Haunted by the Earl's Touch - By Ann Lethbridge Page 0,70

dining tonight.’

A rush of relief shot through Mary.

Jeffrey held his arm out for his aunt and Gerald escorted Mary. ‘How was your visit to the mine?’ her dinner companion asked when they were seated.

‘Very interesting.’

‘Dangerous place, mines,’ Mrs Hampton said. ‘I am surprised his lordship let you go. You did not actually go inside, did you, Miss Wilding?’

The irony struck a nerve and she had to force herself not to laugh. ‘I did.’

‘I say,’ Jeffrey said. ‘Good for you. I shall have to ask old Trelawny for a tour myself. I didn’t think they allowed people to walk around down there. Gerald and I used to sneak in there as lads, but the old manager wasn’t nearly as particular as Trelawny.’

‘I am a part-owner,’ she pointed out.

Mrs Hampton gave a disapproving sniff.

‘I heard you got lost down there,’ Gerald said.

Mary stared at him. ‘How did you hear such a thing?’

‘Some of the men were talking in the inn. They said his lordship was in a proper temper that you had wandered off.’ His gaze held speculation.

Anger rose hot inside her, but she filled her mouth with meat and let the act of chewing and swallowing before she answered cool her temper. ‘I got lost.’

‘There are a lot of old workings,’ he said, looking at her rather strangely. ‘Some of them go very deep. They are quite dangerous.’

‘You were lucky you didn’t fall down one of the old shafts,’ Jeffrey remarked. ‘I hear some of them date back to the dark ages. A couple of men from the village have lost their lives in them over the years.’

‘Next you will be telling me the place is haunted,’ she said with a sugary smile and a pretended shiver.

‘Oh, no,’ Gerald said blithely. ‘I’ve never heard tales of ghosts in the mine.’

‘Then perhaps it was a guardian angel who helped me find my way out.’

‘I expect you just followed your nose,’ Jeffrey said dismissively.

The door crashed open. The earl stood on the threshold.

Her heart gave a familiar jolt, then dipped as she recalled his perfidy.

‘I hope I am not interrupting,’ he said smoothly, looking at Mary.

‘Not at all.’ She gave him the benefit of that sugary smile and was pleased when his eyes widened. ‘I thought you weren’t joining us for dinner.’

His lordship gave her a piercing stare. ‘I’m not.’ He sat down at the head of the table. Mary was glad she was at the other end, opposite Gerald, for the earl had a glitter about his eyes and a set look to his jaw that did not bode well. He was looking at her with angry suspicion, no doubt frustrated at the failure of his plan. She focused on the food on her plate. If she looked at him, she might give away her anger. Her rage.

He waved off the plate that Manners offered him and poured himself a glass of the burgundy from the decanter near his elbow. He leaned back in his chair and, against her will, Mary found her gaze drawn to him, to the form of the man. The solid strength. The way his coat hugged his manly shoulders.

She forced her gaze back to her plate.

No one said a word.

It was as if his presence had dampened any pretence of civilised conversation.

Mrs Hampton signalled to Manners to clear the table. ‘Will you take tea in the drawing room with me, Miss Wilding?’ she asked as she rose and the gentlemen followed suit.

‘Miss Wilding is otherwise engaged,’ Beresford said. He glowered at the two younger men. ‘Why don’t you two fellows go off for your usual game of billiards and leave me and Miss Wilding to our conversation?’

The chairs went back and the cousins followed Gerald’s mother out of the room.

Cowards.

But she didn’t really blame them. She wished she could follow them, but she seemed to be pinned to her chair by that bright steely gaze fixed on her face. He gestured for the servants to leave.

Her mouth dried. She could hear her heart beating faster than she would like. He looked different tonight, less controlled. He sipped at his wine, watching her over the rim. A muscle ticked in the side of his face. ‘What the devil did you think you were doing?’

She sat bolt upright in her chair. ‘I beg your pardon?’

‘Running off like that when my back was turned.’

It took a moment for her to understand. And then the answer came to her. He was making out that he thought she had tried to run