to be sure, but until he knew her mind he would keep his guard up. Since he’d been nineteen years old women had been trying to entice him or entrap him into marriage. He knew every trick in the book, and if that was this woman’s plan, he would put her in her place soon enough. For some reason, however, he believed her when she said her only thought had been to rescue him. If that proved true, he must act honorably now. He could not afford a scandal, at least not this Season. The stakes were too high.
“Well, madam,” he growled, scowling from the doorway and making her jump. “Perhaps we should be properly introduced!”
* * *
My but his scowl was fierce! She hoped it was just to frighten her and not because he meant her physical harm. “Sir, you can glare at me from now until doomsday, but that is not going to accomplish anything. If you are trying to frighten me, you have succeeded. If you would like to sit down, we can discuss what we must do.” She was frustrated, but still trying to speak calmly. “I owe you an explanation, and most likely an apology....”
“Definitely an apology.”
“Is that not what I just said? I completely bungled what happened earlier, but if you think I am going to take all the blame for this fiasco, you are fair and far off the mark.” She paced in front of the fire, then stopped and stared at him. “What could have possibly possessed you to announce we were betrothed? For all you know I may already be married with five children!”
She crossed her arms over her chest as he burst out in laughter.
“Perhaps, madam,” he responded, “it was because we were holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes in front of witnesses in a backwoods inn! I cannot entirely dismiss the fact that I have a certain, ah, reputation that does not help in this situation. But before we decide where to lay the blame, perhaps you would kindly recall that you were the one to first step forward and impose yourself on me.”
“Oh, dear, it is all so complicated, and will you please stop calling me ‘madam’ in that odious way?” She stopped pacing and said, “Will you please sit down? I have already expressed that your intimidation tactics are working splendidly.”
Lord Weston walked toward her, causing her a moment of fear. However, he moved past her and went to the chair in front of the fireplace, where he settled himself. “I realize it is very rude to sit while you stand, but as you will not sit first, I will obey your order. Only because I have been on the road a long time today. I am hungry, tired and, it seems, betrothed.”
“Why, my lord, would you ever have said that? We were in a public place. There was nothing clandestine about it.”
He made himself comfortable and looked up at her. “It is precisely because we were in a public room, my dear. Anyone was free to see you approach me with no hesitation, and lead me immediately into a private conversation. Wicked minds need little encouragement to draw the worst and most damaging conclusions even from innocent behavior.” He stopped and stared at her for a moment. “You know, when I came into this room and saw you against the backdrop of the fire, I certainly wondered why you were not married. No doubt I will discover the reason soon enough.”
He was smiling at her! Was he teasing her? She could not tell.
“And since calling you madam seems to offend you, despite the politeness with which I have offered it, I will remind you that I actually have no idea what your name is. Should you grace me with that information, I will be able to address you as such.”
She smiled at him. “Grace, my lord.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“My name is Grace, Lady Grace.” She spoke each word slowly.
He looked at her in the oddest fashion and then they both burst into laughter, letting go of the tension that surrounded them.
“My lord,” she said, trying once again to look severe, “this is getting us nowhere. We must consider how to go on. And we must be quiet about it. As you now know, these walls are very thin and the entire inn could hear our conversation.”
He had a wicked glint in his eyes as he asked, “Who are you?”
“I am Grace Endicott and I am taking my sister to London for her presentation this Season.”
“Endicott?” he asked. “Where do I know that name? Who are your parents?”
“My mother passed away some time ago. My father is Robert Endicott, Lord Pennington.” She was surprised when Lord Weston covered his eyes with his hands and began to shake his head.
She jumped when he growled, “Great guns! I have compromised the daughter of an earl!”
“Do not be absurd! You have compromised no one. Just tell me how we may extricate ourselves from this and we need never see each other again.”
He looked at her in a peculiar way. She stood still as he rose and came to stand before her. “Never see each other again? I am afraid, Lady Grace, that far from never seeing me again, you will soon be my wife!”
He lifted her chin with his finger and turned his most dazzling smile on her. “I believe we will take London by storm.”
“My lord, are you never serious? Could you please speak sensibly for a few moments?” Her frustration was palpable, yet while they were far from being out of danger, he had to admit he was beginning to like her even though he had only known her this hour or more.
He was brought back to the subject at hand as she stood staring at him with her arms akimbo. “My apologies,” he said, falsely contrite. “Lord Pennington...the family seat is in Essex, is it not? He studies rare tapestries and something else I cannot think of at the moment.”
“Perhaps we will get to the problem at hand tomorrow!” she said nonchalantly. “You are the most frustrating man. Oh, what is the use? The estate is in Ware, more specifically, and my father is interested in artifacts, but his particular interest is suits of armor. My mother was the one who loved antique tapestries. They used to travel extensively, but he rarely leaves the estate anymore.” She bit her lip and he could almost hear her mind at work. He waited for the inevitable. “Do you know my father, sir?”
There! She was finally beginning to understand there was more to this situation than playacting. Their positions in Society meant that any news of an engagement between them could not be brushed aside or ignored. If he did not unravel this mess as soon as possible, they were all doomed to serious repercussions.
“Your father and I have never met, but we are members of the same club. I have read several papers he has published. I believe his last was on the Elgin Marbles.” He mumbled as an aside, “Will that debate never end?”
“Good,” she said, relieved. “If you do not know him, there should be no problem in that regard.”
He did not tell her that, on the contrary, it might complicate matters tremendously.
She began to pace and wring her hands again, a habit he now recognized as signaling her agitation. “I did not have time to formulate a particularly good plan.”
“Ah,
