Most Rebellious Debutante (10 page)

Whoever or whatever she was, she was no namby-pamby socialite! She had as much courage and resourcefulness as a seasoned campaigner on the Peninsular and he wanted to know her better. But not now. Not while his cousin’s
presence
in the area might endanger her life along with his own.

A small cough brought them both back to reality.

‘The young lady’d best be on ’er way, Cap’n,’ Staines warned. ‘We’ve no knowing what Lieutenant Potterill might be doin’.’

Lord Rockhaven released her and unsteadily regained his balance, shaking his head in wonder. He wasn’t sure what had happened within him. Was she aware of his thoughts? He looked at her searchingly, wondering if she would be looking at him with loathing for having lifted her hand to his lips.

She wasn’t. Her eyes steadily held his and she seemed to be as spellbound as he was. She wasn’t repelled by him: her face glowed with wonder.

He felt a jolt of— He wasn’t sure what to call the
sensation
he felt as he looked into her eyes. He suddenly knew that, if he survived the coming encounter with his cousin, he would come back and search her out – whatever her social standing, or lack of it; she had pierced his heart.

He reached out and gently trailed his fingers down her cheek. ‘Thank you,’ he murmured softly. ‘I am indebted to you, but now you must go.’

‘Yes,’ Lucy said faintly, pulling her thoughts together. ‘I … I’ll come back in the morning, if I may,’ she whispered faintly. ‘To make sure you’re all right,’ she added, as if fearing that her motive was likely to be misunderstood.

He gripped her hand again, holding it tightly in the intensity of his sudden fear for her safety. ‘Do not return tonight, nor, if you suspect that Piers is still here, tomorrow. He would have no hesitation in eliminating you if he thought you privy to his actions. Promise me!’

Lucy felt a pang of fear. This was no game they were
playing. Her startled eyes met Lord Rockhaven’s intent gaze.

‘I demand your promise!’ he insisted, all traces of softness now gone from his expression.

Lucy nodded. ‘I promise,’ she whispered. She withdrew her hand from Lord Rockhaven’s and made herself smile briskly. She knew she had to be on her way – her presence was a hindrance to his concealment – and she was anxious to be somewhere on her own so that she could sort out her tumbling emotions.

‘God be with both of you,’ she said, as she carefully slipped out of the den between the overhanging branches and hurried back to where she had left her gig.

‘A grand lass,’ Staines commented, as the branches dropped back into place. ‘What I’d call a real lady.’

‘Yes,’ Theo agreed, thinking of the softness of the hand that had lain in his, burning his own toughened skin. ‘Lucy Templeton,’ he repeated softly, knowing he would be forever in her debt. But, there was no time for such reflections right now – he had all night for that!

‘Help me into the chair, Staines,’ he said more briskly, ‘then you, too, must be on your way. And, yes, may God go with you, my good friend.’

L
UCY REACHED HER
gig, relieved that the remaining dog was barking no more than its usual recognition of her
presence
. She swiftly unhitched Maud’s reins and led her round to face the track before she climbed aboard. Then, with a click of her tongue and a gentle flick of her whip she signalled Maud to set off. She felt tense with apprehension, thinking that, for once, she would be relieved to be back at Glenbury Lodge, and even more relieved on the morrow when she met Lord Rockhaven once more and was assured of his safety.

She had seen a softer side of his nature, the part of his character that would have been more evident to his mother and grandmother, generating within them the obvious love they bore for him. Had he been aware of the surge of passion she had felt for him? She hoped not. She had worn her heart on her sleeve too visibly when she had thought that Mario Vitali was as much in love with her as she had been with him. And how mistaken had that belief been! But not even that sobering thought could dispel the euphoria that surrounded her. She felt as though she were floating on air. ‘Oh, please keep him safe!’ she breathed in almost silent prayer. Surely, tomorrow they would be laughing about a wasted piece of drama!

She paused at the end of the track and drew in her breath sharply. A well-appointed curricle was coming at a fast pace from the direction of the village. The hope that the vehicle would continue past her faded as the curricle slowed its pace. The driver, a dandy if ever she saw one, regarded her with an aggressive air as he began to turn his matching greys towards the track.

She immediately knew from Mrs Boulton’s description that this was Lord Rockhaven’s cousin. Someone must have indeed mentioned the vagrant ex-soldier to him and he was coming to check who it was. She had to delay him!

Clicking her tongue and giving the reins an
imperceptible
flick, she urged Maud forward. The man’s aristocratic features glared down at her as he realized that a collision was imminent.

‘Hey! Look out!’ the man bellowed, pulling hard on his reins.

Lucy tugged on the left-hand rein, swiftly followed by a tug on the right, giving Maud a contradictory signal. Maud mis-stepped and, instead of turning, reared slightly as she found herself too near the high-stepping greys.

At that point, Lucy put the best of her driving skills into practice and pulled the left rein again, taking Maud to within a whisker of the off-side grey and her gig followed behind, her wheel neatly sliding between the curricle’s
offside
wheel and the body of the curricle.

