Nicola Cornick (10 page)

Marcus’s shrewd blue eyes scanned her face. ‘You really have taken her under your wing, haven’t you, Caro? But there’s nothing we can do. Will must sort it out for himself.’

Caroline looked across to where the two heads were bent close together as Sir William scrawled his initials on Annabella’s dance card. She sighed. ‘I know…But Annabella is only twenty-one and I know she has been unfortunate before, even though she has not confided the whole to me. It would be most unlucky if something was to spoil her current happiness.’

Nothing was further from Annabella’s mind. She felt truly beautiful in the gold and silver dress, and the admiring glances cast her way were a delicious contrast to the pitying looks usually reserved for her at such events when she was obliged to turn out in her old, outmoded gowns. Then there was the warmth of Sir William’s hand beneath her elbow as he guided her into the first dance. Her dance card was already filling up, her company sought by plenty of eligible young men. It was promising to be a delightful evening.

‘You look quite captivating tonight, Mrs St Auby,’ Sir William observed, as he led her into the dance. ‘I might wish not to have to share your company with all these other gentlemen!’

Annabella smiled, a little flirtatiously. It was an evening made for romance and the experience was
most enjoyable. She cast him a look from under her lashes.

‘Are you always so direct, sir?’

‘No…’ Sir William’s smile broadened ‘…generally I am only so outspoken when I want something a great deal!’

The movement of the dance fortunately separated them at that moment and gave Annabella the opportunity to compose herself.

‘I cannot believe that you speak to all young ladies like that, sir,’ she said severely when they came together again. ‘They would likely slap your face or faint dead away!’

‘I never give them the chance,’ Sir William said laconically.

‘Oh, indeed?’

‘No, for I have never addressed myself thus to a young lady. As a type they bore me!’

Annabella choked back a laugh. ‘Upon my word, sir, you are very severe! To condemn all my contemporaries thus—leaving aside the doubt it cast upon my own status in your eyes! Which do you dispute? That I am young, or that I am a lady?’

Sir William’s gaze considered her enchanting face. ‘Ah, now you are trying to trap me, ma’am, and it is too bad of you! You must know that I consider you to be indisputably a lady!’

‘Punish you, rather, for your dismissive view of my sex!’ Annabella considered him thoughtfully. ‘Do you really have such a low opinion of us, Sir William?’

‘Why, not in the least! But I would never generalise.’ Sir William turned her expertly. ‘My interest usually lies in people as individuals and at the mo
ment—’ his smile was mocking ‘—one individual in particular!’

Annabella’s euphoria lasted until just before supper, when she happened to find herself in the ladies’ room at the same time as Miss Hurst, who was pinning up a torn flounce. Miss Hurst watched, her brown eyes bright, as Annabella tweaked a curl back inside the silver circlet.

‘La, what a charming dress!’ she said with gracious condescension. ‘Lady Kilgaren is the kindest creature in the world, always taking care of waifs and strays! And Sir William…’ here Miss Hurst paused, her brown eyes brimful of malicious laughter ‘…well, he is the kindest creature too, except when he wants something—when he has a
particular
reason for acting the gallant!’ She gave a little trill of laughter. ‘But I expect he has told you
all
about that by now, Mrs St Auby!’ And she gathered up the skirts of her dress in one hand and, laughing still, went out of the door.

Annabella stood quite still before the mirror, her comb forgotten in one hand as Miss Hurst’s words began to do their poisonous work. A particular reason, Miss Hurst had said. But what could be Sir William’s reason for acting the gallant with her? She had no money, and he had no need to hunt a fortune anyway. Certainly he was a friend of Alicia and James Mullineaux, but then all of Viscount Mundell’s set had been kind to her because of that connection. Her heart missed a beat. Surely Miss Hurst did not mean to imply that Sir William was interested in setting her up as his mistress? Though he had perhaps been more explicit in his attentions than a more conventional man, there had been nothing disrespectful in his atti
tude, no indication that he intended to offer her
carte blanche
.

