Joan Wolf - His Lordship's Desire

It was immediately obvious to Alex that every man in the room wanted to dance with Diana. The doctor moved the fastest and the two of them held hands to join in the circle for a Scottish reel.

“Dance with Lizzie, would you?” Ned said. “The poor girl doesn’t get many dances with an amputee for a fiancé.”

“I would be delighted to dance with Lizzie,” Alex said, and took the hand of Ned’s future wife.

In the course of the dance he managed to touch hands with Diana once or twice, which was as close as he got to her for most of the evening. He danced with his mother, with his hostess, even with Sally, but every time he tried to approach Diana she was giving her hand to another man.

He finally grabbed her when she was coming out of the ladies’ retiring room. “It will look strange if you don’t dance with me,” he said. “Everyone here knows we used to be good friends. Do you want to start gossip?”

She glared up at him, her dark eyes stormy. Tonight she was wearing her hair high on the back of her head, with little tendrils falling down her neck. “Oh, all right,” she huffed. “Let’s get it over with.”

She marched into the drawing room and gave him her hand without looking at him. He closed his hand around hers, feeling the long elegant fingers that were so gentle on the mouth of a horse. He held her hand more tightly than was necessary and she shot him a look but didn’t say anything. The music started and the circle they were part of began to move.

It was frustrating, to be so close to her yet feel that she was so far away. When the dance finished he went back to join Ned, who was sitting on a sofa with Lizzie.

“Don’t tell me you’re tired?” Lizzie teased.

He smiled at her. “No. I’m just resting after the triumph of finally having won a dance with Miss Sherwood.”

“She’s had a proposal from every unattached man in this room,” Lizzie said cheerfully. “But I hear she’s going to London. She’ll probably make a much better match there.”

She’s refused all of these men, Alex thought. Surely that’s a good sign.

His eyes rested on his sister. He didn’t have to ask whether or not Sally had received any offers. There was no chance in the world that an earl’s daughter would marry the country doctor.

The music had stopped and servants were coming in with a tea tray. Alex went to get his cup and looked forward to the ride home, when he would be sitting close beside Diana.

Despite feeling tired when she got into bed after the party, Diana couldn’t fall asleep. Her mind was on Alex and, as she lay there on her back, her arm across her forehead, her mind drifted back to the day that they first had met.

She was seven years old when she came to live in the cottage on the grounds of Standish Court. She had come in June and Alex had been home from Eton. She remembered the confusion of the move, the anguished realization that her father was going far away and the pain of separation from the pony she had been riding at their last house. He had belonged to the local squire, who had allowed Diana to ride him as his son had outgrown him.

She had been immensely intimidated by the move. What was going to happen to her in such a place? At her old home she had had her father, her dog, her mother and her pony. Here, at Standish, there was only Mama, as her dog had died a few months previously. And Mama kept telling her how nice she must be to Lord and Lady Standish for letting them stay in this cottage.

It was a nice cottage, much larger and airier than their last house, but just down the road was the immenseness of Standish Court, where lived this aristocratic family to whom she had to be so grateful.

She remembered the first afternoon they were invited to take tea at Standish. Mama had dressed her in her best dress and they had waited for the trap that the countess was sending to pick them up. They were driven to the palace—for that is what it looked like to Diana—and taken through fabulous rooms hung with mirrors and paintings and decorated with classical statues, to a large sitting room where Lady Standish waited for them, with her five-year-old daughter at her side.

Diana had watched as Mama and Lady Standish exchanged hugs and kisses. Then Lady Standish had bent to her. “And this is Diana,” she said. “What a pretty girl you are. I am your mother’s cousin, Amelia. Would you like to give me a kiss?”

Obediently, Diana kissed the soft cheek of her mother’s cousin.

“And this is your cousin, Sally.”

Sally was a blue-eyed, blond-haired cherub. She smiled at Diana. “Hello,” she said.

“Hello,” Diana replied.

Everyone settled down. The tea tray was brought, and lemonade for Sally and Diana.

Lady Standish said apologetically, “Alex was supposed to be here. I can’t imagine what is keeping him.”

On that note, the door opened and a boy dressed in riding clothes came in. He had black hair and sky-blue eyes and he said politely to his mother, “I’m sorry I’m late, Mama. I got delayed in the stable.”

Lady Standish sighed. “You’re always in the stable, Alex. Can’t you find something else to do?”

“Nothing that I like as much,” he said.

Diana was immediately drawn to the boy. “Do you have a lot of horses in your stable?” she asked him.

He looked at her. “Yes,” he said.

How wonderful, she thought.

“If you need any help exercising them, I’d be happy to help,” she said. “I used to exercise the squire’s son’s pony when we lived at home.”

He looked her up and down. “How old are you?”

“I’m almost eight. And I can ride anything.”

The boy’s black eyebrows shot up. “I doubt that.”

“I can!” she shot back. “The squire used to say that I was the best natural rider he’d ever seen!”

“Diana,” her mother chided gently. “Don’t brag, darling. It’s not becoming.”

“It’s not bragging, it’s true,” she insisted. “He did say that, Mama. Truly he did.”

The boy’s blue eyes narrowed. “Well, we’ll see about that,” he said.

“You can ride my pony, Diana,” Sally said. “He is very sweet.”

Diana gave Sally a radiant smile. “Thank you.”

After that the two ladies talked and the children drank their lemonade and ate cake from the tea tray. Then a big man with graying black hair and ordinary blue eyes came into the room.

That must be the earl, Diana thought.

“My lord,” Lady Standish said with pleasure. “I wasn’t sure you would be able to join us.”

He smiled. “Of course I wanted to be here to greet Mrs. Sherwood and her daughter. We are very glad to have you at Standish, ma’am.”

Diana’s mother’s cheeks were flushed. “Thank you, my lord. I cannot tell you how much we appreciate your generosity.”

“Not at all,” he said. “The cottage was just lying there empty. Happy to have it used.”

Diana looked at the earl curiously. When it came her turn to be introduced, she curtseyed and smiled at the large man who was suddenly so important in her life. He smiled back and called her a very pretty little girl. People had been calling Diana a very pretty little girl ever since she could remember, so it made little impression on her. She looked from the earl to his son. Alex looked like his father, except for his extraordinary eye color.

Diana was conscious of Alex looking at her and she looked boldly back. She had every intention of pushing him to allow her to ride Sally’s pony.

When the tea was over, and the Sherwoods stood to leave, Diana went over to Alex and asked, “When can I come to ride the pony?”

He stared down at her. “Come tomorrow morning. We’ll go for a ride together so I can see how brilliant you are.” There was a definite sarcastic note in his voice.