Nicole Jordan - To Seduce a Bride

Looking up, Lily offered Tess another brief smile. “Thank you for letting me spend the night and for bringing me home.”

“You know you are welcome,” Tess said warmly as she gathered the reins. “I shall return shortly to see Roslyn. Despite Winifred’s reassurances, the experience cannot have been pleasant for her.”

“I will tell her to expect you for luncheon.”

Tess was about to snap the reins at her horse when the sound of a carriage could be heard in the distance. Glancing beyond the gig, Lily spied a team and curricle sweeping up the gravel drive, driven by a lone gentleman garbed in a fashionable frock coat and tall beaver hat.

Her heart suddenly jolted when she recognized those splendid shoulders, and she voiced an oath under her breath. “What the devil is he doing here?”

“That is Lord Claybourne, is it not?” Tess asked.

“Regrettably, yes.”

His lordship was the very last person she wanted to see, Lily thought as she stood there cursing her ill luck. If only she had arrived home five minutes earlier, she could have had the butler deny her presence at home. But now she would have to face Lord Claybourne when she was still flustered by the memory of his brazen kisses. And she was in no mood to do it alone.

“Please, Tess, stay another moment. Don’t leave me here with him.”

Her friend looked puzzled. “Do you not wish to see him?”

But there was no time to answer as the marquess expertly guided his team alongside Lily and brought the curricle to a halt.

Lily took a steadying breath as she locked gazes with him. She was much more herself this morning, in a rational state of mind. Or at least she was sober now. Without her head swimming, she could withstand his appeal.

Except that in the cold light of day, Lord Claybourne was still as devastatingly handsome as he’d been last night. And his slow smile was just as heart-melting as he greeted them both with a bow. “Good morning, ladies.”

Deploring her stomach-tightening awareness, Lily managed a cool smile, although there was a breathless quality to her voice when she spoke. “What brings you here, my lord?”

“Why, I am merely paying you a morning call.”

Her eyebrow rose. “You came all the way from London to call on me?”

He shrugged one powerful shoulder. “With a fast team, it is not much more than a half-hour drive. And these beauties”-he indicated the two grays before him-“are lightning fast.”

His team was indeed magnificent, Lily noted in silent admiration. Obviously high-spirited but trained well enough to stand patiently while waiting for their master’s commands.

But that didn’t explain why Claybourne thought he had to call on her. “You should not have troubled yourself, my lord.”

“It was no trouble. I’ve brought you a basket from my chef.”

She looked at him blankly. “Your chef?”

“A few delicacies for Boots, and a remedy for your headache. I would imagine after last night your skull feels as if a drum took up residence inside.”

Lily couldn’t help but be impressed by his thoughtfulness, yet she was not about to let him know it.

“I imagine you speak from experience?” she said dryly.

“Of course.”

Tendering her a grin of knee-weakening charm, he held up the basket. In order to take it, Lily had to set down her valise, which she did reluctantly.

“You are too kind,” she said with forced politeness as she accepted his offering. “Boots will no doubt appreciate your generosity. But you should not have come, my lord. And most certainly you should not be bringing me gifts.”

“Why not, Miss Loring?”

Lily felt exasperation rise inside her. Lord Claybourne was being deliberately obtuse, since she had clearly warned him about Winifred’s matchmaking machinations. “You know very well why not. Did you not hear a word I said last night?”

“Yes, I heard every word.”

When Tess’s gaze shifted between them at the undercurrents of tension vibrating the air, Lily modulated her tone, realizing she would do better to pretend indifference.

“Then you should have heeded my warning,” she said more evenly. “You cannot bring me gifts without giving rise to speculation. Lady Freemantle will be in raptures.”

“Lady Freemantle doesn’t concern me.”

“She will think you are courting me.”

“So?”

At the casual question, Lily stared at him. “S-so…” She stammered to a halt as she understood his implication, since words failed her. “You cannot possibly be thinking of courting me.”

“I beg to differ.”

From his mild expression, he didn’t appear to be ribbing her, yet he couldn’t be serious.

“Lord Claybourne…that is absurd. You don’t wish to wed me, and I most certainly don’t wish to wed you.”

His hazel eyes regarded her steadily. “How will we know unless we explore the issue? And for that we must have the chance to improve our acquaintance.”

He was making her unsettled now, and extremely vexed. Lily narrowed her gaze on him. “I don’t know what sort of game you are playing, my lord, but I do not care for it in the least.”

“It is no game, angel.”

Lily tightened her jaw. “The polite response would be to thank you, Lord Claybourne, but-”

“But you are not the polite kind,” he interrupted, his eyes dancing with provocative humor.

“No I am not!”

She could see Tess’s brow furrow at her terse reply. Lily had little patience for the social niceties, but she was never overtly rude. She wasn’t certain how to deal with a seductive nobleman showing her such marked attention, either.

He flashed her a lazy smile. “I am willing to make allowances for your testiness, Miss Loring, since I know the cause.”

You are the cause of my testiness, Lily thought in frustration. Not the aftereffects of the champagne.

She wanted to be rid of the provoking marquess. Fortunately she had an ideal excuse. Drawing another calming breath, Lily forced a cool smile. “I would invite you to come in for refreshments, my lord, but I don’t have time to entertain you this morning. I need to find my sister Roslyn and make certain she is all right. After the robbery last night, she will likely have little desire for company.”

Lord Claybourne frowned at that. “What robbery?”

“Oh, hadn’t you heard?” Lily felt a bit more confident now that she wasn’t quite so much on the defensive. “Last night Roslyn stayed late to direct the servants in setting the Hall to rights after the ball. Afterward, Lady Freemantle was driving her to Miss Blanchard’s house when their coach was held up by a highwayman at gunpoint barely a mile from here.”

His brows snapped together. “Were either of them hurt?” The sharpness of his tone was gratifying, Lily thought.

“Thankfully, no. But the footpad was likely wounded. The Duke of Arden happened along in time to foil the robbery and shoot the fleeing brigand. And now there is a massive search out for him.”

“Where is Arden now?”

“At Freemantle Park. He stayed the night there to give comfort to Lady Freemantle and my sister. Perhaps you might wish to speak to him yourself.”

Still frowning, Claybourne made no reply, and Lily realized that her gaze had somehow wandered to his mouth. She felt heat tinge her cheekbones as she recalled how the magic of that sensual mouth had burned into hers…

Jerking her unruly thoughts back to the present, she said pointedly, “I am certain you don’t want to keep your horses standing any longer, Lord Claybourne.”

His frown easing, he raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you dismissing me, Miss Loring?”

Lily couldn’t help but smile at his arch tone. No doubt a nobleman of his rank and consequence was rarely given a dismissal. “Make of it what you will, but you do not strike me as lacking in understanding.”