turned to Hugh. What was the business that was so very important that he'd been unavailable last evening and today? Perhaps he still had business dealings in London that needed taking care of. She had been monopolizing his time somewhat since he'd offered to take her about Rome. It was only expected that he would have to decline and stay home to complete his work some days.
Molly climbed up in the carriage, nodding to Miss Sinclair as she pulled off her bonnet, wiping her brow with her lace handkerchief. "What an enjoyable morning. However, I fear a megrim is settling in."
"If you're feeling poorly, I'll have Maria bring up a tisane for you. Will you be dining with the servants, or would you prefer to dine in your room?"
"I should not leave you alone with Mr. Armstrong as much as I have, Miss Clare. My duty is to keep you safe. It is already terribly scandalous that we're staying under his roof with him in residence. I just hope the news does not beat us back to London. Your reputation will be ruined."
Molly glanced out the window, grinning at Miss Sinclair's words. Her reputation was already ruined had anyone seen their kiss yesterday in the square and recognized them. She could not regret it, however. Her first kiss had been given freely to Mr. Armstrong, and from the moment he'd kissed her back, she knew that her bold actions had been the right thing to do.
"We know so very little about him, Miss Clare. I would hate to have your reputation ruined by not doing my duty as your chaperone."
"I'm eight and twenty, Miss Sinclair. No one cares what I do or how I go about. You forget what it was like for me in London. Other than my friends, no one cared about me at all. I was not titled nor rich, practically invisible."
"I do not think your parents would agree, Miss Clare. Think of your cousin. She was lured in by a pretty face and false promises. I do not want to see the same happen to you, and God knows, Mr. Armstrong has a face akin to wickedness. What a handsome man, and one who knows how to use such looks, I'm sure, when the need arises."
Molly chuckled, unable to disagree with her companion's summations. "A pretty face will not fool me, but even so, Mr. Armstrong is a gentleman and has been very kind to me. But I promise you, Miss Sinclair, that I shall not do anything that will harm my family or myself. I will not make the same mistake as Laura."
"He promised her marriage, Miss Clare. She thought herself in love."
"I know what Laura thought." Molly knew firsthand what her cousin had been promised, and the heartache her friend had gone through before her son's birth. The death of them both only a few days later had left the family scarred and cautious.
Lord Farley, the Duke of St. Albans's younger brother, was a fiend who did not deserve to breathe as far as Molly was concerned. If only she could tell the prig to his face that she hated him, that what he'd done had ruined her friend and her future.
Had caused irreparable damage to the family that they struggled to this day to live with.
Molly wasn't naïve enough not to know Laura too was at fault, she had allowed things to go too far between them before they were married, but still, when one falls in love, she could see how very difficult it would be to deny oneself what one desired.
Just as she now desired Mr. Armstrong above anyone else. He could be her downfall, the man who made her want to throw all caution aside and simply live, love, and play to her heart's content.
As much as she did not understand her cousin’s emotions or what made her do the things she had done with Lord Farley, she could understand them now. After kissing Hugh, she could understand the desires of the heart were sometimes too great to resist.
The carriage rocked to a halt before the villa, and Miss Sinclair continued to look displeased with her. "He's taken a fancy to you. The staff can see it as plain as day, and so can I. He's a man, his risk is nothing to yours. Please keep your head about yourself when with him. That is all I ask."
Molly reached across the seat and clasped Miss Sinclair's hand. Her anxiety on