Mr. Malcolm's List (17 page)

It was in this state that the rest of the house
party found them.
 

The sound of voices had just begun to register
itself on Selina’s consciousness, when she heard her name spoken loudly.
 
Still entangled with Malcolm in the shallow
fountain, she looked up to see Mrs. Dalton staring at her in horror.

“Mama,” she said and closed her eyes, thinking
perhaps when she opened them this would prove to be an illusion brought on by
the heat.
 
She opened them to find it was
no illusion, and that her mother was still there.

Malcolm roused himself to action, disentangling
himself from Selina and nearly drowning her in the process.
 
“Madam, I assure you, this is not what it
seems,” he told Mrs. Dalton, sitting upright in the shallow pool.

Selina raised herself up as well, trying to wipe
the water from her eyes.
 
When she was
finally able to see again, she realized Julia was looking at her in horror
while most of the gentlemen were averting their eyes.
 
Selina quickly looked down at herself, before
plopping back into the water.
 
Her dress
was clinging to her in a most embarrassing way, and she had no desire to parade
before the house party in such a state.

She was thankful when Lady Kilbourne called for a
servant and sent for some towels, before approaching Selina and Malcolm where
they sat in the fountain.
 
“Tell me,
Jeremy, if this is not what it seems, what is it, exactly?”

“Selina and I were cruelly locked in the
conservatory, which became dangerously warm.
 
Fearing for our safety, we took refuge in this fountain,” Malcolm said,
quite seriously, before coming to a stop and sighing.
 
“Miss Dalton and I would like to announce our
engagement,” he said, in resigned tones.

“Splendid,” Lady Kilbourne said.
 
“That is exactly what it seemed.”
 
Lady Kilbourne turned away from Selina and Malcolm
to address the others.
 
“I think that I
should perhaps remain behind with Malcolm and Selina while the rest of you
continue your tour of the conservatory.
 
You really must see the Orangery,” Lady Kilbourne told her guests,
literally pushing Cassie in that direction when he seemed inclined to linger by
the fountain, gazing at Selina.

Selina found herself shivering, hardly able to
believe that only a short while ago she had been overly warm.
 
Now, completely embarrassed and acutely aware
of the sordid appearance she presented, she wanted nothing more than to
disappear.
 
She put her knees in front of
her, clasped them against her chest, and rested her head on top of them, still
sitting in the shallow water.
 
Malcolm
made no move to leave the fountain, either, although he had managed to put a
great deal of space between himself and Selina.
 

Lady Kilbourne, having seen her guests on their
way, turned back to look at Selina and Malcolm, each sitting disconsolately on
either side of the fountain, soaking wet.
 

“I do understand why you might entertain a certain
fondness for that fountain, but do you plan on remaining in there the rest of
the day?” she asked them.

Selina opened her mouth to speak, but fell silent
when Malcolm said, “We are waiting for the towels.”

“Yes, I suppose you are.
 
It might prove rather embarrassing for you to
come out now, in all your glory.
 
Ah, it
looks like the towels have arrived.”

Selina thankfully accepted a towel from a footman,
trying to ignore the look of curiosity he was unable to restrain.
 
She supposed her escapade would be a topic of
much discussion in the servant’s hall that evening.
 
She held the towel in front of her like a
shield while she rose, before wrapping it around her shoulders.
 
Stepping out of the fountain, she reached for
her shoes and stockings, and then turned, preparing to run to her chamber.

“Selina,” Lady Kilbourne said, stopping her.
 
“Surely you do not intend to leave without
even a farewell to Jeremy?
 
Or perhaps
you wish for some privacy?
 
I am sure that
is perfectly understandable now that you are a newly engaged couple.
 
Just do not begin cavorting about in the
fountain again.
 
I am not sure how many
clean towels there are.”

“Mother,” Malcolm said.
 
“I am sure I can speak for Selina when I say
all that we desire is the privacy of our bedchamber.”
 
When his mother didn’t answer, but merely
raised her eyebrows, he realized that his statement did not come out as he’d
intended.
 
“Our respective bedchambers, I
mean to say.
 
We need to get out of these
wet things before we catch our death.
 
There will be plenty of time for us to talk later.”

Selina looked over at Malcolm, and was not
surprised to find him looking at her if he would like to murder her.
 
He probably thinks I planned this entire thing,
Selina thought to herself,
before excusing herself to Lady Kilbourne and running to her room.

Fifteen

Selina
had planned on changing into a dress on her own, thereby avoiding the curiosity
of Mary, the maidservant that had been assigned to assist her during her stay
at Hadley Hall.
 
It seemed, however, that
word had already traveled to Mary of Selina’s disaster, for she was waiting in
Selina’s room when she arrived and had ordered a bath.
 
Mary said nothing, but Selina’s humiliation
was complete when Mary pulled a piece of vegetation, most likely a water lily,
from her chemise.

She was
bathed, mostly dry, and clothed when her mother came to her room just as Mary
was leaving.
 
“Selina, my dear, what
happened?” Mrs. Dalton asked her, as soon as the door had closed behind
Mary.
 
