Free Lady Adventuress 02 - The Education of Lord Hartley by Daphne du Bois Page B

know perfectly well that you have come to take me back, Lord Hartley . It is certainly no coincidence that you should be here now. I will inform you that you have had a wasted journey. I won’t go back to London, and if you wish to see Kingsley Stanhope married so very much, then you may marry him yourself!”
    Passing pedestrians looked at them in some alarm, startled at the unbecoming disturbance.
    Maggie felt her cheeks warm.
    Moving much closer to her than was strictly proper, Hart glared back at the young woman. “I’m here to make sure you are safe,” he told her in a fervent whisper. Then, his tone softened. “Please, Maggie. I’ve come all this way, let me speak with you for a few minutes in private. I have a message for you from Frederick.”
    She hesitated, visibly torn between the desire to hear from her brother and her obvious distrust. At last, she seemed to come to a decision, determined to show him that she was not in any way alarmed at his unexpected appearance in Paris.
    “Very well. But we must drive – I do not wish to cause a scandal.”
    “Of course.”
    He offered her his elbow to escort her to the waiting carriage, which she accepted with an unreadable look on her face. Hart personally handed Maggie into the vehicle, before instructing his driver to head towards the avenue de Richelieu. He wondered if the faint scent of perfume that clung to her would drive him mad before day’s end.
    As Hart hopped gracefully into the carriage after her, Maggie caught him looking rather attentively at the low bodice of her gown. She began to feel a little flustered under the intent scrutiny, her pulse hastening at the way his eyes caressed her skin.
    “Well?” she asked impatiently, not wanting to spend too much time alone with him in the carriage in case she did something completely shocking.
    “You certainly look different,” he murmured, distracted from his purpose.
    For a moment, it was as if she were back on that lawn after the shuttlecock game, caught in a whirlwind of disbelief.
    Maggie felt her breath catch. “Is that a compliment, Lord Hartley?”
    The closeness of his face and his deep blue eyes muddled her thoughts.
    He started and cleared his throat. “Well. I daresay I preferred you a bit more covered up.”
    With that, he pulled out a carriage blanket and attempted to drape it about her shoulders.
    Maggie was taken aback as she realised that he was disconcerted at her appearance. Could she possibly have such an effect on him? Another part of her grew exasperated that he was making such a fuss over her gown – or was it his unexpected nearness that left her feeling so out of control? Maggie didn’t like feeling out of control.
    “Whatever are you doing? Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t want to wear an old carriage blanket,” she laughed as she pushed it away. “It isn’t at all the thing, you know. Now, where is this note from Frederick?”
    Hart looked a little guilty and Maggie began to suspect that there was no message. He had obviously been cutting shams and she hated being played for a fool.
    If only the carriage hadn’t begun to move, she would have walked away then and there.
    “Ah. Well, you see, there may not be a written message as such, precisely. Listen Maggie, he is very worried about you. You need to come back with me. I’ve been searching for you for three weeks. You father is quite at his wits’ end. He has been obliged to make up banbury stories to explain your absence. You must have had your fill of your little jaunt by now.”
    He did look a little desperate to win her to his argument.
    She felt a stab of anger. “And here I thought we would begin with some civil whiskers – the weather, perhaps? But you are right, we’re well past polite inanities. Tell me, Hart, are you worried your cricket club will kick you off the team for missing so much of the Season?” she asked, with mockery tainting her voice.
    “Maggie,” Hart growled in frustration. “This is