He cared for Millicent, he admitted to himself, and he didn’t want to hurt her or her reputation.
“As you wish, my lovely lady, so it shall be. I will see you only at proper occasions.”
He gave her a quick, easy grin and wondered if she realized it was completely false. He reached for her hand and helped her into the carriage.
“Chandler.”
Damn.
He took a deep breath and turned to face Lady Lambsbeth. Annoyance pricked the back of Chandler’s neck. With all the people in the park, how did she happen upon them? Chandler had hoped that after their meeting the other evening that Lady Lambsbeth would seek the attentions of someone else. He didn’t want Lady Lambsbeth near Millicent.
“What a delightful surprise to see you here. How are you, Chandler?”
“Quite well,” he said stiffly.
“So, you’ve been out for a stroll this lovely afternoon.” She looked over his shoulder to Millicent. “And with such a fair young lady by your side. What a dandy you are.”
Fair? Chandler bristled. Millicent was more than fair. Millicent’s naturally innocent manner and beauty were what men’s dreams were made of.
“As I recall,” Lady Lambsbeth continued, “you didn’t use to enjoy coming to any of the parks. There were other places you’d rather spend your afternoons.”
Anger shot through Chandler, but he was determined not to let it show in front of Millicent. “If you’ll excuse me, Lady Lambsbeth, we were just leaving.”
She placed her open hand on his upper arm and gently pressed his muscles. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your companion?”
He lifted his arm away from her touch. “No, I don’t believe I will.”
“Ah—how rude of you, Chandler. Last year you almost had me convinced you were a gentleman.”
“Did I? How clever of me. I seldom consider myself a gentleman.”
“Well, if we can’t call men like you gentlemen, what exactly are you called?” she asked, pouting her lips suggestively.
“Unforgiving. Good day, madam.”
Chandler climbed onto the curricle and took his place beside Millicent. The groom handed him the ribbons and he immediately snapped them against the horse’s rump. The grays took off, leaving Lady Lambsbeth standing alone with her sensuous mouth agape.
Chandler kept the horses at a trot until they were out of the park. The carriage wheel hit a hole and almost bounced them off their seat.
“Sorry about that,” he said, without looking over to Millicent.
“I see it didn’t take too many words for her to put you in an unfortunate temper. I’m sorry if you are unhappy she saw us together.”
Chandler threw Millicent a glance. “Damnation, no. I’m unhappy you saw her.”
“Is she a lady you only meet in secret?”
“She’s no lady, and I don’t meet her at all.” He stewed for a minute, then added, “She is Lady Lambsbeth. I’m sure you’ve heard all the gossip about us so I won’t recount a word of it. We didn’t part on friendly terms, and I intend to leave it that way.”
Millicent remained quiet.
He pulled back on the ribbons and slowed the horses to a walk. He didn’t want to hurry the trip home, he’d just wanted to get Millicent away from Lady Lambsbeth.
“You’re right. She put me in a foul temper, and I shouldn’t have let her. I’ve told her I have no desire to pick up our relationship where we left off, but I’m not sure she knows I’m serious yet.”
“I believe your show of rudeness went a long way toward doing that today.”
He looked over at her and smiled. With the most guileless of statements, she could make him feel so good. “You really think so?”
“Without a doubt.”
“I might finally be rid of her?”
“I would say, sir, that there is a very good chance you will be called the brute of London by all her friends.”
“Will you tell Lord Truefitt about it so he can put it in his column?”
“At the earliest possible moment.”
What had gotten into him? He was suggesting she put his name in the gossip column and he was teasing about Lady Lambsbeth. Had he gone daft? And why did he feel it was so important that Millicent know that he was no longer involved with Lady Lambsbeth?
Chandler realized he was changing. His life was changing and it was all because of Millicent.
“Good. Now, what were we talking about before we were interrupted?”
“I believe we were talking about making lists and going over them.”
“We had finished that subject. We were talking about how much I wanted to kiss you.”
“No, Lord Dunraven, I believe we had finished that subject