using Shakespeare. Don’t give it another thought. Those who don’t know you might think from this that you’ve fallen on hard times, but no one in the ton will.”
“If only you are right,” Andrew said, then drained his glass.
Chandler took a long hard look at Andrew and wasn’t sure he liked what he saw. Could there be any truth to what was written about his friend? No, Andrew would have told him if there was a problem.
But he couldn’t help but wonder where in London Millicent got her damning information.
Fifteen
“To say the truth, reason and love keep little company together now a days,” and if that were not true, why would Miss Pennington be spending so much time on the dance floor and in Hyde Park with Lord Chatwin? Her father has made it clear he wants a match before the Season is out. Can he expect an offer for her hand from Lord Chatwin?
—Lord Truefitt, Society’s Daily Column
Wide blue skies dotted by puffy white clouds served as a canopy to the beautiful day as Millicent and Chandler rode in the curricle toward Hyde Park. Bright sunshine caressed their backs and a midspring breeze lightly fanned their hair. It was the kind of day that made Millicent glad she didn’t have to be inside, surrounded by dark furniture and heavy draperies.
Chandler had arrived splendidly dressed in his riding coat of dark brown with shiny brass buttons adorning the front lapels and the sleeves. He grinned like a schoolboy when he presented her the predictable box of apricot tarts, which he then made light of when he gave them to her. From behind his back he unexpectedly produced a cutting of fresh Persian lilies from his own garden. She didn’t even want to think about what the extra gift might mean.
Before leaving the house, Millicent had asked her maid to see to it that two tarts were sent up to Aunt Beatrice with her afternoon tea and that the rest should not be touched. Millicent would take those to Lady Lynette tomorrow afternoon. After all, she had promised to do so if she should ever receive the highly prized gift. The lilies Millicent had sent to her room so that only she would enjoy their fragrance and their beauty.
Much to Millicent’s surprise, and after a long discussion, her aunt had sanctioned her afternoon ride with the most notorious member of the Terrible Threesome. According to Aunt Beatrice, Lord Dunraven would lose interest in Millicent quickly once she became available for him to call on. And Beatrice decided the closer Millicent became with such a notable member of the ton the more gossip she would hear.
Nothing was more important than that. And of course, her aunt warned her that she must be very careful that Lord Dunraven behave as a proper gentleman at all times.
If Aunt Beatrice only knew!
Millicent had worried about Lord Dunraven looking at this afternoon outing in Hyde Park as encouragement, but she couldn’t deny the rushing thrill that raced through her chest when she placed her gloved hand in his to be helped into the carriage. And again, when his arm touched hers as he hopped onto the leather-covered cushioned seat beside her, and later his leg brushed the hem of her skirt as a groom handed him the ribbons.
She had tried hard not to be smitten by him but knew she was failing miserably. All he had to do was look at her and her stomach quivered.
Before he’d arrived, she’d vowed to conduct the outing with the utmost consideration for propriety. Many eyes would be upon them and she must be circumspect. She really had no choice in agreeing to see the earl in the polite world. And she had to somehow force him not to seek her out in secret.
Her hope had been that once he started to see her among the ton he would soon become bored with her and seek another conquest. That thought caused a catch in her breath, but given her circumstances, it was the only answer that would be right for her.
Rather than guiding the horses along at a breezy pace, Chandler allowed the grays to clip slowly through the streets of Mayfair. As soon as they left sight of her aunt’s house, in typical rake fashion, Chandler moved closer to her on the seat so that with his knees wide apart his thigh was touching her dress.
So much for thinking he might behave like a gentleman.