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“It was,” he replied, offering her his arm.
“And what now?” She felt strangely embarrassed after the lustful act they had performed.
“Well, we should continue our walk. They saw us come in here. Let them speculate on what happened,” he restated.
Eloise nodded. She could only imagine what would be said about them in the drawing rooms and salons of fashionable society, and as they emerged from the shrubbery, she caught sight of none other than the Crawford sisters, walking arm in arm towards the Serpentine. They saw Eloise, too, and the look of anger on their faces was enough for Eloise to realize there could be no going back now.
“They’ve seen us,” Eloise whispered, as she and Jackson walked arm in arm along the path from the shrubbery towards the water’s edge.
“Let them see us. Let the whole world see us. We’ve nothing to hide. We’re going to be married,” he asserted.
Eloise glanced nervously at Penelope and Claudia. They had paused and were standing beneath matching parasols, their faces set in angry grimaces.
“They’ll tell Lord Crawford what they’ve seen. He’ll be so angry,” Eloise wavered.
She was under no illusion that Lord Crawford wanted to marry her. But he was the sort of man for whom power was everything, and he had not taken kindly to being rejected. He would want to possess her. It would be a matter of pride.
“Good. He’ll leave you alone then,” Jackson maintained.
They had come to the edge of the Serpentine. A path wound its way around the edge, and couples were doing much the same as them – walking arm in arm, their gazes fixed lovingly on one another.
“Shall we continue our walk?” Eloise asked.
“To be seen,” he replied, smiling at her as they took the clockwise route around the water’s edge.
Glancing back, Eloise was disturbed to see Penelope and Claudia following them, and they caught up with them just as they passed a small jetty where pleasure boats could be hired to row across the water.
“You think you’re very clever, don’t you?” Penelope called out.
Eloise and Jackson turned to face them, and the two sisters now pointed their fingers angrily at them.
“You’re promised to our brother. And what’s promised to him is promised to us. You’ve insulted us, Eloise Snowden, and we’ll not let you forget it,” Claudia sneered.
Eloise looked at them fearfully. Although with Jackson at her side, she felt emboldened to speak.
“Your brother’s nothing but a rake. He tore my dress and insulted me last night at the ball. I don’t want anything to do with him,” she scoffed.
“Let’s take out a boat,” Jackson whispered, and he pulled at Eloise’s arm, leading her along the jetty to where a surly-looking young man was in charge of untethering the craft and taking payments.
Penelope and Claudia followed them, still intent, it seemed, on having their say.
“Our brother always gets what he wants,” Penelope snapped, as Jackson paid for the hire of the boat and stepped down into it, holding out his hand for Eloise, who stepped down next to him.
“Perhaps he needs a lesson in humility,” Eloise retorted.
She had been scared of the two sisters the previous evening, but now she felt only angry at their arrogant belief in their superiority and their brother’s.
“How dare you speak of him like that? You’re nothing but a…” Penelope began.
But at that moment, Jackson had raised the oars and slipped backwards – apparently by accident – into the stern of the rowing boat. As it tipped, the oar rose from the water and skidded along the jetty, catching the skirts of Penelope and Claudia, who fell headfirst into the water. Eloise grabbed hold of Jackson to steady herself. The boat bobbed in the water, as Penelope and Claudia screamed. The water was not deep, and the young man reluctantly waded in to help them.
“So sorry, these boats are quite unruly,” Jackson called out, as he and Eloise floated out across the water, leaving Penelope and Claudia floundering.
CHAPTER6
Eloise found herself distracted in the afternoon with thoughts of all that had occurred that morning in the park. They had made a pleasant outing on the water, returning to the jetty just as Penelope and Claudia were being taken away in a carriage. They had been furious, but Eloise could summon little sympathy for them. Just like the spilled punch, accidents could happen.
But it was not just thoughts of Lord Crawford’s sisters that preoccupied her, but also thoughts of Jackson himself. The intimacy they had shared in the shrubbery kept coming to mind, even as she tried to concentrate on writing her letters. She could hardly believe what had passed between them, and she was uncertain whether to feel ashamed or delighted in the memory.
