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Authors: Mary Blayney
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the mail when she is better.”
“Hmmm,” he said to cover his surprise at her good idea. If he did as Miss Castellano suggested it would simplify the situation and allow him to deliver her to Pennford and arrive in Manchester on schedule.
“There must be a pianoforte at Sandleton. I will play very quietly, which will keep me from worrying about Janina and you will not have to distract me from my concern with the dreaded ‘conversation.’ You can work on your mountain of papers and we will not be in each other’s way at all.”
“Very well. We leave in an hour.” Though the suggestion that they would “not be in each other’s way at all” was as likely as snow in Mexico. “I would be impressed with this morning’s gesture of loyalty, if I did not know how mercurial it can be.”
It was an arrow that found its mark. Miss Castellano took a step back, her eyes betraying how wounded she felt by his reference to her broken engagement. After a long moment she smiled a little. “Congratulations, my lord. Now you have spoiled both my dinner and my breakfast.”
She picked up the serviette that had dropped to the floor when she stood, tossed it on the table, and movedtoward the door. He watched her progress, debating an apology, but one that would not give her the upper hand, when she stopped and faced him again. He was relieved to see her eyes no longer wounded but bright with feeling.
“Lord David,” she said, her words tinged with regret as well as anger. “You know nothing, nothing about me other than that regrettable incident.” She raised two fingers to her lips again, but it was not enough to keep her from finishing. “If you have never once made a terrible mistake, then do feel free to mention that incident hourly. But if, despite having ‘Lord’ before your name, you are as imperfect as the rest of us, I will thank you not to speak of it again.”
With that she left the room.
David stared at her still-full plate and noticed that she had forgotten her shawl and her book. He stood and added them to the papers. If he thought to keep her at a distance he had succeeded. Her petulance would make for a miserable day of traveling, though it might keep her quiet. He wondered how long it would be until she smiled again.
To his surprise she was in the stable yard when he came out. They were one of three groups preparing to leave. He stood waiting for her, watching, after he handed her shawl and book to one of the grooms with the direction to put it in the coach.
David saw her turn to the Belforts who were right next to them, waiting for their baggage to be loaded.
“I hope you travel safely to your destination,” she saidpleasantly. “Will you have many more nights on the road?”
“Uh, three more days, Miss Castellano,” Lord Belfort Wiggins answered, with a try at civility that was not anywhere equal to hers.
“I hope all the beds are as comfortable as the ones here.”
Before either one of them could answer, Miss Castellano turned toward her carriage, pressing her lips together as if to keep from laughing out loud. The Belforts were clearly embarrassed. Over what, Lord David had no idea. On the other hand, the Belforts deserved whatever barb she had delivered, after the way they had treated her last night. It would have cost them nothing to be kind to her. Of course, he thought, that was the pot calling the kettle black.
Miss Castellano took Lord David’s arm as they crossed the stable yard. “That, my lord, was very small of me, but I wanted to show you that a pinch is so much more genteel than a body blow. As a boxer you should understand the difference.”
“Yes, I do. And I know that what I said at breakfast was far closer to a knockout punch.”
“But good practice for what is to come,” she said, seeming to accept an apology at which he had only hinted. “There is a vast difference between a cut and an insult. Not to mention a snub.”
“We do not have the time to discuss the
“Hmmm,” he said to cover his surprise at her good idea. If he did as Miss Castellano suggested it would simplify the situation and allow him to deliver her to Pennford and arrive in Manchester on schedule.
“There must be a pianoforte at Sandleton. I will play very quietly, which will keep me from worrying about Janina and you will not have to distract me from my concern with the dreaded ‘conversation.’ You can work on your mountain of papers and we will not be in each other’s way at all.”
“Very well. We leave in an hour.” Though the suggestion that they would “not be in each other’s way at all” was as likely as snow in Mexico. “I would be impressed with this morning’s gesture of loyalty, if I did not know how mercurial it can be.”
It was an arrow that found its mark. Miss Castellano took a step back, her eyes betraying how wounded she felt by his reference to her broken engagement. After a long moment she smiled a little. “Congratulations, my lord. Now you have spoiled both my dinner and my breakfast.”
She picked up the serviette that had dropped to the floor when she stood, tossed it on the table, and movedtoward the door. He watched her progress, debating an apology, but one that would not give her the upper hand, when she stopped and faced him again. He was relieved to see her eyes no longer wounded but bright with feeling.
“Lord David,” she said, her words tinged with regret as well as anger. “You know nothing, nothing about me other than that regrettable incident.” She raised two fingers to her lips again, but it was not enough to keep her from finishing. “If you have never once made a terrible mistake, then do feel free to mention that incident hourly. But if, despite having ‘Lord’ before your name, you are as imperfect as the rest of us, I will thank you not to speak of it again.”
With that she left the room.
David stared at her still-full plate and noticed that she had forgotten her shawl and her book. He stood and added them to the papers. If he thought to keep her at a distance he had succeeded. Her petulance would make for a miserable day of traveling, though it might keep her quiet. He wondered how long it would be until she smiled again.
To his surprise she was in the stable yard when he came out. They were one of three groups preparing to leave. He stood waiting for her, watching, after he handed her shawl and book to one of the grooms with the direction to put it in the coach.
David saw her turn to the Belforts who were right next to them, waiting for their baggage to be loaded.
“I hope you travel safely to your destination,” she saidpleasantly. “Will you have many more nights on the road?”
“Uh, three more days, Miss Castellano,” Lord Belfort Wiggins answered, with a try at civility that was not anywhere equal to hers.
“I hope all the beds are as comfortable as the ones here.”
Before either one of them could answer, Miss Castellano turned toward her carriage, pressing her lips together as if to keep from laughing out loud. The Belforts were clearly embarrassed. Over what, Lord David had no idea. On the other hand, the Belforts deserved whatever barb she had delivered, after the way they had treated her last night. It would have cost them nothing to be kind to her. Of course, he thought, that was the pot calling the kettle black.
Miss Castellano took Lord David’s arm as they crossed the stable yard. “That, my lord, was very small of me, but I wanted to show you that a pinch is so much more genteel than a body blow. As a boxer you should understand the difference.”
“Yes, I do. And I know that what I said at breakfast was far closer to a knockout punch.”
“But good practice for what is to come,” she said, seeming to accept an apology at which he had only hinted. “There is a vast difference between a cut and an insult. Not to mention a snub.”
“We do not have the time to discuss the
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