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The old fellow clucked his tongue. “Lass, ye shouldna be meetin’ up with strange men in parks.”
“Unless it was your grandson?” Sabrina countered. When Angus narrowed his gaze, she mentally checked off a point in her favor. “In any case, my maid was with me.”
“If ye mean that Hannah, I’d nae think she’d be much of a chaperone.”
“Exactly,” Graeme said. “As I informed Lady Sabrina at the time.”
“Good lad.” Angus waggled a grandfatherly finger at Sabrina. “It’s a good thing Graeme came along, ye ken.”
Sadly, she couldn’t deny that fact. “Yes, I do ken.”
“Unfortunately, there was more to it than Lady Sabrina’s getting pushed into the pond,” Graeme said.
His grandfather twisted sideways to look at him. His gaze grew sharp. “What aren’t ye telling me, son?”
“First, you need to promise not to get upset, Grandda. Because I’m handling it.”
Sabrina held up a hand. “Actually, I already handled it.”
Graeme had the nerve to look slightly amused. “Is that what you call it?”
She lifted her chin in silent defiance.
Angus chopped down an impatient hand. “Cut line, the both of ye. What’s so bloody mysterious about this fallin’-in-the-pond nonsense?”
“It’s about who Lady Sabrina was waiting for before she fell into the pond,” Graeme said.
“Well?”
“Again, you need to promise you won’t go off.”
“I promise I’ll throttle ye if ye don’t stop skatin’ about like a ninny.”
Graeme seemed to mentally brace himself. “Lady Sabrina was meeting Lord Cringlewood.”
For a good thirty seconds, the old man was speechless. When he recovered, Sabrina soon found herself stunned by the inventiveness of Scottish profanity.
* * *
“Ainsley, I’m so sorry,” Sabrina said. “I wish I could have spared you this.”
Seated opposite her in the family drawing room, Ainsley waved a hand. “Please, none of this is your fault. I’m only grieved that you had to put up with that loathsome creature’s appalling behavior.”
“I still can’t believe Cringlewood had the nerve to return to England, much less to London,” exclaimed Victoria, who had plumped down next to Sabrina on the sofa.
“He needed to hunt for an heiress,” Ainsley replied.
Sabrina winced. “And I fit the bill.”
Ainsley’s extraordinary violet eyes warmed with sympathy. “Single ladies with large fortunes will always be prey to fortune hunters. It’s rather an occupational hazard.”
Sabrina had always assumed her father’s disapproval of her suitors had stemmed from his reluctance for her to marry. In light of recent events, she now couldn’t blame him for his overprotective tendencies. Her most attractive asset had never been her intellect, personality, or looks. She’d been a fool to think it anything but the size of her fortune.
Victoria patted her hand. “I’ll be writing to Aden to ask him what’s to be done. Cringlewood cannot be allowed to continue to prey on women.”
“Your brother is dealing with the matter, although I’m not quite sure what the arrangements are.”
“It sounds like you did an excellent job of handling the pig yourself,” Ainsley said. “I wish I could have seen you shove him over that balcony.”
