‘Sycophantic? Insincere? Grinding?’
He smiled at her accurate assessment. It was refreshing she didn’t mince her words. ‘Yes. To all. You can do much better than him.’
She beamed again as she had this morning and the sight of it did odd things to his heart. ‘Thank you, Lord Gray! That is exactly what I keep telling Harriet, but she is determined to meddle.’
‘Well, I dare say the meddling is necessary. You are on the cusp of decrepit.’
‘You heard everything, didn’t you?’ The blush on her cheeks mirrored the deeper one staining her collarbone and disappearing beneath the lace edging her close-cut bodice. ‘It’s very rude to eavesdrop.’
‘Surely eavesdropping involves listening to an obviously private conversation between two or more people. As you were loudly talking to yourself, out in broad daylight, I didn’t think it counted. It gave me a very interesting insight into the young lady you are beneath that impenetrable exterior.’ She looked attractively flummoxed and guilty at his assessment, which was very intriguing. ‘Besides, like you, I sensibly came out here to hide and get some fresh air, so the eavesdropping was merely an unanticipated bonus. How could I resist it?’
‘For a big man, you move with impressive stealth. Was it your intention to sneak up on me?’
‘You credit me with too much talent, Miss Cranford. All I did was walk across the grass. If you hadn’t been talking so much, you would have heard me. Do you mind if I sit—or is that grossly improper? If it is, I can hide somewhere else.’
She hesitated, then wrapped the filmy shawl around her shoulders, her jaw set and her eyes riveted on a distant spot across the lawn, feigning complete indifference politely. ‘We are in view of the house and Harriet will be back presently.’ Gray decided to take that as acceptance and sat on the opposite end of the seat to her.
‘Why are you hiding? When I left you, you seemed to be having a high old time. My aunt appeared most enamoured of your charm.’ He detected the hint of disapproval and decided to pry. These little rifts and obvious censures, leaked in confidence, proved time and time again to be fertile hunting grounds for spies.
‘Your aunt obviously enjoys socialising.’ A very delicate way of saying the woman basked in the glory of being the centre of attention, particularly when surrounded by a bevy of eager, much younger gentlemen.
‘She does. More so than my uncle, so he indulges her.’
‘I was hoping to meet your uncle before I outstayed my welcome. Will he be rejoining the party later?’
Her dark eyes clouded as they stared straight ahead. ‘My uncle’s health is not good, my lord, and hasn’t been for several years. He managed much of the first hour, but prolonged socialising does take its toll on him. He needs his rest and sleeps like the dead most afternoons. I do not expect Uncle Edward will make another appearance today, I’m afraid. You shall have to meet him another time.’
He could tell by the worried look in her eyes she believed this to be the case and felt a rush of anger towards the man for his duplicity. Poor health was a convenient and ready excuse to disappear to do his dirty work. He’d wager every hard-earned coin in his purse that Gislingham was currently up to no good somewhere on this estate—or elsewhere—while his niece worried over him unnecessarily. ‘That is a shame. Perhaps my cousin and I would do better to call upon him in the morning?’ Before he left today, he needed to do a thorough reconnaissance of the grounds and as much of the bottom floor as he dare. His gut told him Gislingham ran his operation from this house and Gray needed to know exactly where.
‘He is at his best in the mornings and enjoys small, intimate company. I know he is keen to meet you—especially as Harriet has already apprised him of this morning’s unfortunate events.’
That didn’t sound good. ‘Should I expect a thorough telling off when I come calling?’
‘Not at all. Uncle Edward has a very warped sense of humour and found the state of me upon my arrival home hilarious. I fear Harriet brings out the worst in him.’ Gray sincerely doubted that. He had lost many comrades thanks to The Boss at his worst.
‘Lady Crudgington is indeed a force of nature.’
‘And very curious. She left me determined to give you a thorough grilling.’
‘I suspected as much. But she was distracted by a fruit scone and clotted cream on the sideboard, so I managed to escape her clutches before I crept out. I can only cope with so much heat from the drawing room...and Mr Hargreaves.’ Gray might as well take advantage of her dislike for the man. ‘He brays when he laughs.’
The ghost of a smile played at the corners of her mouth. ‘Colonel Purbeck spits when he talks.’
‘Hence I stumbled across you shrouded like a widow.’
‘I’m sorry about that. It was most improper.’
‘Propriety is hardly a field it would be fair for me to judge you on and, anyway, it is vastly overrated. Don’t you think?’
Her fingers played with the dangling edges of the shawl as she glanced up at the cloudless sky and, inadvertently giving him more clues as to her character, she avoided answering his question. ‘Alas, I adore the sun, but it doesn’t adore me. With my fair skin, I burn easily, so I have to ration it. Hence the shroud.’
‘Then perhaps I should escort you back inside. The afternoon sun is always the worst.’
* * *
Prudence dictated that she should grasp the opportunity to escape inside seeing as he had offered it. It wasn’t proper for an unmarried lady to be in such a secluded place in the presence of a gentleman without a chaperon and she knew Harriet had no intention of coming back outside and wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere near the garden if she suspected Thea was alone in it with Lord Gray. But her friend’s criticisms rankled and as much as Thea wanted to discount everything she had said, there was a great deal of truth in her words. She was becoming unacceptably jaded and had an ever-increasing suspicion of the motives of others. Since the smooth-talking soldier that dreadful night, she did make snap decisions about men and she did push them away. The fear of Impetuous Thea falling for a money-grabbing bounder, the huge responsibility of the unwieldy fortune her uncle had amassed on her behalf and the sense of responsibility and love she had for him had made her reluctant to consider anyone seriously.
To her shame, that reluctance had made her unacceptably stand-offish to the point where she risked never finding a decent man, and that simply wouldn’t do. Because one day when the time was right and the gentleman perfect, she did want to live happily ever after. She wanted to be loved and adored. Wanted to love and adore back. Wanted to fill her home with the happy sound of children laughing, the closeness of family and the promise of a future she could look forward to. Uncle Edward had insisted she have financial independence so that she could marry the man of her dreams without having to compromise as he had done. True love, he often waxed after a bit too much brandy, was the greatest joy in the world and worth all the hideous turmoil in the long run.
Somehow, while waiting patiently for true love to come, she had allowed those alarm bells to start clanging well before she got to know a gentleman, which made a lifetime of spinsterhood a foregone conclusion. If she had created the vicious circle, she could jolly well unmake it.
‘I suppose I can tolerate a little more sun.’ In a concerted effort not to be stand-offish and judgemental, she would be cordial and properly get to know this handsome new gentleman beyond his compelling, wolf-like eyes and splendid physique. Harriet was right. Aside from the fact he was local, he did live with an older relative as well, so might understand her situation. He was the first gentleman she had met in for ever who had not actively sought her out to begin with. They had met wholly by chance without the allure of her impressive bank balance, so perhaps she should give fate a fair crack at the whip before she wielded the repelling Shield of Suspicion. ‘Tell me something about yourself, Lord Gray.’