Selina was sure that Mary was
regretting she hadn’t made an excuse to linger.

“Oh,
Mama, I have never been so embarrassed in my life,” Selina cried, hiding her
face in her hands.
 

“Yes, I
realize that, but is it true you are engaged to Mr. Malcolm?”
 
It was obvious Mrs. Dalton considered that
the more important of the events of the afternoon.

“If I am,
I do not want to be.
 
I know that he
believes I engineered the entire thing.
 
As if I would want to be observed thus by my family and nearly all of my
acquaintance.
 
I do not think I can face
any of them again.”

“Well, I
must admit I was rather startled to see you in so intimate an embrace with Mr.
Malcolm, but if he is willing to marry you then it will make everything all
right.
 
But of course there was no
question he would do the honorable thing.
 
It would be unthinkable of him to refuse.
 
Your reputation would be in tatters.”

 
“Mama, I do not find this kind of talk very
encouraging,” Selina said.

Her
mother merely patted her hand, before asking, “Selina, how did you come to be
in a fountain, of all places?”

“It was
so very hot, it seemed a good idea at the time, oh, I don’t know!” Selina
wailed, throwing herself on the bed and burying her face in a pillow.
 
“Please give my excuses at dinner,” she said,
her voice muffled.

“Nonsense.
 
You are engaged to the Honorable Jeremy
Malcolm of
Hadley Hall
,
Kent
.
 
Where he chooses to embrace you is nobody
else’s affair.
 
There is no need to hide
your head in a pillow.
 
I think you
should come down to tea.”

“I
definitely am not coming to tea,” Selina said, before being interrupted by a
knock at the door.

“Yes?”
Selina called.

Mary
opened the door a crack, sticking her head in the room. “Mr. Malcolm requests
your presence in the library, miss.”

“Tell him
I have caught a horrible chill—” Selina said, but her mother’s voice
overrode hers.

“Tell him
she will be down momentarily,” Mrs. Dalton said authoritatively.

“Yes,
ma’am,” Mary said, dropping a curtsey before shutting the door.

Selina
paused at the threshold of the library, observing Malcolm as he stood before
the window.
 
His hair, like her own, was
still damp, and she found the sight both embarrassing and exciting at the same
time.
 
Why can this not be a real
engagement
, she thought to herself, as she stared at his handsome
profile.
 
Why does he have to believe
so ill of me?
 
He turned then, and
saw her standing in the doorway.

Malcolm’s
thoughts upon seeing Selina were just as tumultuous.
 
He could not believe he had fallen into her
trap so easily, and it angered him that he had been so vulnerable.
 
His extreme caution had always protected him
from being caught in any kind of compromising situation, no matter what the
temptation.
 
But he was finding Selina
extremely hard to resist.
 
Even now, as
she stood there, hesitant to come in the room, her big green eyes displaying
her trepidation, he found himself wanting to finish what they’d started in the
conservatory.
 
And as much as he hated
being trapped into marriage, another part of him rejoiced at the thought that
once they were married, he would have every right to continue his exploration
of her lips, of that beautiful body…

He shook
his head to clear it of lecherous thoughts and tried to revive his anger at her
for playing such a devious trick on him.
 

“Miss
Dalton, please come in,” he told her.
 
Selina barely suppressed a sigh.
 
He still, even after all that had passed, persisted in calling her Miss
Dalton.

“I have
spoken to your father, and he has consented to our engagement.
 
So we should discuss when and where you would
like to hold the ceremony.
 
I assume you
would like to be married in your father’s church?”

“You mean
to go through with this?” Selina asked.

“Why, of
course.
 
I cannot in honor do anything
else.
 
You have been hopelessly
compromised and, as a gentleman, I must redeem your reputation.”
 
He smiled wryly.
 
“You are to be congratulated, Miss
Dalton.
 
I have avoided many attempts to
entrap me into marriage, but never have I met with someone with methods as
original as yours.”

Selina
closed her eyes briefly, as if in pain.
 
“So you believe I planned the events of this afternoon?”

“I do not
believe them to have been an accident.
 
It is too coincidental that we would have been locked in the
conservatory and then the entire party of guests would have felt compelled to
tour that same conservatory exactly one hour later, observing us in a
compromising position.”

“And I
suppose I am to be blamed for the
position
we were found in as well?”
Selina asked, looking directly in Malcolm’s eyes.
 
She was pleased to see Malcolm’s gaze drop at
her question, and his features take on a look of embarrassment.

“No, I
must admit you are not entirely to blame.
 
If I had been stronger, the entire incident could have been
avoided.
 
But I have never denied that I
find you…extremely attractive, and I am just a man, after all,” Malcolm said,
his eyes on Selina’s wet hair.
 
His voice
had lowered quite a bit, and Selina knew he was thinking of the passionate embrace
they’d shared before they were discovered.
 
She spoke up quickly before she found herself caught in a similar
situation again.
 
The look in Malcolm’s
eyes was positively scorching.

“So I am
expected to marry a man who will resent me the rest of his life for forcing an
unwanted marriage on him?”

