after such an announcement? She’d thought her father couldn’t shock her any further after she’d discovered an elderly viscount— an utter stranger to her—lounging in her withdrawing room, waiting to propose. After that, she had learned to be on her guard from her father’s future attempts, which thus far had been many and varied. What wastrel aristocrat in the vicinity of London didn’t leap to do her father’s bidding when he dangled her sizeable dowry? But to drag her all the way out to the wilds of Derbyshire, to make up a Banbury tale of business up north? That was the outside of enough.
Her father must have signaled Davis to continue, for their coachman gave the horses their heads, taking the carriage farther along the road. Very likely he was looking for a place wide enough to turn the coach and team and come back for her.
But she wasn’t ready to face her father, not when she was in such a temper. He’d always said there was a reason she’d inherited her mother’s sleek red hair and catlike green eyes. They were a warning to beware. A shame her father didn’t heed them.
Shaking out the folds of her wine-colored pelisse, she marched down the riverbank, gaze on the speckled stones to keep from tripping. But despite her efforts to calm herself, the anger bubbling up inside her found its way out of her mouth.
“Doesn’t bother to tell the truth, oh, no, not him.” She detoured around a leafy shrub overhanging the shore. “‘Think of it as a holiday, Ruby,’ he says. ‘A chance to see the sights.’ I’ll give him a sight—my back as I head for London!”
Someone coughed.
Ruby’s head jerked up, heart ramming against her ribs. She pulled herself to a stop to avoid colliding with a tall man who stood on the riverbank, blocking her way forward. “Oh!”
Her first thought was to run. Even in skirts and on a rocky shore she ought to be able to beat him to the road. But what help would she find there? All that remained of her coach was the dust lingering in the summer air.
As if he knew her fears, the man before her held up his hands to prove he meant no harm. Indeed, now that she looked closer, he didn’t appear particularly dangerous. His thick hair was not quite as bright gold as a guinea and neatly combed about his head despite the breeze that followed the stream down the dale. And his eyes were perfect for Derby: they matched the swirling combination of purple and blue found in the fabled Blue John stones native to the area that her father sold in his jewelry shop. His clean-shaven face was firmly molded like the alabaster statues her father imported, body tall and strong.
In fact, the only things about him that weren’t first-rate were his clothes, which consisted of scuffed, water-stained boots, corduroy breeches and a wool waistcoat over a linen shirt. He probably wasn’t even a second son, much less a selfish, self-absorbed aristocrat like she was sure to find in the Earl of Danning, who thought he could summon a gentlewoman he’d never met to Derby with a perfunctory note. With his head cocked and that smile on his handsome face, he looked as if he wanted nothing more than to help her.
However, looks could be deceiving, as she knew to her sorrow.
“Forgive me for intruding,” he said. “May I be of assistance?”
Nice voice—warm, earnest. Nice manners. She still didn’t trust him.
“I don’t need assistance,” she said, using a tone that brooked no argument. “My carriage will return for me any moment.” As her boxing instructor had taught her, she positioned her feet in a preparatory stance, one forward, one back, and held her arms loosely at her sides. She was tall for a woman, and she was fairly sure that if the situation called for it, she could hit that perfectly formed nose of his with sufficient force to make him think twice about pursuit.
He glanced at the road as if considering how quickly the coach would return. “I’m glad to hear you have an escort.” His voice betrayed his doubts.
She could only wish for an escort, but she’d failed to even snatch up her reticule and the pistol it contained when she’d jumped, worse luck!
Perhaps if she explained her circumstances, this fellow would be less likely to think her easy prey. She waved a hand to the north, where the coach had been heading, and hoped there truly was a lodge somewhere about, close enough that someone might hear her if she had to scream. “Oh, they’ll all be looking for me. I’m to attend a fortnight’s house party in the area.”
He frowned. “I didn’t realize His Grace had returned, much less begun entertaining.”
His Grace! Her temper thrust past her logic once more, and she threw up her hands. “Oh! My father said he was an earl! Another lie!”
A shadow flickered past his face, and he bent as if to keep her from seeing it. For the first time, Ruby noticed a long wooden rod lying at his booted feet. His fingers closed around it and tugged it up before the lapping water pulled it in. “I’m sorry, madam, but the only earl in this area is the Earl of Danning, and he isn’t entertaining.”
Ruby made a face as he straightened. “That bad, is he?”
He chuckled, one hand on the rod, which rose even above his considerable height. “Not really. I’ve even heard him called affable. What I meant is that he doesn’t come here to entertain.” He nodded toward the river. “He comes to fish.”
“Really?” She gazed at the swirling green waters as they leaped over stones, chattered past mossy boulders. Hard to imagine a puffed-up aristocrat willingly standing by a stream, angling for his dinner. Could there be more to this earl than the other nobs she’d met? Her look swung back to him. “How well do you know him?”
He hesitated, then shrugged. “Reasonably well.”
Such a cautious response. Was he a servant of his lordship and feared retribution if he gossiped? Was the Earl of Danning a vengeful man? She had no wish to put this kind man at risk, but she had to use the opportunity to learn more about the earl who had somehow taken a shine to her. She stepped closer. “Is it true he’s looking for a wife?”
He recoiled, eyes widening. “What?”
She smiled sweetly and repeated her question, enunciating each word with care. “Is. He. Looking. For a wife?”
He frowned at her, and it struck her that he probably thought she was bent on pursuing a title. Ruby shuddered at the idea.
“Forgive me for speaking so plainly,” she said. “Please understand, I’m not after him. I’d like nothing better than for you to assure me that he is old and fat and quite set in his ways, sworn never to wed.”
A muscle worked in his cheek as if he were fighting a smile. “He just reached his thirtieth year, and I believe some would consider him reasonably fit. However, I can promise you he is not actively seeking a bride.”
Relief coursed through her. All that worry, for nothing! But then, who’d sent the invitation? Oh! Not another prank! Far too many aristocrats of her acquaintance found juvenile amusement in reminding her and her father of their “place” in Society. She had learned to ignore their petty jokes, but her father still hoped for the best in them. When would he learn that interaction with the upper class led to nothing but heartache?
Her would-be rescuer was still regarding her as if not quite sure what to do with her. Ruby smiled at him.
“How rude of me,” she said, sticking out her hand. “Ruby Hollingsford. And you are?”
“Whitfield Calder,” he supplied, taking her hand and inclining his head over it as if he were honoring her. She liked that he was taller than she was. She was growing decidedly weary of looking down onto balding crowns when she danced.
Ruby beamed at him as he released her hand. “And apparently you and the earl have something in common. You like to fish, too. I’m very sorry to have interrupted you.”
He smiled. For some reason, she thought he was rusty at smiling. Perhaps it was how slowly his lips lifted. Perhaps it was the way his golden lashes veiled his eyes. Had he seen tragedy then?
“It