A sharp oath briefly drew her glance to the thickset groom in the rumble seat, his weatherbeaten face snarling at her seeming ineptitude. A ripple of fear ran down her spine but she concentrated on reining in Maud before irreparable damage was done to her gig.

The dandy had brought his greys to a shuddering halt. They were now rearing and bucking, their eyes rolling wildly at the sudden halt to their progress. The man uttered a coarse oath as he strove to control them. Lucy’s face flushed with embarrassment and anger, but she strove to keep her voice in neutral tones.

‘Oh, dear,’ she uttered mildly, looking up at the irate driver, hoping that he took her rosy cheeks to be the outcome of embarrassment. ‘We seem to have become entangled somewhat, don’t we? I’m most dreadfully sorry.’

‘Entangled? You clumsy—’ He managed to bite back
whatever
epithet he was about to bestow upon her and, instead, ground out, ‘Ham-fisted drivers such as you should be barred from driving on public roads. If you were a man I would knock you from your seat! Get down at once so that we can sort this mess out – and keep that bone-setter still, will you!’

Lucy felt incensed. Even though she had performed a deliberate piece of bad driving, she couldn’t believe that any gentleman, even one of dubious character, would speak to a woman in such a high-handed fashion. Her mouth
tightened
as she fastened the reins to the side of her seat, then stood and swung around to face the furious young man, the backs of her hands resting on her hips.

‘Maud is no bone-setter, sir,’ she said indignantly. ‘She is as finely bred as your … your …’ No, not even in anger could she pour scorn on his beautiful pair. She decided to change tack and use feminine wiles. ‘Well, maybe not,’ she said in softer tones, ‘but she is a sweet goer, all the same. I beg you, sir, do not blame my pony for my mishandling of her.’

‘“Mishandling” is not how I would describe your lack of driving skills, miss,’ he said haughtily. ‘Do you realize that
you could have caused a nasty accident here? I have never seen such appalling driving, even from a female!’

‘I
did
avert a bad accident, though, didn’t I?’ Lucy
challenged
. ‘You were driving so swiftly, I felt sure you were about to sweep us off the road. And I am sure your man can readily sort us out.’ She decided a bit of flattery might help her cause. ‘I confess I was lost in admiration of your greys,’ she declared, imitating the breathless tones that she recalled some of her fellow debutantes using when wishing to sweet-talk a suitor, and fluttered her eyelashes in a beguiling manner. ‘The sight of them quite took my senses away. But then, I am sure that you must be used to such a reaction as mine. However, I do apologize, sir.’ She lowered her head and then looked up at him coquettishly from under her lashes, another action she remembered
scornfully
witnessing at a ball one evening.

‘Hmph! I suppose it could have been worse,’ he allowed. ‘However, you’d best get down so that Hodge can get to work on sorting it out.’ He had already secured his reins and he leaped down on the far side of his curricle as he spoke, joining his man, Hodge, who was appraising the interlocked wheels.

Lucy climbed down from her driving seat and stood on the grass verge, watching as the two men worked to persuade Maud to back up a couple of steps to separate the two wheels without causing damage to the curricle.

It took only ten minutes or so and Lucy decided that some effusive thanks would secure a few more moments of delay. She clasped her hands together at her breast as Lieutenant Potterill approached her, fastidiously wiping his hands on a linen cloth.

‘Oh, how clever you are! What a good thing it is that men
are so much stronger than we females. I don’t know where we would be without you.’ She flashed him a winsome smile and saw that her praise mollified him somewhat, though he didn’t answer her. His hand cleaning complete, he looked her up and down disdainfully and obviously decided that she was far inferior to his class.

‘Your gig is ready. Be on your way,’ he said dismissively, ‘and learn to handle your pony more skilfully before you risk other people’s lives again!’

Lucy suppressed the indignation that rose within her and assumed an expression of humble gratitude. ‘Yes, sir. I thank you kindly.’ She bobbed a slight curtsy and turned towards her gig.

‘Wait a moment.’ His eyes narrowed as he said
suspiciously
. ‘What were you doing coming from Montcliffe land? I suppose you know you have been trespassing?’

Lucy decided a bit of spirit wouldn’t go amiss. His
attitude
really was insufferable. She drew herself up and met his superior glance with a hauteur of her own.

‘Although I see it as no business of yours, sir, I have been on a charitable errand. After hearing that an unfortunate ex-soldier who has been discharged without a pension has taken residence in the old cottage in the wood, I have taken him some wholesome food.’

‘Really?’ His eyes gleamed with a sudden interest. ‘Er, what sort of man is he, this ex-soldier?’

Lucy forced some lightness into her voice. ‘Exactly what you would expect an ex-soldier to be – a capable but
disillusioned
man struggling to put his life back together.’

‘Indeed?’ His eyebrows rose perceptibly. ‘But what class of man? One similar to myself, would you say?’

Lucy regarded him coolly. ‘Oh, no, sir. A little lower than you. More like your groom, I would say.’

His lips tightened. Lucy might have smiled if she hadn’t felt so tense. As suspected, he had no sense of humour.

‘How many men are there?’ he asked sharply.

Lucy injected a tone of surprise into her voice. ‘Only one man is there,’ she replied carefully.

