Free An Escapade and an Engagement by Annie Burrows

ingrate! After all she had
done, the lengths she was prepared to go to be of help to him and Milly, all he
could do was bark further orders at her.
    He got to his feet.
    ‘The waltz has finished and we must make our way back to Lady
Penrose,’ he said.
    It was so insulting for him to attempt to escape her presence
the moment the last strains of music died away that she remained right where she
was. And it struck her that this was another reason why she’d always agreed to
see Harry. He actually wanted to be with her. She
wasn’t a responsibility who’d been thrust on him. And whenever the time came for
them to part he always pleaded for just a few more moments.
    ‘Have you not forgotten something?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Well, then, may I make a suggestion that if the need should
arise,’ she said, getting to her feet in her own good time, ‘you may send a note
via Josie, my maid. You can rely on her discretion.’
    ‘Smuggled letters?’ He looked at her, aghast. ‘I am beginning
to feel as if I have walked into some kind of badly written play.’
    The entire situation was getting out of hand. He’d correctly
deduced that Lady Jayne could be a bit of a handful, but she was far more than
that. She was like a force of nature. He had only asked her to give Milly a few
hints about what a truly elegant lady would wear, and all of a sudden they were
best friends—going out and buying ices at Gunters, and now this!
    ‘Not such a great strategist, are you, if even I can see that we might need to contact one another
before Tuesday? I can foresee any number of circumstances arising which might
require me to contact you. And there will be no way for me to do so openly. Lady Penrose
would never let me have private communication with a young man.’ She shot his
scarred face one scathing glance. ‘A relatively young man,’ she corrected
herself, ‘without close supervision. Do not be deceived by the fact she allowed
us to sit outdoors for the duration of this dance. Normally she guards me far
more closely.’
    ‘I am not a bit surprised,’ he snapped, stung by the way she’d
once again pointed out that he was far too old and battered for a fresh young
beauty like her to give him a second glance. ‘If I were in charge of you I would
post guards on your door at night.’
    ‘It would not do you a bit of good if you did,’ she replied
waspishly, ‘since I always go out by the window when I do not wish anyone to
know where I am going.’
    She could not believe he had goaded her into saying that when
it was completely untrue. She had only crept out that way once since coming to
London, and the outcome had been so appalling she had vowed never to do so
again. She could not believe, either, the power he had to wound her when she
scarcely knew him. Or that he could make her so cross that she could not stop
herself from lashing out in a completely irrational manner.
    His shocked gasp did, at least, give her a moment’s
satisfaction. But only until she took her seat beside Lady Penrose and watched
him walk stiffly away—when she realized she would have much rather heard him
praise her for her resourcefulness and thank her for being so helpful.
    And how likely was that?
    * * *
    Lady Jayne had never looked forward to a trip to the
theatre so much. She couldn’t wait to see Lord Ledbury’s face when he saw she’d
prevailed upon Lady Penrose to take Milly along as one of their party. Lady
Penrose had not minded in the least. It was not as if she’d begged to have Milly
admitted to a ton event. Why, anyone could go to the
theatre.
    And one morning in Milly’s company had convinced her that Lord
Ledbury was being as ridiculous as her own grandfather had been. There was no
sensible reason why he should not marry Milly. She was just as bright and far
more pleasant than any well-born lady he was ever likely to meet.
    Besides, the way he’d criticised her at the Cardingtons’ still
rankled. She was determined to show him that not