The Lady and the Earl (20 page)

Allana pushed away from Connor and laughed.  “I would have made it back eventually.  My wrist was injured, not my leg.”

He laughed in return.
 
“
Of course.
  What was I thinking?”  He ruffled her hair. 

An odd form of affection,
Declan thought. 

“Just the same, though, thank you Cunningham,” Connor was saying.

“It was my pleasure.  I shall leave her in your care, then,” Declan said.

“Yes, but won’t you come to Tananguard and join us in a late lunch?  It is the least we could do for your timely rescue,” Connor said.

“I have
…
things that need tending.  Another time,” Declan replied.  He needed to be away from this woman
.  The yearning he felt for her was unnatural. 

“I understand.  Will we be seeing you in the days to follow?
”
Connor asked.  His arm was draped around Allana’s shoulder, and a pang of jealousy hit Declan.

“I will see what I can do, but I may not be able to,” he lied.  He did
n’
t wish to visit her, not if he could
n’t
have her.

“
Then we will see you
next week for the hunt,
” Connor
said
.

We
?
  Did that mean
she
would be joining them
on the hunt
as well?  Declan was frantically trying to think of an excuse to decline.

“You will be there, won’t you?
”
Allana asked sweetly.

She looked…hopeful.  What did that mean?  Did she want him there?  Declan was receiving far too many mixed signal
s
from this woman.  Perhaps her attachment to Connor was not as it seemed.

“Yes.  I will be there,” Declan committed
himself
. 

“Good.  We will see you then.  Come Allana.  We must get you home.”  Connor
gave her a brief kiss on the forehead before urging
her toward his horse.

No, her attachment to Connor was exactly as it seemed. 
“Good day to you both,” Declan said.

Allana hesitated.  She pulled from Connor and came back to Declan.  She placed her right hand upon his.  The boldness of this woman!

“Thank you,” she said with sincerity.

Declan couldn’t he
lp but smile down at her.  “You a
re welcome.”

He watched her leave and cursed himself for wanting her.  Why?  She was taken.  Even that did not stop his heart for yearning.  He mounted Colonel and began preparing himself for the moment he would
have to
see her again. 

It was a beautiful morning.  The sky was clear, a small breeze played across the grass, and Allana
prayed she looked as fine as she thought she did in
her dark-green riding dress with the silver trimming.  The green brought out her eyes, and the dress itself fit
snugly about the
bodice
, showing
off her feminine curves
,
yet
it
was modest in that the jacket buttoned up to an inch above
the base of her neck.  H
er hair
was
pinned back with a few wisps down that
dangled in
the breeze, and covering
it
was a fashionable hat
that
tied under her chin, shading her face from the sun. 

It was the morning of the big hunt her father had been planning for weeks. 
Carmon w
as accompanying her, and Lord Cunningham would be there as well.  A
llana had been looking forward to this day since her recent encounter with
him
.  Over the past week
she’d
confined herself to the house and
simple strolls outside.  She was determined to rest her wrist as much as possible.  She would not miss the hunt
, not when he would be there
. 
She
no longer feared an encounter with him.
 
She had already faced him at her worst. 
She wanted to see him again. 
She decided she may not be the woman for him, but she could at least
enjoy his company one more time even if she
wasn’t
the focus of his attentions.
  Thus, with her wrist tightly bound, Allana found herself riding next to Carmon toward the hunting party
trying to look
confident. 

*
             
*
             
*

Declan
was in deep conversation with
one of his
fellow hunt
sman
, Edmund
Russell
.  Their party had been gathering for the past half hour, hunters slowly arriving at Tananguard from town and the surrounding areas. 
When Declan arrived, Allana was
nowhere
to be seen, but Connor was waiting outside the stables with t
wo
horses
saddled and ready.
 
Declan
recognized Connor’s mount,
and
the other horse looked oddly familiar as well.

“We’
re gathering down by the kennels.  My father as well as
Lord
Davenhue
and
Lord
Cowen are already down there,” Connor in
formed him
. 

Declan
normally would
have
stayed and visited
with Connor, but instead
he
made a hasty exit down to the kennel
s.  A short while later Connor
arrived
alone.  He
began making his way toward Declan
, so
Declan dove into conversation with the man closest to him, Edmund
Russell
. 
He’d
never
dealt much
with the man, but what did it matter when trying
to avoid conversation with Connor that might lead to painful details of hi
s relationship with Allana.  Declan was
rather irritated with himself for letting a woman he met only once affect him thus.  Connor was a good friend and colleague. 
Declan
should not be avoiding him because of a woman.

