Free Lily by Patricia Gaffney Page A

laughing. At the very moment they realized they’d come out on the wrong side of the boulders, they saw the men. Lowdy let out a screech and darted forward. Lily followed, unthinking—and went weak when she discovered there was nowhere to run: the high rocks ran straight into the woods, and in front of them was an impenetrable tangle of marram grass and wild rhododendron. They should have fled back into the water!
    Too late now. To retreat would be to expose their naked bodies all over again. Clutching her arms across her chest, Lily stood beside Lowdy in front of the tallest boulder, her back turned toward the two Messrs. Darkwell, and waited for them to go away.
    They didn’t.
    “God’s my life,” breathed Clay, “’tis a pair of mermaids.” He shot Devon a hopeful glance. “I don’t suppose you’d be interested in speaking to them, would you? It’s a couple of the housemaids, you know; I recognize the tall one, she’s—”
    “I know who she is.”
    “Oh.” That surprised him. “Well, I’m only thinking, this being such an auspicious meeting, two of them and two of us, almost like fate if you—” he broke off, startled when, without a word, Devon left him and began to walk toward the two women huddling in front of the black rock “—believe in that sort of thing,” Clay trailed off to himself, and strode out after him.
    Impossible, thought Lily, hearing them come; they cannot mean to speak to us! She made a futile physical effort to become smaller. The nearer they drew, the more potent was her desire to crawl into the face of the granite boulder and vanish. Lowdy began to giggle in the most annoying way; she wanted to box her ears. Now the two men were standing directly behind them; she knew it because the very air seemed to have changed. She imagined she could hear them breathing. Even so, she jumped when a voice drawled, almost in her ear, “Good evening, ladies.” She recognized that amused, good-natured cockiness and knew it was the young master who had spoken. But it was his brother whose presence she sensed most keenly, whose cold, blue-green gaze she though she could feel like an icy brand on the bare skin of her back.
    “Good evenin’ t’ you,” Lowdy threw back over her shoulder with another silly, coquettish giggle.
    “What an unexpected pleasure, meeting you lovely ladies like this. My brother and I were wondering if you would care to join us for a short stroll around the lake. We might even take another … dip together, if you’re of a mind. Hmm? Does that interest you the least little bit?”
    Lowdy said yes. Lily’s eyes went wide with shock and incredulity. But Lowdy had said yes and Lily hadn’t misheard, for now she was bobbing her head and laughing that same idiotic, infuriating giggle that made Lily want to take her by the shoulders and shake her until her crooked teeth rattled.
    “Well, now, that’s fine,” said Clay, laughing too. “What about you?” he inquired, again in Lily’s ear.
    “No! Please, just go away.”
    Every muscle in her body jerked when Devon Darkwell said in a low, compelling tone, one she somehow apprehended more in her body than her ears, “Yes, I think that would be best.” His brother glanced at him uncertainly. Devon made himself clear. “Leave us, Clay. You and your friend have a pleasant walk.”
    Clay finally closed his mouth. His astonishment was greater than his disappointment. Lowdy turned around and faced him without a blush; he took her hand automatically, hardly looking at her. “I can’t remember,” he marveled over his shoulder as he led her away, stark naked and giggling, “the last time you pulled rank on me, Dev.”
    Then he was gone, and Lily was alone with Viscount Sandown.
    Devon roughly shoved to the back of his mind the question of what the hell he thought he was doing; if he considered that for half a minute, he would walk away from this girl without a backward look. He didn’t want to walk away. Or stop