Miss Halbrook. Once the betrothal is made public there can be no going back.’
‘I am aware of that, ma’am.’
‘Are you?’ Lady Preston put her hand on her arm and gave her a pitying smile. ‘Are you truly ready to tie yourself to a man who can never love you?’
Lucy put up her chin. ‘You are mistaken.’
Had Ralph not proved this very day how much he loved her? As if she were reading her thoughts, Lady Preston curled her lip.
‘You are very young, my dear, and do not yet know the difference between a man’s lust and true, lasting affection.’
Lucy responded with nothing more than a shake of her head as they entered the drawing room, but no sooner had she moved away from Lady Preston than Margaret and Caroline came up to her.
‘Has her ladyship been trying to dissuade you, Lucy? Pay her no heed. She wants Adversane for her daughter.’
‘I know that, Caro, but—’
Margaret patted her arm. ‘If Ralph wants you, he will have you.’
‘Meg’s right,’ added Caroline. ‘Do you not yet know that my brother is not to be gainsaid?’
Their words did not give the reassurance Lucy wanted. She declined their invitation to join them at the piano, preferring to sit a little way apart and collect her thoughts. She was not allowed to do so for long.
‘You are looking a little fatigued, Miss Halbrook.’ Judith Cottingham sat down beside her. ‘I am not at all surprised. I find Caroline and Margaret’s company quite as exhausting as their brother’s. They must always be on the go, always doing something. And so strong-willed, too.’ She gave a little laugh. ‘My husband says they have none of them any concern for anyone’s feelings but their own.’
‘I have not found that to be so,’ said Lucy.
‘Perhaps that is because you are naturally complaisant.’
‘I do not think—’
Judith caught her arm, saying in an urgent undervoice, ‘Have a care what you are about, Miss Halbrook. This is not a happy house. It is full of shadows and secrets.’
‘Mayhap I can make it happier.’
‘No. You look too much like Helene.’
‘A little, perhaps, but—’
The grip on her arm became almost painful.
‘You should not stay here,’ Judith hissed. ‘You should leave before he destroys you, too.’
Lucy drew back, startled. Mrs Cottingham put up her hand and shook her head, a frightened look on her face. ‘Forgive me. Please, I beg you, forget that I said anything.’
She hurried away, leaving Lucy to stare after her. She had thought Judith Cottingham a meek, colourless little woman, so her sudden outburst had been all the more alarming. What did she mean? Was she warning her against Ralph? She looked around. If only he would come in. She needed the reassurance of his presence, but a glance at the clock told her not to expect the gentlemen for another half-hour at least.
Restlessly, she went over to the windows, throwing them open so that she could stroll out onto the terrace, but even there she was not alone for long.
‘Such a lovely evening now, after the earlier rain.’ Ariadne came to stand beside Lucy, looking out over the gardens. ‘Ralph’s decision to announce your engagement—does it have anything to do with your being caught out in the storm together today? My dear, I do not mean to pry, but I am anxious for you. This is a very long way from his original plan.’
Lucy hesitated, collecting her thoughts.
‘I am aware how it must look to you, ma’am, but since I have been here, since I have become acquainted with Lord Adversane—’
‘You have fallen in love with him?’
Lucy gave her a grateful smile. ‘I have. I cannot tell you how much I—’
‘Then pray do not,’ exclaimed Ariadne, consternation shadowing her kind face. ‘Oh, my dear Lucy, I would like nothing better, but...’ She took her hands. ‘Are you sure Ralph returns your affection? But of course you are. How could I doubt it?’
‘You are not happy about it.’
‘I cannot deny I am concerned, Lucy. You have known my cousin for such a short time, and you are so very young—’
‘I am four-and-twenty, Ariadne.’
‘Very well, you are not a child, but all the same, this is so very sudden. Would it not be better to wait a little longer, just to be sure?’
Lucy pulled her hands free and gave a little cry of frustration.
‘Oh, why is everyone so concerned that I do not know my own heart?’
She turned away, blinking back the hot tears that threatened to fall. After a moment Ariadne squeezed her arm.
‘Oh, my dear, it is not your heart that I doubt.’
Lucy heard the older woman’s sigh and then she was alone. The joy and happiness she had felt earlier had quite disappeared. Was everyone against her marrying Ralph? No, Caroline and Margaret were pleased for her, weren’t they? What was it Margaret had said?
If Ralph wants you, he will have you.
There was nothing lover-like about that—it was more a statement of possession. As the threat of tears subsided, Lucy gazed out across the gardens, watching the shadows lengthen. This was Adversane land, as far as one could see. Ralph was offering to make her mistress of all this and more, but she knew it was not enough. She wanted none of it if she could not have his love, as well.
‘So here you are.’
That deep, dear voice had her spinning round, reaching out for him. Without hesitating, Ralph took her in his arms. He kissed her, melting her doubts like snow in the sunlight.
‘I would like to carry you upstairs right now.’ He murmured the words against her skin as his lips nibbled her ear, making her shiver with delight. ‘Yet I suppose we must be circumspect, at least while we have visitors at Adversane. It will not be easy for me to keep away from you.’
She put her hands against his chest and looked up at him.
‘Do you truly wish to marry me, Ralph?’
His brows went up.
‘What is this? What have my family been saying to you?
She dropped her eyes to his neck cloth, but the precision of those intricate folds only reminded her of how she had struggled to tear it off earlier. The thought brought the hot blood surging through her once more. He pulled her close again, murmuring between kisses.
‘They all think we have been betrothed for the past year. Surely they
