she had expected this information to reassure him, she soon realised her mistake when the line between his jet brows grew very much more pronounced, a clear indication that his initial curiosity had been overshadowed by a strong feeling of annoyance. Those who knew the Viscount well could testify to his being a fair and, for the most part, tolerant man. The one thing he would not countenance, however, was interference in his personal concerns.
‘In that case, Sarah, you had best go and assure our unexpected guest that she shall be granted the interview she desires directly after breakfast tomorrow.’ The smile that curled one corner of his mouth was neither pleasant nor of long duration. ‘Whether she enjoys the experience or not is a different matter entirely.’
Chapter Three
W hether or not it was having enjoyed a good night’s rest in possibly the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in in her life that had resulted in a feeling of utter contentment, Annis wasn’t perfectly sure. She only knew she felt not a whit disturbed at the prospect of being obliged to remain at the Manor at least for a further day, and possibly a good deal longer. In fact, she was very much looking forward to spending more time with those two charming females whose delightful company she would never have been privileged to enjoy in the normal course of events.
All the same, Annis was nothing if not a realist. She was well aware that perhaps not everyone residing at Greythorpe Manor might be pleased to be housing an uninvited guest. Nor was she prepared to forget what had necessitated her visit to the county in the first place. Consequently, after savouring the rare treat of a leisurely breakfast in bed, she didn’t delay in answering the summons to join the master of the house in the library.
Seemingly content to maintain the role of personal escort, Dunster was on hand to show her the way to the handsome book-lined room on the ground floor, where the master of the house stood sentinel-like by the window, surveying his acreage of snow-covered park land.
For several moments, after his butler had announced his visitor and had withdrawn, his lordship didn’t move so much as a muscle. Then, very slowly, he turned, and subjected Annis to a prolonged stare, which was no less disturbingly direct than her own could be on occasions.
Just what flaws in her person his thorough appraisal had managed to locate, Annis had no way of knowing, for his expression remained quite inscrutable as he came slowly round the desk towards her, gesturing towards a chair by the hearth as he did so and inviting her to sit down.
‘Firstly, Miss Milbank, I must thank you for the singular service you rendered me yesterday. But for your timely assistance, my case might have become dire indeed.’
‘You do not appear to be suffering unduly after your unfortunate experience,’ Annis responded, having some difficulty deciding whether he was genuinely grateful, or merely adhering to the social niceties by offering his thanks.
‘But for your intervention, Miss Milbank, I might well be suffering a deal more than a few bruises and a sore arm.’
‘You make too much of it, sir,’ she responded, raising a hand and moving it swiftly through the air, as though attempting to rid herself of a troublesome insect.
‘Not according to what my sister and servants tell me,’ he countered, his voice, like his gaze, revealing nothing of what was really passing through his mind.
‘Then let us both thank Providence, sir,’ Annis suggested, all at once sensing that Viscount Greythorpe was a gentleman who favoured plain speaking. ‘The unexpected encounter has been as much to my benefit as yours. Had I not come upon you lying in the road, I might well have been denied, outright, the interview I’m being granted now.’
For an instant something that might well have been akin to approval flickered in the depths of deep blue eyes. It was gone too quickly for Annis to be certain. None the less, she considered it a modest victory. At least she had succeeded in piercing that inscrutable mask, if only briefly. Just what could lurk, hidden from the world at large, behind that impassive façade she might never be granted the opportunity to discover. There was one thing of which she was absolutely certain now, though—the master of Greythorpe Manor was not so coolly detached as he might wish to appear.
‘It wasn’t until last night,’ she began, ‘while I was lying in bed, that I began to appreciate, perhaps for the very first time, that any gentleman who places a high value on his reputation must of necessity remain on his guard. Females, of course, need to be extra-vigilant. But there are pitfalls for the unwary of both sexes,’ she continued, gazing thoughtfully into the fire, and thereby missing the quite different flicker this time that glinted in his lordship’s eyes. ‘Here am I, a complete stranger… How can you possibly be sure I am who I say I am, seeking you out for a legitimate reason, and not some designing harpy out to entrap you for personal gain?’
If his lordship was taken aback by the indelicate choice of language, he certainly betrayed no sign of it. ‘Be easy on that score,’ he said, his intense gaze not wavering for a second. ‘I have no doubt that you are Miss Annis Milbank of the Shires. And not, I am persuaded, come here for reasons of your own.’ If possible, his gaze grew marginally more searching. ‘Nor, I am persuaded, did you agree to come here altogether willingly, but at Lady Pelham’s personal request.’
She could not help but admire his perspicacity. Seemingly his sister had passed on what little information Annis had been willing to divulge the previous evening, and he had deduced correctly that she was here at someone else’s behest, though whether he was altogether pleased about it was a different matter entirely. She strongly suspected that he was not, and was doing his utmost to conceal the fact.
The suspicion did not, however, deter her from assuring him that he was perfectly correct. ‘Indeed, yes, sir, a circumstance I should now be in a position to prove, if I hadn’t foolishly overlooked the fact yesterday that I had, for safekeeping, placed my godmother’s letter of introduction in one of those bags now awaiting my arrival at the posting-house in your local town. Furthermore,’ she added when he made no response, ‘you are perfectly correct in your assumption. I did indeed undertake this mission most reluctantly.’
Curiosity evidently had managed to get the better of him, because he put in rather sharply, ‘Why so?’
‘Because I consider I’m not the most suitable person to adopt the role of emissary. I am on occasions too plain-spoken for some people’s tastes.’ She shrugged. ‘Lady Pelham, however, thought differently, possibly because her long and close friendship with my late mother resulted in my own extensive knowledge of her private concerns.’
‘Miss Milbank,’ he said after a further prolonged silence, during which she was yet again subjected to close scrutiny, ‘I do not boggle at plain-speaking. You may fulfil your designated role with impunity.’
Thus assured, Annis didn’t hesitate to reveal the dilemma besetting Lady Henrietta Pelham. She deliberately refrained from embellishing the reasons why her godmother considered it detrimental to visit Greythorpe Manor at the present time with explanations of her own. Yet, surprisingly enough, it was precisely her own views on the matter that he sought the instant she had revealed all.
‘Come, Miss Milbank,’ he urged, when she continued to regard him with just a hint of suspicion in what he considered a refreshingly direct gaze for one of her sex. ‘I do appreciate you were in Draycot’s company for a brief period only, and on that single occasion. Nevertheless, I cannot believe he departed from your godmother’s home without leaving an impression upon you.’
He detected just a hint of a smile playing about the sweet curve of her lips, before
