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“I was visiting friends over Winchester way. On my way to London, like you,” Alex answered merrily.
“Prime,” Kitty said and clapped her hands. “Then I shall have a friendly face in the London crowd.”
Magdalen laughed. “Yes, pet, a friendly one indeed.” He paused, eyed her speculatively, and said, “You must tell me when you grew up. The last time I looked at you, well, you were no more than a babe, and that was not so very long ago.”
“It certainly was a long time ago … more than a year ago,” Kitty declared. “And then I only saw you for the briefest time.”
“Far too brief it was,” Magdalen returned on a flirtatious note.
The earl needed to put a stop to this. Kitty did not yet know how to manage Magdalen’s game. And Magdalen was always playing a game with the ladies.
“I am sorry to break up this happy reunion, but I am afraid we should be on our way. We’ll just fetch Nanny from her walk and be off. Good to see you, Alex,” the earl said dismissively.
“I will travel with you,” Alex announced jovially.
“I don’t remember asking you to,” the earl returned.
“But you were about to,” Alex said and looked at Kitty. “I can’t allow you to keep my kitten all to yourself.”
The earl gave him a look that spoke volumes but said nothing in response. Magdalen, however, obviously found this amusing, as he roared and said, “To see you, my dear friend Halloway, in the role you are obviously taking quite seriously, has set me back on my heels.” He shook his head. “Perhaps there is hope for even me, yet.”
“What you may hope for, Alex, is that if you behave, you may walk away unscathed,” the earl bent in close and whispered to his friend.
“No secrets,” Kitty said. “That isn’t fair.”
The earl bent and offered his arm as she rose from the table. “You are quite right. I shall try and remember that, Kitty.”
She eyed him, and he wondered what she was thinking in that moment, for her eyes were alive with stars.
~ Twenty ~
THE CARRIAGE WAS brought round, as was Magdalen’s horse, some moments later. Kitty was surprised to hear the baron order the groom to tether his horse at the boot with the other horses. She saw at once that the earl seemed not quite surprised but, rather, annoyed.
He pulled a face and said, “I don’t think that is a good idea, Alex. It will be a tight fit for three horses back there.”
“Aye, but I have a long line, and my Big Man is a good sort. He’ll do. Good horse, Big Man,” Alex answered happily.
The earl’s eyes narrowed, and Kitty’s eyebrows arched. These two were friends, but the earl didn’t seem to want his company at all. Odd.
Magdalen helped her inside, and she situated herself comfortably beside Nanny, who was in very good spirits. He clambered in to sit across from her, slapped his hands on his knees, and said, “Dashed good thing I bumped into you. This will make the dull trip home—”
The earl had by this time spoken with Max and climbed inside to interject, “A tight fit, Alex, a tight fit.” He sat beside his friend, and Kitty nearly laughed out loud at his expression of chagrin. No, her earl was not at all pleased.
“Cozy, is what it is,” Alex answered him and turned a flirtatious smile to Kitty.
Kitty knew the earl thought her too green to see through Alex, but she wasn’t. She was totally aware that her old acquaintance was not in earnest.
She had over the years witnessed Magdalen’s action both on and off the hunting field. She had seen quite clearly during that time that he was a dear, but also that he played ‘fast and loose’ with the ladies. Oh, yes, he liked the ladies but not enough to care about what ha
ppened to them when he left them broken-hearted, and besides that, he was not someone who could ever make her swoon.
She had heard about more than one woman going into a decline because of Magdalen. She knew better than to fall into his game. He was a captivating cavalier, quite capable of ruining virgins and had, in fact, done that. He didn’t give a fig whether the woman was a barmaid or a lady from a noble family. She had after a time detected a self-serving insincerity in his style and one that she could not like. Yes, she enjoyed his flattery and exchanging quips with him, but she was not about to be taken in by Magdalen.
Even so, noting that her little flirtation with Magdalen was irritating the earl, she couldn’t help but smile to herself and wonder at it. Was the earl jealous? Was he? Did she care? Did she? Yes, she rather thought that she did care. When they had kissed she had felt something physical and something else … something more than desire, something that tilted her universe.
The ‘cozy’ group spent the next almost hour listening to Magdalen’s lively stories. The earl was even given over to participate and laugh heartily, though most of his time he seemed to be watching Alex with thoughtful eyes. Kitty was most intrigued.
The coach began to slow, and Max called out that they were approaching the Hartley Inn. “Excellent,” the earl told his young driver. He turned to Nanny. “You will enjoy the accommodations here at Hartley, and the fare they provide for dinner is always quite tasty.”
