Newport Summer (12 page)

Wilson St. Clair slapped him on the back. “There’s a
little race coming up-nothing serious of course. But I’d
like to have you crew on my boat”

Gannon accepted with a nod. “I’d be glad”

“Hear, hear! A toast, then!” Caroline raised her glass
of lemonade. “To our sportsman! Camberly is quite accomplished.” She winked slyly at Violet.

“Speaking of sports, I believe we’re due at the croquet
field,” Audrey put in swiftly, slipping an arm through his.

“Yes,” Gannon said, “I do think young Spurling and
his partner are eager for another go at us”

The rejoinder made for a good exit, but they weren’t
out of range before the comments started behind them. “Audrey’s got him back in line now, Violet. I am sure he
won’t stray again. He seems quite taken with her.” Caroline’s voice followed them in snatches.

“Yes, Audrey has him back. Now she just needs to
bring him up to scratch,” Violet said. “If she spent more
time thinking about snaring Camberly than she did about
Beethoven..

Gannon shot a look at Audrey. She was blushing profusely. “It’s awful, it’s just awful,” she said, clearly appalled at the comments. “I’m so embarrassed. I hope you
don’t think-” She broke off.

Gannon steered them behind a wide-trunked maple
tree that blocked them from view. She needed a chance
to collect herself. The remarks had clearly unsettled
her. “It’s all right. They’re supposed to say those things,
remember? I’d be doing a miserable job of courting
you if they weren’t.”

Audrey leaned against the trunk of the tree and blew
out a deep breath. “Is it like this for you all the time?
All these women after you? Speculating about you as if
you’re a piece of real estate or a horse?”

Gannon laughed. “I suppose it is, but I try not to think
about it in those terms” Had being with another person
ever been this easy? This honest?

“Sorry,” Audrey said, still out of sorts. “It just makes
me so angry sometimes” She shook her head, lost in
thought, her gaze going past his shoulder. “And I didn’t
want you to think the worst of me”

“What would the worst be?” Gannon cajoled softly. With her eyes on him, he was becoming disconcertingly
aware of their proximity, the awareness no doubt heightened by the intimate nature of their conversation.

She moved her gaze back to his face from the nebulous point beyond his shoulder and said frankly, “That I
was like them; that I saw you as a prize to be won; that
I concocted our little plan with every intention of trapping you into marriage.”

“Such duplicity never crossed my mind,” Gannon said
with a shake of his head. In fact, very little was crossing
his mind at the moment beyond the urge to kiss her. It was
not a new urge but certainly an insistent one. One soft
kiss. That was all.

His hand was moving before he realized it, the rest
of his body in accord. He stepped close, a half step.
His hand cradled her cheek and angled her face up toward his. His mouth came down on hers, tenderly, the
sound of his name cut off by the gentle pressure of his
lips on hers.

Whatever caution or protest she’d been about to utter
died quickly. He felt her lean into him as he deepened
the kiss. He broke the kiss softly and with great restraint. How had he ever thought one kiss would satisfy
him? That one kiss would be enough? He wanted more,
but out in the open of a picnic was no place to pursue
such notions, with nothing more to conceal them than
the wide trunk of a tree. Besides, he reminded himself,
a gentleman did not pursue such notions with a lady of
Audrey’s caliber.

“Gannon?” Audrey whispered his name. She’d taken a
step backward until her back met with the tree trunk, her
face a complex study of emotions, part pleasure, part disbelief. “We shouldn’t have .. ” she said.

“Why ever not? I rather liked kissing you, Audrey,”
Gannon replied, unwilling to let her deny their growing
attraction as she had in the rose garden. He lifted a hand
to push back a lock of hair from her face. “You need
hair clips,” he joked. “I am forever doing this for you.”

“Fine, I’ll get more clips,” Audrey said uncomfortably.
“My maid is always saying-”

Gannon pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh, Audrey. I
don’t want to talk about your maid or your hair. I want
to kiss you again.” He moved to take her into his arms.

She evaded him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Gannon let her go, studying her. “We’re attracted to
each other, Audrey. Why can’t we explore that?”

“It’s not part of our deal,” Audrey shot back, her tone
strident.

