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CHAPTERFIVE
The following afternoon, Irene received a caller, and Elizabeth began to hope it would interfere with the drive about the park with Guildford. She had conveyed the message, and Irene had been excited.
She was fighting two battles…one with him and the other with her body, and after feeling a thrill when he had asked her to persuade him yesterday, she feared that she might lose the fight against her body. She could not. That was why she had refused to talk to him about their kiss.
She was seated at her escritoire, writing when Brutus tugged at her dress. She glanced down at him. “What is it, my little one?” He ran to her bedchamber door and then back to her. “Now?” she asked, and he jumped.
Setting down her quill, she picked up her spencer which Stella had left out for her, and put it on. Then she smiled and went to open the door. “Thank your stars it is not raining today, Brutus.” He barked happily in response.
She walked around the street with him every afternoon when it was not raining. In the country, they would take very long walks which he loved, and she could tell he missed them. She missed them, too.
As they stepped out of her bedchamber, she saw Irene, and she appeared to be in a hurry. “Oh, Elizabeth! I was coming to find you. Guildford is here.” Elizabeth’s spirits fell. “I had told Sir. Frances that I would be going for a drive with Lord Guildford, and he did not stay very long. Will you come with us?”
“Me? Why?”
“I want you with me, Elizabeth.” Irene took her hand as she implored. “Please? And Brutus could come with us.” Elizabeth was about to decline when she realized she was the best person to chaperone her sister and Guildford. He was a rake, and she did not want him to convince Irene to marry him by seducing her. And Brutus would be happy to go to the park.
“Very well,” she agreed, and Irene hugged her.
“Thank you, Elizabeth! I will get my spencer and bonnet and meet you downstairs.” Elizabeth led Brutus downstairs and waited for Irene in the hallway. She knew Guildford was in one of the drawing rooms, and she refused to see him. Unfortunately, he stepped out at that moment.
Their eyes met, and the heat of his gaze rushed through her blood, causing her breath to catch. He inclined his head in greeting, and said, “My Lady.”
She curtsied. “My Lord.”
“Thank you for giving Lady Irene my message.”
She nodded, then said, “I shall be your chaperone this afternoon.”
His eyes immediately narrowed, and his brows knit. “You.”
“Yes.” She smiled at his discomfort. He should feel what she was feeling.
“Why?”
“Irene asked me to.” Elizabeth’s smile broadened. “No, that is not quite right,” she chuckled. “She implored me to chaperone you.”
His mouth curved but a smile did not form. “I see. And I assume your pet is coming with us.”
“Yes. This is the time I usually walk with him, and since our plans have been interrupted, he must be compensated.”
“You—”
“Are we ready?” Irene interrupted him as she descended the stairs and joined them.
“Yes, we are, My Lady,” he replied pleasantly, taking Irene’s hand and kissing it. His eyes were on Elizabeth as he did so. She turned away and led Brutus out of the house. He was using her sister to provoke her, and she was not going to allow him to gain any satisfaction from her expression. Elizabeth waited for him to help Irene into the open-top carriage before she stepped up with Brutus.
“Please, allow me,” Guildford said, reaching for the dog.
Brutus growled and leaped into the carriage, and Elizabeth smiled up at Guildford. “He is quite independent.”
“Yes, I can see that. May I?” He held out his hand. She wanted to refuse him, but she was not the sort of woman who declined courtesy. She placed her hand in his and immediately felt a shiver run through her. She quickly removed her hand and took her seat.
She turned to Irene to see if her sister had noticed her discomfort, but Irene was playing with Brutus. As Guildford climbed into the rear-facing seat, their eyes met and held. Something gleamed in the blue depths, and she felt heat and color creeping from her chest to her face. Her heart started to beat faster. With one look, he was able to awaken her desire, and she was helpless against the current that washed through her.
The most she could do was look away from him, and she was immensely glad when Brutus climbed onto her lap, and she was able to distract herself by playing with him.
“Oh, Elizabeth!” Irene tugged at her sleeve sometime later. “Look. This would make a lovely painting.” Elizabeth followed Irene’s hand to see a flock of birds flying in the sky, which was as blue as Irene’s eyes. She smiled, wishing she could capture the image with something more than her mind.