There had been such a spiteful look on Miss Hurst’s face…but then, Annabella reasoned, Ermina Hurst had never liked her…She gave up and tried to forget about it. She was certainly not going to please Miss Hurst by asking her to explain her meaning.

Some of the enjoyment seemed to have gone out of the evening. The light from the chandeliers was not so sparkling and bright now and the animated chatter of Mundell’s guests seemed to wash over Annabella rather than involve her. Nor was her heart in the dancing any more, and when the next set of country dances ended she excused herself to her partner and slipped into a cool alcove behind a pillar and sat down in the shadows. Whatever had Miss Hurst meant…?

‘Mrs St Auby…’ When Sir William’s voice spoke in her ear, she jumped a mile.

‘Oh, Sir William! You startled me, sir! I was not attending…’

Those searching blue eyes scanned her face thoughtfully. ‘No, indeed, I can see you were thinking of something else entirely, ma’am. A penny for your thoughts?’

Annabella shifted uncomfortably. ‘They are not worth it, sir!’

Sir William raised one dark brow. ‘No? Then perhaps you will tell me why you are hiding yourself away behind a pillar? I met a most disconsolate fellow on my way here. Apparently you were supposed to be his partner for the boulanger, but he could not find you. But…’ Sir William shrugged and sat down beside her ‘…his loss is my gain, after all!’

Annabella’s answering smile felt stiff and insincere. Oh, why could she not put Miss Hurst’s malicious remarks from her mind? And Sir William was not unaware of her discomfiture, for his gaze had not wavered and he was studying her face with relentless intensity.

‘You look as though you need a pleasant diversion to take your mind away from these melancholy thoughts,’ he observed after a moment. ‘Would you care to come for a sail on the lake with me?’

‘On the lake? In the dark?’ Annabella’s green eyes widened to their furthest extent at this audacious plan, distracted as he had intended her to be.

‘In the moonlight,’ Sir William amended. ‘There is a full moon tonight. This is one of those moments, Mrs St Auby, when I find that I miss the soothing influence of the sea. A sail on Mundell’s artificial lake is a poor substitute, I know, but it must suffice!’

Annabella smiled in spite of herself. ‘That is definitely the sort of invitation I should refuse, sir!’

‘Indeed it is…’ Sir William also had a smile lurking in his eyes ‘…and it is the sort of invitation I should not be offering. However…’

‘That would be delightful, sir,’ Annabella said with a small, demure smile.

It was indeed a very clear night. The moon glittered on the water and cast their shadows across the lawn. The turf was springy and already wet with dew, but the air was warm. Sir William took Annabella’s hand as they crossed the lawns to reach the jetty and the small rowing-boat that was tied up there.

‘Not a sail, to be precise, but a row,’ Sir William said. ‘Well, Mrs St Auby? You should think carefully
now, for you cannot change your mind once out in the middle of the lake!’

Annabella cast him a sideways look. ‘No, sir? Can I not trust you to bring me safely back again?’

There was a split second of tension. ‘Let us hope so,’ Sir William said, cryptically, holding out his hand again to help her step into the boat.

The splash of the oars in the water seemed magnified in that still night, but the sounds of music and laughter floating from the windows of the terrace ballroom masked all other noises. Annabella glanced around, a little fearful of being seen, for she could still only half-believe that she had had the temerity to do this. But the shadowed gardens were empty of movement and in a few moments she sat back in the boat, relaxing. The cushioned seats were very comfortable, and she trailed her hand in the cool water, looking up at the stars shining in their cold, lonely splendour.

Neither of them spoke. Sir William had the habit of silence, and Annabella was too wrapped up in the enchanted beauty of the night. Somewhere at the back of her mind a quiet voice was counselling that this was no fairytale and that she should be very careful of what she did, but she did not wish to regard it. This seemed pure romance and she knew she was tumbling head over heels in love with Sir William Weston. It was so agreeable an experience that she had no inclination to put a stop to it with common sense.

Sir William rested on the oars and smiled at her in the darkness. ‘We are almost at the island. Would you care to step ashore?’