He looked at her appraisingly, as if weighing up her answers. It took all of Lucy’s nerve not to wilt under his hostile glare.

‘And where are you going now?’

‘That, sir, is none of your business. But, as it happens, I am going home.’ She hoped she had given Staines enough time to get back to the cottage and dismantle the parallel bars and whatever other actions he needed to do to erase any evidence of Lord Rockhaven’s recent presence there. ‘Good day to you, sir.’ She nodded her head curtly in his direction before abruptly resuming her driving seat. ‘
Giddy-up
, Maud!’

Her hands were shaking as she flicked the reins – indeed her whole body was shaking. Her skin felt as if a thousand pins were being pricked into it and she knew without doubt that the man was still watching her departure. However, she refused to give him any sense of satisfaction by looking over her shoulder. The longer he delayed moving on the better! She only wished she might have been able to witness his disappointment when he saw the man in
question
wasn’t his cousin.

Lucy returned the pony and gig to the stables and hurried inside, knowing that she had spent more time away than
she usually did. What a blessing it was that this had happened whilst Marissa and her family were away. Her longer absence would not have escaped her sister’s notice and she would have been compelled to explain the reason. Fortunately, Cook was readily side-tracked with Lucy’s volunteered information of how the villagers appreciated her culinary gifts and she affably bade Lucy to get up those stairs and change for dinner.

Lucy spent an anxious evening. It infuriated her to know that if she were a man, she could creep back through the wood to see what was happening and maybe be of assistance if Lieutenant Potterill did indeed have the evil intentions Lord Rockhaven suspected of him. She blew out her candle and kneeled on the window seat at her open bedroom window, staring into the darkness towards the small
woodland
. She listened intently through the still night air and heard an owl hooting in the distance, but nothing more. What was happening out there? Was Theo safe?

She let his given name swirl around in her thoughts … it suddenly seemed so natural to think of him as such. Her heart was in turmoil over him. How could she have changed in such a short time? She recalled the old dowager countess asking, ‘Would you marry him, Miss Templeton?’ and her heartfelt answer of, ‘No, not unless I loved him.’ How
impossible
that had seemed then!

But, now? Even though she had seen so little of him, her feelings towards him had dramatically changed. She felt … what was it? A racing excitement when she was with him and the same when he was in her thoughts, but she had little hope that he felt the same. She felt he had built an impenetrable wall around his emotions, but he
had
held her
hand and kissed her palm. Surely that meant he had some feeling towards her? Or was it just gratitude for her
assistance
?

Her thoughts sobered and concern about the outcome of the next few hours swept over her. Had Lord Rockhaven’s cousin taken Staines’s word that only he was living at the cottage? Had he driven off? Returned to the Eagle and Child for the night? Would he return the next day to search further? She would have to visit Mrs Boulton again and get her husband to try to find out what Lieutenant Potterill’s plans were. Or had Potterill somehow discovered Lord Rockhaven’s hiding place and was he, even at this moment, lying injured – or worse – alone in the darkness? No, Staines would not have allowed that to happen. He would have given up his life for his master!

Her breath caught in her throat. What if he had? It would have been two against one, with evil intent an added weapon in Potterill’s hand.

Oh, how could she just sit here as though nothing were amiss? But she had promised not to return. She bit her lower lip. Did such a promise override her desperate concern for his safety?

Even now, Lord Rockhaven might be at Lieutenant Potterill’s mercy! But, if that
were
so, she knew her
presence
would more than likely make the situation worse. She
had
to leave it to Lord Rockhaven and Staines. Oh, but it was hard to remain here not knowing!

‘Theo … Theo.’ She rolled his name over and over and then whispered aloud, ‘Theo … be safe!’

She was awake with the lightening sky and waited
impatiently
until she knew her early appearance wouldn’t cause too much comment. After hurriedly partaking of some breakfast, she changed into her carriage dress once more, hoping that its tears weren’t noticeable and presented herself in the kitchen.

‘I must make a return visit to – to one of the homes I visited yesterday,’ she told Cook, her fingers crossed in the fold of her skirt. Her actual words could be taken as truth but she knew her intent was to mislead and it didn’t sit easily with her. ‘One of the sons is … er … ailing and I
promised
to return today. Some bread and milk would ease their situation and … er … anything else that can be spared.’

‘Now, don’t you be getting too involved, Miss Templeton,’ Cook warned. ‘Charity is one thing, but too much can lead to problems. I’m sure your sister didn’t intend you to spend quite so much time visiting the village, nor should you be visiting this early. Tell me who it is and I’ll send Nora with one of the grooms.’

‘Oh, I’m quite happy doing what I’m doing,’ Lucy assured her. ‘I would be riding that way anyway and I’m sure my sister would approve.’ If ever I am able to tell her, she added silently.

Cook shook her head doubtfully, but she had already organized her staff to cover certain tasks that day. Eeh, and what would be the harm? She doubted Mrs Cunningham would be interested in the fine details of Miss Templeton’s activities as long as no scandal was attached to them. And charitable giving was the good Lord’s command, wasn’t it? So, she set to and made up a basket of food suitable for an invalid.