“I would
of course be obliged to overlook your unfortunate past if we are to be
comfortable together,” Malcolm said.
 
Selina told herself she was happy to see that Malcolm no longer had
lovemaking on his mind.
 
His manner had
returned to its previous rigid formality.

“How
generous of you.
 
And I suppose I would
then be forced to assume an attitude of humble gratitude toward you for your
forbearance.”

Malcolm
shrugged.
 
“You may assume whatever
attitude you please, as long as there is a modicum of politeness and civility
between us.”

“Politeness?
 
Civility?
 
This is what you desire in a marriage?” Selina asked, her voice
beginning to rise.

“You are
becoming overexcited.
 
It is true that I
had originally hoped for more, but due to the unfortunate circumstances of our
betrothal, I know I must content myself with less.”

“Well, I
know no such thing.
 
I will not content
myself with marriage to a man who holds such a low opinion of me.
 
A man who believes I conspired to entrap him,
and would never let me forget it for the rest of our lives together.
 
I thank you, sir, for your
kind
offer,
but I am afraid I must refuse.”

“Come,
Selina, you know you cannot refuse.
 
Too
many people observed us this afternoon.
 
Your reputation would never recover.”

Selina
was too upset to notice his use of her first name.
 
“I do not care if all of
England
observed us this afternoon, I would still not marry you.
 
It was just a kiss, for heaven’s sake.”
 

Malcolm
raised his eyebrows at the dismissive way she referred to their embrace and
murmured, “
Just
a kiss?” but Selina ignored his remark, still
infuriated.
 
“You, sir, are the most
insufferably arrogant man it has ever been my misfortune to know.
 
I thought Julia was very wrong in her scheme
to humble you, but now I find myself wishing I had taken a more active
part!
 
Although when I think on it, I
realize her plan would have never worked, it was flawed from the
beginning.
 
She expected you to fall in
love with me, you see.
 
I have since
learned that you are incapable of forming such an attachment.
 
You are too in love with yourself!”

Selina
turned and ran from the library, ignoring Malcolm’s requests for her to
wait.
 
He was left standing in the middle
of the room.

“Damn and
blast,” he said, just as his mother entered.

“You do
not sound like a man who has just become happily engaged,” she observed.

“That is
because I am not happily engaged, indeed, I am not engaged at all.
 
Selina has categorically refused me.”

Lady
Kilbourne sighed.
 
“You have ruined
things, haven’t you Jeremy?
 
And after
all my efforts.
 
It was a very warm
afternoon to arrange a tour of the conservatory.”

It took a
moment for Malcolm to comprehend what his mother was saying, as he was still
brooding over his conversation with Selina.
 
Lady Kilbourne waited patiently until he grasped her meaning. When he
finally did, his head shot up and he focused his complete attention on her.
 
“What did you just say?”

“I am
saying that I arranged for a tour of the conservatory.
 
At three o’clock.
 
I assumed that would give the two of you
enough time alone together to come to some sort of an agreement.
 
However, even I was surprised to find you
splashing around in the fountain together.
 
I rather think that’s the sort of thing a parent does not really wish to
see,” Lady Kilbourne said thoughtfully.
 
“I think the good vicar was even more shocked than I.
 
If I had known you were such a fast worker I
would have timed the tour a little earlier.”

Malcolm was
still staring, his jaw hanging open in disbelief.
 
“Are you telling me that
you
arranged
the events of this afternoon?”

Lady
Kilbourne shook her head sadly.
 
“Really,
Jeremy, I am beginning to understand why Selina refused you.
 
Such an intelligent young lady probably finds
it difficult to converse with someone as slow-witted as you.”

“Why did
you not tell me this earlier?”

“I
thought I’d give you a chance to clean up first.
 
If I’d known you were in such a great hurry
to bungle things, you can be assured I would not have exercised such
forbearance.”

Malcolm
did not reply, but walked to the window to stare out unseeingly at the
lawn.
 
His mother watched him for a
moment, before asking what it was he did to upset Selina.

“Oh,
nothing.
 
I merely accused her of
arranging our incarceration in the conservatory so that she could entrap me
into marriage.”

Lady
Kilbourne sighed heavily.
 
“I might have
known.
 
Mrs. Dalton told me you’d already
accused Selina of playing a part in Julia Thistlewaite’s little scheme.”

“Now
that
was not an unjust accusation.
 
I did
catch her out in a lie.”

“Probably
at Julia’s instigation.
 
It is obvious
she
would have no compunction in using Selina to achieve her own ends.
 
I must say, Jeremy, I am quite disappointed
in you,” Lady Kilbourne said, looking at him with an expression that made him
feel six years old.
 
When he would have
spoken, Lady Kilbourne held up a hand, motioning him to silence.
 
“Hear me out, please.
 
I am well aware that you have a list.
 
I have been aware of it for some time.
 
I was pleased that you were taking the matter
of matrimony so seriously and even wished your brother Robert had shown a
similar inclination.
 
Perhaps then I
would not have been saddled with so silly a daughter-in-law.