“Does it matter? The deal can be amended. Why not
make our courtship real, Audrey? Why not explore the
possibilities of what might lie between us?” It seemed
so obvious to Gannon, suddenly. Audrey was perfect
for him, and she was not immune to him. She’d been
eager enough for his kiss, and even she had to admit they
enjoyed each other’s company extremely well. Gannon
found it difficult to fathom her resistance or the tears that
started to well in her eyes.

“I like you too, Gannon” Audrey swiped angrily at the tears. “But don’t you see? It would ruin everything. I
can’t, Gannon. I just can’t. As much as I’d like to fall in
love with you, I can’t do it. Not now.”

Gannon was about protest when voices invaded their
privacy, calling their names. It was Spurling and Miss
Duyesen.

“Ah, there you are, Camberly. We’ve been waiting the
croquet game on you” Spurling looked suspiciously between Gannon and Audrey. “Are you coming? Miss
Duyesen and I demand satisfaction.” He laughed at his
attempt at humor.

What an ill-timed interruption, Gannon thought resentfully. He had a thousand questions for Audrey, starting with what the hell she had meant by, I can’t fall in
love you now. Did that mean she cared for him in spite
of her fervor not to become an Englishman’s wife? But
that and much else would have to wait until he trounced
the smug look right off Spurling’s face.

Audrey watched Gannon use his mallet to send Spurling’s ball flying away from the next wicket. One didn’t
have to be a mind reader to know that Gannon was
angry. He was mad and making no attempt to hide it,
although he’d better rethink venting his emotions so
publicly. Spurling might start speculating as to the reasons they’d been delayed. If Spurling believed that Gannon’s anger was due to being interrupted in a potentially
compromising situation, such gossip would do her no
good.

Gannon wasn’t the only one who was angry. She was
mad too, and she was mad at him. He’d done the one
thing implicitly forbidden between them. He’d kissed
her, when there was no possibility of anything more between them.

Worse, she’d liked it immensely. She’d wanted it to
go on, all of it; the feel of his warm hand on her face,
his mouth on hers, his body pressed against hers-that
last had been her doing. To have him so close had been
irresistible. The smell of him, the presence of him, was
intoxicating, not just the sheer muscular physicality of
him but the strength and comfort she was coming to
associate with him.

That’s why she was angry. Audrey took a whack at
her own wooden croquet ball and sent it sailing through
a wicket. The feelings he raised in her were causing a
significant amount of self-doubt, and she didn’t like
that in the least. This was a most inconvenient time for
doubting her choices now. For years she’d known her
mind, known what her chosen course was. But Gannon’s
presence was starting to compete with that choice. Letting him turn their feigned summer courtship into a real
one would be completely devastating. She was starting
to think she wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation he
presented, even for Vienna.

Violet St. Clair declared the picnic a resounding success over lunch the next day on the St. Clair yacht. It
was just the three of them, a rare occasion. Violet beamed a victorious smile across the table in a valiant effort
to dispel the unnecessary gloom that had settled on her
husband and daughter.

Audrey met the pronouncement with much squirming
in her seat, her gaze drifting out over the calm ocean.
Her mother’s version of success hinged solely on the indisputable fact that Audrey had won back Camberly’s attention. She’d talked of nothing else but Camberly’s
single-minded devotion at the picnic, glossing over his
polite refusal to ride home with them, opting to go with
the Carringtons instead.

Audrey heartily wished the conversation would head
elsewhere. She cast about in her mind for another suitable
topic. “Father, how is the railroad deal progressing?”

Wilson St. Clair glowered across the table. “Poorly,
Aud. It is going poorly. The stock prices haven’t dropped
the way we’d hoped. I worry about waiting much longer
to buy, but I hadn’t anticipated buying at such high
prices,” Wilson St. Clair fumed.

Audrey’s stomach had lurched at his first words. Now,
an anxious knot took up residence in her stomach. Dear
Lord, Gannon had put his faith in her, and she was going
to be responsible for losing his money.