“Dogs are the only way to hunt the beasts,” Edmund sa
id
.

Declan
pulled
himself from his thoughts. 
“I’
m not disagreeing with you
. 
Simply put,
I personally like the challenge of hunting without them
.
” 

“W
hy would you want to do that?”
Edmund asked.

“
For the
challenge
,”
Declan
explained
patiently
.  Was the man even listening?

“Oh, right.  You did just s—”

“
Davenhue
, did I hear correct?  Is your daughter finally spoken for?”
Declan overheard
Lord
Charles Burning ask. 
It was said loud enough that it
pulled
Edmund’s
attention,
interrupting his words
.

Lord
Davenhue
smiled proudly.  “She is, and to none other than our good fellow Edmund here.”

“Ah, yes.  I did not realize.  Congratulations Edmund,” Burning said
.
 

“Thank you,” Edmund said
in pleasure
.

“And speaking of your young
lady
,
is that not
she
com
ing
to join us this morning?”

Edmund turned in the direction Burning motioned
,
causing Declan to
do the same
.

“Yes it is,” Edmund said with a smile
of adoration
.

Declan wished he could join in the other man’s joy, but his heart was
doing its own bit of yearning at the moment, making him feel just plain miserable.  Allana and another yo
ung woman were riding their way, and Allana looked far better than he remembered.  She was…beautiful.
       
 

“And
is that
young Allana
with her
?
  She gets lovelier every day, Marcus,”
Burning commented casually
to Marcus Tananguard
.
 

“
Thank you,”
Tananguard answered.

Why would Burning direct that commen
t to Marcus?
 
The thought slipped through
Declan’s
mind without merit.  All
he
could focus on was Allana.  She
hadn’t
seen him
yet
, which meant he could observe her without notice
.  The two ladies were immersed in conversation, holding each other’s undivided attention.  The
Davenhue
girl—Declan was certain her name was Carmon—said something that made Allana smile in deligh
t.  She was so lovely it hurt.  Declan cursed Connor for already claiming her.
 

“
Good morning to you, my dears,”
Lord
Burning said.

“Good morning,
Lord
Bu
rning.  I trust you are well?”
Allana asked. 
Miss
Davenhue
simply nodded to
Lord
Burning.

“I
am
,
thank you,” Burning replied.

“I’
m pleased to hear so.”
 

Declan smiled.  She was charming as well as spirited and stubborn.

“
L
ana,
you finally decided to join us this morning,” Connor said with a wink.

“Yes, were you waiting long
?” she
asked innocently.

“No.  I do
n’t
even think you are the last one
here
.  I
simply thought you would be right behind me.
  I even had Lancelot prepared for you.
  It seems you
weren’t
as ready as
you’
d appeared
when I left the house.
  The extra time was well spent.  Y
ou look
lovely this morning.
”

“Flatterer.”
 
Allana
shook her head
, flashing Connor a
pleasant
smile
. 
“You simply say such things
because you have to
.
”

“No, I must agree. 
You look quite
stunning,”
Declan affirmed without thought.  He should have kept his mouth shut.
  Why hadn’t he kept his mouth shut?
 

Allana
glanced around to find him, uncertain where the comment had come from.  When her eyes fell upon him, she graced him with the loveliest smile
yet
.  It wasn’t like the one
she’d
given Connor.  It was shy and inviting.  Declan groaned within. 
Why?

“Thank you,” she replied, blushing slightly.

“It’
s only the truth
.
”
  There was other conversation going on around them, but for the moment it seemed only he and Allana existed.  This was not going as planned. 
Declan
had been preparing for this encounter all week, telling
himself
he would be indifferent.  He could
n’t
change her fate, and he would not try to.  But seeing her again and having her smile at him
that way
was causing many doubts within.
 
He wanted her. 
He wanted to feel her lips on his again but under more familiar circumstances.  But it was not possible, and it would not happen. 
 

“Cunningham,
”
Lord
Tananguard said, interrupting
Declan’s
thoughts.  “
I
never got
a
chance to thank you for rescuing my daughter
.
”