigh of disappointment when, her task concluded, she lowered her arm back to her side. “’Tis really best to do nothing,” she advised.
When her words finally penetrated, Will shook his head in amazement. “How can you view her interference so calmly? I’d be ready to strangle her.”
Allegra smiled ruefully. “What would you have me do? Rush into her chamber, burst into tears, beg her to treat me more charitably? I’d rather starve in the street.”
“How about you rush into her chamber, drag her from bed by her hair and scratch her eyes out? Since, unlike we gentlemen, you cannot slap her face with your glove and demand that she name her seconds.”
“How unfortunate that upon his return, Rob refused to continue the fencing lessons he’d begun with me years ago!” she said with a chuckle. “But little as I like it, Sapphira is Uncle Robert’s widow and mistress of the house in which I dwell. I could hardly do anything significant enough to quell her without Rob finding out, and though she deserves no consideration, I’d rather not expose her machinations and create a dispute within the family.”
“Perhaps I could entice her to a rendezvous on the pretext of discussing her scheme, then arrange to have us ‘discovered,’” Will suggested.
Allegra shook her head. “That wouldn’t wash. Sapphira would simply put it about that you lured her there on some pretext and being a grieving widow, she agreed, never imagining you would offer insult to a lady in her position. You might succeed in tarnishing her reputation, but ’tis more likely she would discredit you instead.”
Will shrugged. “I expect I could bear the scandal.”
“But you mustn’t!” she replied, concern in her voice. “’Twould be most injurious to your hopes of wedding an heiress. Promise me you will do nothing of the sort.”
Ah yes, those hopes—or rather, Lucilla’s hopes. Will felt his chest tighten. Though he was becoming surer by the day that the only heiress he wished to wed was Allegra, he knew instinctively that this was not the moment for such a declaration. Fumbling for something he could say, he finally replied, “If you insist, I will promise. By heaven, though, I wish something could be done. It grates exceedingly that Lady Lynton can contemplate perpetrating such an outrage with impunity.”
“Perhaps I shall hit upon a suitable response,” she said, a mischievous smile lighting her face.
“By all means do! The more nefarious the scheme, the more I should approve it.”
Allegra chuckled. “For shame, my lord! A gentleman should not bloodthirstily envision a lady’s discomfiture. But enough of Sapphira! Since we are speaking of nefarious schemes, what of your plans to take me driving? Perhaps, as you suggested last night, a public renewal of your pursuit would push Lynton into action.”
Her sudden change of subject was like a slap, bringing Will back to the realization that, for Allegra, ensnaring Lynton was still the most important goal. An aching sadness pierced his heart, followed by a brief blaze of anger. What of the kiss they had shared a few minutes ago?
To be fair, he had surprised her with it. Since she’d avoided all but a brief mention of it since, clearly she didn’t wish to even acknowledge her “unmaidenly” response. Thank heavens, then, that he hadn’t blurted out his tangled feelings and embarrassed them both.
She had never strayed from the script they had written, so best he return to it as well. “I should be delighted to take you driving again. Let us go back in and I will propose an outing to Mrs. Randall at once.”
No, he would not believe he saw disappointment in her eyes at his suggestion that they end their stroll. But having delivered his warning, ’twas no point lingering in the garden, where his restless body could remind him of the opportunities waiting round the turn of each allée when, for a few moments, they outdistanced the trailing maid. Especially when Allegra’s mind was obviously fixed, not on the titillating prospect of feeling his lips on hers again, but on getting Lynton’s ring on her finger.
Still, she should be safe now, so he should feel better. He did feel better. He just wished that the prospect of forwarding a scheme to get her into Lynton’s arms didn’t make that relief curdle in his gut.
MRS. RANDALL LOOKED UP as they reentered the parlor. “Ah, how fortuitous! I’ve just finished the last of my letters. Did you have a pleasant walk?”
“Very pleasant,” Allegra replied.
“You didn’t get too chilled?” her chaperone inquired.
To Will’s gratification, a blush colored Allegra’s cheeks. “No, the sun was quite warm.”
Mrs. Randall frowned. “And I thought the sky had come over cloudy. Well, no matter. I do wish I might have joined you. Though London is full of amusements, I must admit that I miss the beauty and peace of the countryside.”
A sudden, reckless idea formed in Will’s head. Allegra wanted to spend time in his company to provoke Lynton. Mrs. Randall pined for the country. And Will needed to do something quickly to squelch his growing compulsion to be near Allegra.
If the ladies agreed to it, this scheme was likely to inflame Lynton to the point of making some dramatic move to secure Allegra’s affections—if he ever meant to. It might infuriate him enough that Will could maneuver him into a bout of fisticuffs, a prospect Will found vastly appealing. Bloodying her beloved’s nose would probably give the bewitching Allegra a distaste for his company—if viewing his decrepit ruin of an estate didn’t send her fleeing first. He would be left in peace to pursue one of Lucilla’s approved heiresses.
He pushed aside the fact that pursuing other heiresses held no appeal at all.
“Miss Antinori and I have just been talking about taking a drive. But now that you mention a visit to the country, Mrs. Randall, what if we were all to ride out to Brookwillow? If we leave early enough, we can reach the estate by midday. The inn in the village has a tolerable lunch, and we could be back to London before nightfall.”
Mrs. Randall sighed. “Oh, a day trip out of London does sound lovely! Where is your estate located?”
“In Hampshire, about five miles from Hemley.”