“Now, Aud, don’t look so forlorn. Your Englishman
just won’t have as large a profit” Wilson leaned across
the small table and patted her hand. He gave her wink.
“What does it matter how much he clears on this deal?
Once he marries you, he’ll have all the money he can
want”

As a point of reassurance, the comment fell far short.
Worse, it brought the conversation back to the point
she’d wanted to escape to start with.

“Absolutely,” Violet chimed in. “We’ll make him rich,
and he’ll make us titled. It will work out perfectly. Audrey, you really need to bring him up to scratch before the
summer’s out. It would be divine to announce your engagement at Caro’s Summer Ball”

“I can’t make him propose,” Audrey said offhandedly.

“I’ll remind him of all he stands to gain.” Wilson
rubbed his hands together. “That will help him along”

Audrey didn’t think Gannon needed any “help along.”
He seemed to have things well in hand there without any
encouragement from her parents. She just wished that
her father’s Midas touch hadn’t chosen this deal to fail.
She would have to tell Gannon so that he could prepare
himself for the worst.

She didn’t relish the thought of telling Gannon that
his faith and funds had been misplaced by trusting her.
Then again, if anything was going to put him off in regard to his belief that he was falling in love with her,
that news should do it. It could quite possibly shatter
their agreement altogether. He would have no more reason to stay at her side, and she would spend the remainder of the summer watching him pay court to another
eligible girl while there was still time.

Audrey excused herself from the table and walked to
the railing. She needed to think. For someone who’d only
wanted to use Gannon for the sake of the game, she was feeling quite dismal with the outcome. Getting what she
wanted, getting Gannon to rethink his growing infatuation, didn’t make her happy when, by rights, she should
have been ecstatic. She spent the rest of the coastline voyage at the rail, pondering exactly how she might break the
news to Gannon.

Stella Carrington provided an excellent opportunity
just two days later with an invitation to take lunch at
Rose Bluff. Audrey’s mother exclaimed it was the perfect accompaniment to seal the return of Camberly’s
affections. But Audrey could not share her mother’s
enthusiasm.

As she dressed in a lavender Worth afternoon gown
trimmed in pale cream lace, all Audrey’s thoughts were
on explaining the dismal business outlook to Gannon.
She hardly noticed when her maid finished pinning up
her hair. By the time they reached Rose Bluff at the far
end of Bellevue Avenue, Audrey was a bundle of nerves.
On top of her worries about the conversation to come,
this would be the first time she’d seen Gannon since their
kiss.

She had no need to worry. Gannon was as urbane as
ever with her mother, regaling her effortlessly with
tales of his home. Stella was friendly, the food and setting of the highest quality. No one looking at them converse easily over the meal would guess anything was
amiss. For all intents and purposes, the luncheon looked
to be what it was supposed to be. Was she the only one aware that the luncheon was not all it seemed? She
looked up from her crab salad to find Gannon’s eyes on
her, hot and thoughtful. He flashed her a brief smile full
of promise.

He made good on that promise as soon as the etiquette
of lunch allowed, rising from the table and suggesting
that he take Audrey on a short tour of Rose Bluff. Stella
agreed readily, saying it would give her a chance to talk
with Violet.

“You must have had a lot of practice getting debutantes away from their chaperones,” Audrey teased with
a levity she didn’t feel when they were away from Violet’s intent gaze.

“I have my uses,” Gannon parried easily. “Come in
here. The Carringtons have generously let me use this
room as my private office” Careful to leave the door
open, he ushered her into an airy room done in masculine shades of dark blue and walnut wood paneling. Windows looked over the ocean. A large walnut desk sat in
the bay of windows, looking handsome and strong, just
like the man who used it. The desk had a pile of papers
on one corner, certifying that it was more than an ornamental piece of furniture.

“What do you do in here?” Audrey asked, curious, her
fingertips drifting over the polished edges of the desk’s
surface.

“I do my work,” Gannon answered, moving to stand in
the windows, his back to the room as he took in the view.

“I think I’d spend all my time watching the ocean,” Audrey said honestly. “I’d put my chair on the other
side so I could see out the windows. I think the ocean is
what I like best about Newport. It’s what I miss most
when we’re in New York” She came to the pile of papers set at one corner and idly looked at the top one.