This time Annabella hesitated for fully five sec
onds. ‘I think perhaps…yes, that would be very pleasant.’

The island was tiny, with a small decorative summerhouse in the middle, surrounded by neatly trimmed lawns and flowering shrubs. On hot summer days it was the scene of picnics by the water, but now its shuttered windows had a secretive look. The boat grated on the shingle and Sir William leapt ashore, securing the rope to an overhanging branch. He turned back to help Annabella, taking her hand in a firm grip as she stepped from the swaying boat onto the shore.

‘It’s very beautiful, isn’t it?’ she said, a little wistfully, for there was something magical about the night which seemed quite unreal. The moonlight shimmered on the black lake as the slight breeze stirred the water. The cypress trees stood clear against the sky and the air was filled with the scent of flowers. And then, like the snake in paradise, Miss Hurst’s words slid into Annabella’s mind again, poisoning the night. She shivered.

‘What is it?’ Sir William spoke from close at hand. ‘Something is troubling you, is it not, Annabella? You would do far better to tell me what is wrong.’

Annabella drew in her breath at his use of her name, but there was something about the intimate darkness that encouraged confidences. She took a deep breath.

‘Sir William, I must ask you—’ She stopped. Oh, how difficult this was! What could she say?

‘Yes? Ask me what?’ His voice was cool, dispassionate, giving no indication of his feelings. It chilled her, but she was suddenly determined to continue.

‘For what reason have you sought me out, sir?’ The
words had tumbled out and Annabella felt her whole body burn with mortification. How could she have asked so naïve a question? She wished she had never started this.

‘I take it that you mean to ask what prompted me to seek your company when we first met,’ Sir William said, still with the same detachment. Annabella could not see his expression, for his head was bent, his hands deep in his pockets.

‘Yes.’ Her voice had shrunk as her embarrassment had grown. ‘I thought perhaps that it was for my sister’s sake…’

Sir William shifted slightly. ‘I cannot deny that it was my friendship with James and Alicia which first brought you to my attention, Annabella.’

‘I see.’ Annabella’s voice was now a tiny thread of sound. So he had only tolerated her company for friendship’s sake. And no doubt Caroline Kilgaren’s kindness had sprung from the same source…Annabella’s fragile confidence wavered. The cold charity of it made her feel like crying. ‘It is as I had supposed, sir. No doubt you are all acting from the same obligation to my sister—’

Sir William moved surprisingly quickly, taking hold of her upper arms and turning her so that the moonlight fell full upon her face. He gave her a little shake. ‘Just a moment, Annabella! You do us all a disservice by that assumption! Yes, Mundell and all our friends initially sought you out because of your connection with Alicia, but do you think we would have done any more than merely acknowledge your acquaintance if we had not liked you for yourself?’ His hands slid down to her wrists, but he did not let
her go. ‘As for me,’ he said, an undertone of amusement in his voice, ‘I like you all too well, and it is damnably difficult for me! It was foolish in the extreme of me to bring you out here when I have been avoiding just such a situation for days! I gave in to a reckless impulse tonight, and should have known better!’

Annabella freed herself and moved away slightly, her silver dress gleaming in the light. Her heart was suddenly beating light and fast. His touch had awoken in her something which could not be dismissed easily, a hunger that invaded her senses. ‘I do not understand you, sir,’ she said coolly, knowing full well that she lied.

‘I think that you do.’ Sir William sounded exasperated, though whether with her or with himself, Annabella could not tell. ‘It was most imprudent for us to court scandal by stepping apart alone. For all your widowed state you are still young and inexperienced, and I would not care to risk your reputation or damage that innocence—’ He made a sudden, violent movement away from her. ‘Devil take it, Annabella, you understand what I mean…’

Annabella hesitated. Half of her was begging her to retreat from this hazardous conversation whilst the other half, the dangerous half she scarcely understood, wanted her to push him as far as she could. She shivered a little in the cool air, but more from the peculiar excitement that gripped her than from the cold. Sir William was standing half-turned away from her and she put her hand tentatively on his arm.