seat across from her. Thankfully, the gentlemen would be on horseback the first leg of the journey. Nonetheless, while Vivi didn’t want to be confined to a small space with Luke, his choice to put distance between them this morning made her jumpy inside. She had probably ruined everything with her misguided attempt at seduction.
The carriage jerked forward and initiated a throbbing in her head. “I will never drink wine again.”
Lana looked up from the book lying open on her lap. “Why ever not?”
“Because I behaved like an idiot last night.”
Her companion laughed. “You were a charming dining partner, and entertaining.”
“I don’t want to be entertaining,” she said on a near wail. “I want to be beautiful and alluring and irresistible. Not the court jester.”
“You are all of those things in addition to being amusing. I daresay Luke found you charming.”
Vivi shifted her gaze out the window and held her tongue. It would be unladylike to accuse her chaperone of handing out lies. He had refused to kiss her, even when nothing in her conduct suggested she was opposed. This was not the action of a gentleman who had been charmed. Although any gentleman capable of being enchanted by her jealous outburst and dim-witted actions was suspect, in her opinion.
When she glanced back at Lana, her chaperone regarded her with a half smile. “If something is troubling you, I know how to keep a secret. You may tell me anything without fear.”
“I understood Lord Andrew to say there are no secrets between you.”
Lana winked. “See how capable I am of keeping secrets? Even my husband has no idea.”
Vivi wavered between blurting everything out and keeping her own counsel. It would be nice to have a confidant again. Once Mrs. Honeywell had made enough innuendos and hinted to the residents of Dunstable that she was a terrible influence on their daughters, Vivi had lost her friends. She missed Dottie Kennicot most of all, but her bosom friend had been threatened with a severe beating if she sought Vivi’s company again.
Patrice had been livid and written to Ash about the woman’s betrayal, but he had been unsympathetic. As long as no one of consequence learned of her ruin at the hands of a servant, no harm had been done. Instead of threatening the woman, Vivi’s brother had asked her price for silence. How lucky they were that Mrs. Honeywell’s desire for prestige and lavish parties in Town outweighed her craving to spread gossip beyond the small village.
Lana leaned across the carriage to touch Vivi’s knee. All traces of teasing and merriment were gone. “I promise to never share your secrets with Drew unless you grant your permission.”
Vivi nodded and studied a speck of dried mud on her skirts rather than chance seeing Lana’s displeasure. “I have misled His Grace. I entered this arrangement with no intention of releasing him from the betrothal. I don’t want another suitor. I want him.”
She risked a quick glance to see how badly her deceit and selfishness appalled her new friend, but Lana simply stared back at her with an enigmatic smile. Vivi’s body melted against the cushions.
“He is unlike other gentlemen,” Vivi explained in a rush. “He doesn’t berate me for swimming or riding astride. And he not only allowed me to fire his pistol, he encouraged me to load it. How am I to let go of a man so perfectly suited to me?”
“It would seem you are a good match for him as well, but Luke is more complex than other gentlemen.”
“How so?”
She shook her head. “It’s not for me to speak of his personal affairs.”
“But do I have a chance of winning him? Please, be honest. I may have made a fool of myself already, but I don’t want to be humiliated.”
Lana drummed her fingers against the book page, a line appearing between her arched brows. “I wish I could tell you there is no risk involved in love, Vivian, but that would be dishonest. Nevertheless, you may have the best odds of bringing him up to scratch than any lady who has tried thus far.”
Vivi sank back against the seat with a sigh. She had hoped to hear something less discouraging. “Are you implying he might never marry?”
“I don’t know what is in my brother-in-law’s mind. I would venture to say few people do. If he confides in Drew, that is one thing my husband keeps from me.” She tipped her head to the side. “If I may ask, how did you