An Unwilling Conquest Part 60

A shout, greeted by gay laughter, drew his attention to the lake.

Gerald was punting Heather Babbacombe about. Face alight, Heather was laughing up at Gerald, smiling down at her from his place in the stern.

Harry raised his brows, resigned to what he strongly suspected was the inevitable. But Heather was still very young, as was Gerald; it would be some years yet before they realised just what this Season had begun.

He hadn't been at all surprised to see his younger brother drive up to the Hall a bare hour after he and Lucinda had arrived. As he had foreseen, Em and Heather had reached the Hall before them; Em had already had the household in hand.

Other than casting him a curious, almost wary look, Em had forborne to comment on his arrangements. To his considerable satisfaction, after the debacle of Aster Icy Place, it appeared his aunt was content to run in his harness.

Just as his intended, albeit suspiciously, was doing. Harry rose as she approached, his smile openly welcoming.

Returning his smile, Lucinda put a hand to her hat as a gentle breeze whipped her skirts about her.

"It's such a lovely afternoon, I'd thought to stroll the grounds."

"An excellent idea." The breeze died; Harry claimed her hand and with a calmly proprietorial air, tucked it in his arm.

"You haven'~t explored the grotto at the end of the lake, have you.~ Lucinda dutifully admitted ignorance and allowed him to steer her onto the path skirting the lake's edge.

Heather saw them and waved; Gerald hallooed. Lucinda smiled and waved back, then let silence fall.

And waited.

As she'd been waiting for the past three days. Her sojourn at Lester Hall was proving far more pleasant than her projected stay at Aster Icy Place could ever have been. From the moment Harry had led her into the drawing-room and introduced her to his father, his intentions had been plain.

Everything--every glance, every touch, every little gesture, every single word and thought that had pa.s.sed between them Since--had underscored the simple fact. But not once during their twilight strolls on the terrace, throughout their ambling rides through woods and fields, through all the hours they had spent together out of the past seventy-two, had he said one single word to the point.

He hadn't kissed her either--a fact which was fuelling her impatience. Yet she could hardly fault his behaviour-it was gentlemanly in the extreme. The suspicion that he was wooing her--traditionally, according to all the accepted precepts, with all the subtle elegance only one of his experience could command--had taken firm root in her mind.

Which was all very well, but. With one hand on the crown of her hat, Lucinda tipped her head up and studied the sky.

"The sunshine's been so constant one forgets the days are winging past. I fear we should return to London soon."

"I'll escort you back to town tomorrow afternoon." Lucinda blinked.

"Tomorrow afternoon?"

Harry raised his brows.

"As I recall, we're all promised to Lady Mickleham on the following evening.

Em, I suspect, will need the rest."

"Yes, indeed." Lucinda had forgotten Lady Mickleham's ball entirely.

After a moment's hesitation, she continued,

"I sometimes wonder if Em is overtiring herself in our cause. Heather and I would never forgive ourselves if she ran herself aground because of us."

Harry's lips twisted in a reluctant grin.

"Fear not.

She's a seasoned campaigner; she knows how to pace herself. Moreover, I can a.s.sure you the prospect of playing hostess to you both for the rest of the Season is currently providing her with expectations of untold enjoyment. "

That, he knew, was the unvarnished truth. Lucinda shot him a glance from beneath her lashes, then looked ahead.

"I'm relieved you think so, for I must confess I'm looking forward to rejoining the throng. It seems an age since I was swirling around a ballroom, held in a gentleman's arms."

The look Harry sent her was distinctly dry.

"Indeed-- I'm quite looking forward to your return to the ballrooms myself."

"Oh?" Lucinda bestowed on him a smiling glance.

"I hadn't thought you so enamoured of the b.a.l.l.s."

"I'm not."

Wide-eyed, Lucinda looked up at him.

"What, then, lures you there?"

A siren. Harry looked down into her soft blue eyes-- and raised his brows.

"I dare say you'll understand once we're part of the crush again."

Lucinda's answering smile was weak. She looked forward--and concentrated on not gnashing her teeth.

It was all of a piece--she wondered if he was actually trying to drive her to some rash act. Like visiting his room late tonight.

It was a measure of her frustration that she actually considered the idea before, regretfully, setting it aside.

The initiative was no longer hers; he had claimed it when he'd brought her here. She wasn? t at all sure how to wrest it from him--and even less certain that he would let it go.

"Here we are."

Harry gestured ahead to where the path apparently disappeared into a hedge of greenery. They approached; he put out a hand and held aside a curtain of vines and creepers--blooming honeysuckle among them--to reveal white marble steps leading upward into a cool, dimly lit cave.

Enchanted, Lucinda ducked under his arm and went ahead, climbing the steps to emerge onto the ta.s.sel lated floor of a mock-temple, formed by four marble pillars separating a rock face on one quadrant, with the lake on the other three. The pillars supported a domed ceiling, covered in blue and green tiles, highly glazed, reflecting the sunshine glancing in off the lake in myriad hues from turquoise to deep green. Leafy vines and the apricot blooms of honeysuckle wreathed the arches looking onto the lake, the gentle breeze stirring their shadows.

The temple was built out over the water, the central arch giving onto steps which led down to a small stone jetty. Wide-eyed, Lucinda halted in the very centre of the temple--and discovered one of its secrets. Each of the three open arches gave onto a different vista. The one to her right led the eye over a short stretch of lake then straight down a glade thick with ferns and shrubs. To her left lay a view over a long arm of the lake to a distant sh.o.r.e lined with willows and beech. Straight ahead lay the most charming vista of all--Lester Hall itself lay perfectly framed within the arch, glinting water in the foreground, manicured lawns leading up to the imposing facade, flanked by the shrubbery and wilderness to the left, the rose garden, just coming into bloom, and the formal gardens on the right.

"It's beautiful." Lucinda went to stand by one of the pillars to better appreciate the view.

Harry hung back in the shadows, content to watch the play of sunlight across her face. When she leaned back against the pillar and sighed contentedly, he strolled forward to stand beside her. After a moment, he asked, "Have you enjoyed your Season? Do you look to become a devotee--enamoured of the ton in all its glory, the crushes, the never-ending carousel of b.a.l.l.s, parties and yet more b.a.l.l.s?"

Lucinda half turned to look into his face. She searched his eyes, but neither they nor his expression gave any hint of his feelings. She considered, then answered,

"By and large, I find the ton and its entertainments amusing." Her lips curved in a self-deprecating smile, her eyes reluctantly twinkling.

"But you will have to remember that this is my first exposure to " the carousel"--I'm still enjoying the novelty." Her expression growing serious, she put her head on one side the better to study him.