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“Please convey that I shall be honored to receive His Highness at any time he chooses,” Adam acknowledged.
“Come, then, I haven’t explored the gardens or the park yet. I’ll let you saddle one of your thoroughbreds for me so I can ride through the grounds.”
Adam smiled. “Tony will do the honors for me. I’ll go down and round up a party of those wishing to ride.”
Tony would rather eat horse manure. When they arrived at the stables, however, the grooms had anticipated the guests and had a dozen horses saddled and ready. Savage arrived at the stables with six gentlemen and four ladies, all eager to tour the hunting park of Edenwood on horseback. He lifted Georgiana into a sidesaddle, allowed his hands to linger at her fashionably tiny waist, and smiled up into her beautiful face.
“Stab me, sweetheart, but two dozen of my neighbors just arrived and we will need their votes to keep me in the House, you know.”
Georgiana pouted her pretty lips. “I lose all my men to politics. She’s a demanding mistress.”
It seemed to Tony that an intimate current ran between the two of them as she watched the byplay. Christ, had he already bedded Georgiana too?
In disgust Tony turned away to help the other ladies mount. One of them was so young, Antonia’s gorge rose as she observed the older man at her elbow. With relief she realized that Lord Harvey had brought his daughter. Charlotte couldn’t keep her eyes from Tony Lamb. She’d seen his name lately in the scandal sheets and now that she’d seen him in this opulent background had decided to set her cap for him.
Georgiana led the way and the men sped after her. Tony hung back, knowing she was in a surly mood and no fit company today. Charlotte, however, spied her opportunity to be alone with the attractive young lord.
“When the Season begins, my father has promised me a ball. Will you come, Lord Lamb?”
Tony was ready to give the young miss a setdown when she saw how sweet and vulnerable the girl was. “If I am in London, I would be honored, my lady.” To discourage her Tony suggested, “Hadn’t you better catch up with the others? The river is only about a mile from here.”
The girl blushed and lowered her lashes. “I’d much rather ride through the woods, my lord.”
Good God, some randy young buck was going to make a meal of this one. Becoming a part of the male world had shown her there was no such thing as a code of honor where females were concerned. All men were profligate, lifting women’s skirts as casually and as frequently as they lifted a pinch of snuff. There was actually a conspiracy abroad to keep very young females in total ignorance of all things carnal so they were utterly unprepared when they encountered seduction.
The sanctity of marriage was another great myth. The whole of society made a mockery of fidelity. There was no such thing as a faithful husband. Was it any wonder that older women no longer even paid lip service to chastity? Savage kept a stable of women much the same as he kept his Thoroughbreds and all were eager to be ridden!
Tony was working herself into a fine rage. She hardly paid attention when something went whizzing past her ear. Her mount shied and Charlotte squeaked, “Whatever was that?”
Suddenly Tony went cold as an horrendous suspicion came into her mind. Within a minute the whistling came again and a bullet entered the tree behind her.
“Someone’s shooting at us!”
Charlotte gave a squeaky scream as Tony grabbed the girl’s reins and dug her heels into her horse to make it gallop. They thundered off in the direction of the river and didn’t slow until Georgiana’s party came into view. The girl looked as frightened as Tony felt inside. To reassure Charlotte she said, “Probably someone poaching game. Stay close to the others and I’ll go and report the bloody fool.”
Tony’s fear diminished as her anger grew. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind who had been shooting at her. She had to make Adam Savage believe that Bernard Lamb was trying to kill her. How dare he put her at risk by inviting the evil bastard to Edenwood?
Tony clattered into the long stable and turned the horse over to a groom. She was just about to go in search of Savage when she heard a low, deep laugh coming from one of the box stalls. She recognized it immediately. It was followed by a seductive feminine voice and an intimate laugh.
Tony strode to the box stall, almost blinded by a red mist of anger. What she saw over the top of the half-door stopped her dead in her tracks. Savage, his back covered in bits of straw, was offering his hand to Angela Brown, who reclined brazenly in the hay. Savage helped her to her feet and drawled, “I told you we’d be discovered. I suppose we should be thankful it was Tony and not Bernard.”
“My cousin was too busy stalking me in the woods!”
Adam did not believe for one minute that Bernard posed any sort of threat to Tony. His ward was a little spoiled because of his money and disliked Bernard simply because he was poor. Tony was almost preoccupied with the notion that his cousin was out to harass him.
“Tony, for God’s sake, you’re obsessed,” Savage said with disgust.
Tony swept the actress with an angry look of contempt. She was wearing the most flamboyant outfit of red and yellow. If anyone else had dressed this way, she would have been carted off to Bedlam. On Angela it looked stunning.
“How’s the ankle?” Tony asked sarcastically.
With a straight face Adam replied, “Having just examined it thoroughly, I can assure you it’s good as new.”
Angela gave him a saucy sidelong glance and dusted the straw from her skirts.
“Good,” Tony flung, “she won’t have to spend so much time on her back!”
“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Savage demanded.
