“I am ready.”
I pushed off the tree and forced myself to look at him, prepared for a wholly improper scene. Instead, surprise and gratitude left me speechless. He had retained his shirt, though he’d rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, as well as his waistcoat, which, though unbuttoned, must still have been quite uncomfortable. His coat and cravat were slung across an arm. His hair, no longer dripping so profusely, had actually curled a bit.
In that moment I understood why the ladies at the Hickmores’ party had been disappointed by his early departure. His lack of formal attire made him appear relaxed and approachable and quite worth sparing more than one passing glance on.
A slow smile spread across his face. His eyes, more welcoming than I had ever seen them, began to sparkle as though with barely contained amusement.
Fear flitted through me. I was allowing him to draw me in. How was it possible that someone who behaved so abominably could at the same time be so charming?
I spun toward the path. “I am ready as well.” I didn’t wait, knowing he’d catch up. And I needed a moment to myself, however brief, because whatever had just passed between us made me feel off balance, as though I was still standing in the boat, only a storm was rising on the lake and the boat was quickly becoming unsteady.
As we neared the garden, Lord Williams said, “I am afraid I failed to find much peace at your lake. While a swim could be termed refreshing, there was nothing tranquil or soothing about this afternoon.”
I looked up. His face was completely serious, but a twinkle in his eyes betrayed him. He was jesting.
I wasn’t quite sure how to reply. “Being refreshed is something.”
“Yes, it is.” He smiled, his first genuine smile.
That smile was worse than our arguments. At least in a disagreement the battle lines were clearly drawn. But the way he grinned, warm and welcoming, did something inside that made me want to answer with a grin of my own.
I was becoming as ridiculous as my family. I would not allow him power over me.
I yanked my attention back to the path. We climbed the stairs from the garden to the lawn and I stopped. It would do no good to be caught with him half dressed. If Daniel and Louisa saw us, there would be no end to the teasing. If my parents were to discover us, I was in for more than a mere lecture. “I need to see where everyone is.”
He lifted a brow but uttered no disagreement.
I made him wait by the large yew bush while I stood on the wall. Louisa and Daniel sat with my mother and sister. My father wasn’t visible in any of the windows.
I sighed. “We will have to risk it. However, it would be best if we entered the house separately.”
“Why is that?”
“You want us to be discovered with you looking like . . . with you half-dressed looking like. . . .”
“Looking like I fell into the lake?” He shrugged. “You cannot tell me it has not happened before.”
“Not to a guest. And certainly not to a baron. You go in by the front door. I’ll walk around to the back.” I held out my hand, waiting for him to assist me down.
“Anyone who sees either of us will guess what happened.” To my surprise, he grabbed me by my waist and lifted me off the wall. Clutching his arms to keep my balance, I swallowed a shriek that would certainly have brought my mother and sister rushing to the window. In a harsh whisper, I demanded, “What are you doing?”
He set me down. “The last time you climbed that wall, you fell off, and I have a suspicion it was partly my fault. I could not allow that to happen again.”
His tone might make one believe that having a man lift a woman from a wall was the most natural thing in the world. But there was nothing natural about the way his hands burned imprints into my sides that I was certain would never go away.
I stepped out of his grasp. “Next time, the assistance of one of your hands will be enough.”
He nodded and started walking away.
“Where are you going?”
He paused. “To change. As much as I enjoy spending time with you, I think it best if I return to a more proper state of attire.” He disappeared around the side of the house.
He enjoyed spending time with me. Was he serious? Did it matter? Confusion wore at my resolve. The man from the Hickmores’ would never have handled me so gently. He would never have been kind after being knocked into a lake. And his touch would never have left me feeling warm and unsettled.
This side of Lord Williams was definitely more dangerous than the man from the Hickmores’.
Eighteen
The ringing bell signaled the Johnsons’ arrival five minutes earlier than expected. Those were five minutes I had planned to spend in my room to await the last possible moment to descend in an effort to keep my interactions with Lord Williams to a minimum. No good would come from being around him more than absolutely necessary.
This afternoon had only reiterated how important the selection of my future spouse was; there could be no yielding on this.
I glanced in the mirror and arranged the chain of my necklace before leaving to greet our guests.
Daniel stood at the top of the stairs, blocking my way, staring down to the entry below, his hands grasping the railings.
“Daniel, shall we descend? I believe our guests are here.”
Catherine’s laugh echoed up to us. He whipped around to face me. “Did you invite them?”
I shrugged and pretended to study my glove. “It was either them or Mr. Lundall, and considering I have already had my fair share of time alone with the latter, I thought it only fair to provide you the same opportunity with the former.”
“You invited them to get back at me for leaving you with Mr. Lundall? Dragging things out a little far, aren’t we?”
I narrowed my eyes, all sense of good humor evaporating. “Not just for that. This is for the game of bowls you made me play with Lord Williams. And for scooting my chair next to his. It is for the song you tried to corner me into singing and for leaving us in the middle of the lake in a boat. It is for every awkward, backstabbing move you have made since Lord Williams arrived. I thought I could rely on you—my own brother—but now I know that at the first possibility for amusement you will throw me to the wolves.”
“There are no wolves in England, Margaret.”
I don’t know why his response surprised me, but the annoyance in his voice inflamed me to anger. I shoved past him. I had no need of his help. I would do this on my own.
Pasting on a wide smile, I strode into the parlor. To my surprise, Catherine’s father, who was the town doctor, and her elder brother James had also come.
Catherine had already attached herself to Lord Williams’s side. James came forward to greet me.
“Miss Brinton, how good to see you again.”
There was a falseness in his too-cheery voice. I realized at once why he had been included. The Johnsons had had the same idea of attaching Catherine to Lord Williams as I’d had, and James was there as my distraction. I could have laughed.
“Mr. Johnson.”
Daniel entered and dinner was announced. James offered me his arm. Though Lord Williams glanced at us and my mother frowned, I accepted his offer and whispered, “I believe you and I are fighting on the same side, sir.”
“Are we indeed?”