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Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. “But didn’t you want to know–”
“We are leaving. This minute.”
Lenora did not speak another word for the entire carriage ride home, and when they were back Clarenmore Park she waved off her husband’s advances, ordered Eloise and Bridget to busy themselves elsewhere, and nearly dragged Annabel into the parlor, closing the door behind them with an authoritativeclick.
“Now,” she said, crossing her arms. “You are going to tell me precisely what happened that night. Without leaving out even the most minute detail. Is that understand?”
Annabel bristled at her sister’s tone, but she hardly had room to argue against it. Not when she’d been caught in a lie fair and square. Biting down hard on the inside of her cheek, she walked to the nearest window and gazed sullenly out through the clear glass at the snow covered lawn beyond.
They hadn’t received much in the way of accumulation this winter–mostly sleet and rain–but an early morning storm had left a pretty dusting of white in its wake. She hoped it stayed through to Christmas. Almost as much as she hoped that a hole would open up in the middle of the floor and swallow her right up, for surely that’d be preferable to telling Lenora the truth. But with no such hole forthcoming, she supposed it was best to just get it over with. Like tearing off a scab before it had time to scar.
“There isn’tthatmuch to tell. Lord Whitmore and his friends really did hold up the carriage. When it stopped, I was thrown to the floor. Lord Whitmore came around to look for who he thought was going to be inside, some Lord Hatfield, I believe he said his name was, and found me instead.”
“And then?” Lenora asked, her flat tone revealing none of what she was thinking.
And then I begged him to kiss me and writhed with wild abandon when he did.
“I asked for his assistance, as the driver was busy, and Lord Whitmore helped me return to my seat.” Annabel paused to run her tongue along the back of her teeth as she choose her next words with great care. She didn’t want to lie again, but neither could she tell Lenora the full extent of what had occurred. Not with Ezra coming here tomorrow night! Her sister was an honorable person, and demanded honor from others in return. If she came to be under the impression that a man had taken advantage of her sister in an intimate way, or even that her sister had taken advantage of a man, she might be prompted to take drastic action. Then there was Perth.
Annabel’s brother-in-law was a complete wild card. He was fiercely devoted to his wife, and her siblings in turn. He could just as easily challenge Ezra to pistols at dawn for an illegal duel or he could laugh the entire thing off and suggest that Lenora to do the same. There was no way to know in advance.
“And after you were in your seat?” Lenora prompted.
“In my defense, you saw with your own eyes how handsome he is.” She curled her fingers around the sill. “I…I forgot myself for a moment, and I leaned in and kissed him.”
“Youkissed Lord Whitmore? Not the other way around?”
“He kissed me back, as I’d expect that he would. Then the driver came around, and that was the end of it. I didn’t learn his name. To be honest, I never thought I’d see him again.”
Lenora’s clothes rustled as she adjusted her stance. “If that’s all that happened, why didn’t you tell me this to begin with? And why in heaven’s name would you pretend that you didn’t know who he was?”
“I should have.” On a sigh, she pivoted to face her sister. “And I’m not sure. The kiss was…unexpected. I suppose that I wanted to strike it from my memory.”
“That bad?” Lenora started to cluck her tongue in sympathy, but her brows shot up towards her hairline when Annabel flushed. “Or perhaps it was thatgood.”
“It was…different. From anything I’ve ever, ah, from what I imagine kissing to be like.”
“I am fully aware that you had a hayloft rendezvous with Lord Vane,” said Lenora dryly.
“You knew about that?”
“An older sister knowseverything.”
Not quite, but as Annabel considered this to be the best possible outcome of a potentially disastrous situation, she wisely held her tongue.
“Well,” said Lenora, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. “This shall certainly make for a more interesting dinner party.”
Panic, unfamiliar and tight, gripped Annabel’s chest in a vice. “You…you cannot mean to still invite him here tomorrow.”
“Why ever not?”
“Because–because it wouldn’t be proper!”
Lenora looked at her oddly. “You have explained what happened, Annabel. While I’d rather you not go about kissing strangers, one small incident kept between us will not result in your ruination. To be quite frank, given your history with Lord Whitmore–”
“History?” The vice tightened, making it difficult to breathe. “I wouldn’t say we havehistory.”
“–it would be stranger if we didn’t extend an invitation, let alone revoked it. Who is to say? Lord Whitmore might even prove to be a most excellent suitor. He is an earl,” she pointed out. “You yourself described him as handsome. Perhaps our dinner party will bring about what the London Season so far has not! Clarenmore Parkhasbeen lucky in that regard, as Bridget and I can testify to.” A dreamy smile, unthinkable before she fell in love with Perth, spread slowly across Lenora’s face. “It is almost Christmas. The perfect time for finding new love.”
