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  I stopped, my hands clenching into fists. “My lord, if you must know, I detest sewing. But I’m finding this walk too taxing for me this morning.”

  “You are ill?” To my astonishment, he clasped my elbow with one hand, my hand with his other, and propelled me backward onto the bench. I fell with a plop. “Can I get you anything? Would you like me to fetch you a glass of water?” He retained my hand and crouched before me, meeting my gaze with his own steady one.

  What had just happened? Was this another way for him to ridicule me? Yet he seemed sincere. “No. You misunderstand. I am not unwell.” I slipped my hand from his grasp. “My lord—”

  “Gregory.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “My name is Gregory. I’d prefer for you to call me Gregory.”

  “I am not going to address you by your Christian name.”

  “Why not?”

  He had to be jesting. This was all just part of his game to make me look ridiculous. “I do not know what you are about, but I believe this carries it too far.”

  He tilted his head. “It is, perhaps, uncommon. But given our circumstances, it is not carrying things too far.”

  “I do not believe it will ever be appropriate to address each other by our first names.”

  “Seeing that we are engaged—”

  I jumped up. “We should not be engaged, and you know it.”

  “Margaret?”

  I looked with dread to discover a very astonished Louisa standing in the path a little way from us.

  “Louisa!” I had to wait for Lord Williams to stand so I could maneuver around him. The slowness with which he did so prolonged the awkward situation Louisa had stumbled upon, causing my face to heat. When he’d finally stood, I scrambled around him and strode to my friend. “How are you? Have you come to join us for breakfast? My family will be delighted.”

  Louisa glanced at me meaningfully, then looked steadily at Lord Williams. I sighed.

  “Louisa, allow me to introduce Lord Williams.” Louisa’s brows shot up, but I continued, “Miss Rosthorn is a particular friend of the family, my lord. Her family’s estate borders our own.”

  “Miss Rosthorn, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

  Louisa curtsied with an elegance of which I had always been jealous. “I did not mean to intrude. Margaret’s morning walks around the lake are as routine as the rising sun, and her absence this morning left me worried. However,” she continued, her gaze flicking to me, “now that I see you are in perfect health, I shall return home.”

  “Oh, please stay for breakfast.” My voice was calm and natural, but I tugged at her arm.

  “Will it not be too great an inconvenience?”

  “You know it would be no inconvenience whatsoever.”

  “What would be an inconvenience?” Daniel’s voice made all three of us look to where he’d just appeared around a bend.

  “I am trying to persuade Louisa to join us for breakfast,” I replied.

  Daniel’s eyes widened and his shoulders straightened as though he’d just noticed her. “Good morning, Miss Rosthorn.” His tone was unusually formal.

  “Mr. Brinton,” Louisa answered quietly.

  Daniel cleared his throat. “Margaret, if she does not wish to stay, don’t pester her. Miss Rosthorn, please give our regards to your parents.”

  “Of course.” Louisa said, pulling her arm out of my hand.

  “But—”

  “I will visit you later,” she interrupted. “I had best return. My parents will wonder. . . .” She fled down the path back toward the lake and her own home.

  I spun around. “Daniel, what is the matter with you? Why did you not convince her to stay?”

  “She is a grown woman who can make her own decisions. You should not work so hard to get others to bend to your will.” He turned and strode up the stairs.

  Daniel’s insulting correction of my behavior left me stunned.

  “Shall we return?” Lord Williams asked, offering me his arm.

  Daniel’s harshness no doubt had something to do with the baron’s presence, and it was with him that the blame should lie. “Yes.” Ignoring his arm, I strode ahead of him into the house.

  Thirteen

  The first thing I noticed when we entered the breakfast parlor was that my chair was much closer to Lord Williams’s chair than it had been at dinner. Daniel’s smirk left little doubt as to who had moved it. Unable to think of any immediate action I could take to exact revenge on Daniel without embarrassing myself as well, I vowed to find some horrible way to repay him. Quickening my pace, I determined to slide my chair away without anyone noticing, but Lord Williams reached it at the same time I did and pulled it out for me. I had no choice but to sit.

  We were uncomfortably close. I tucked my elbows into my sides as much as I could while eating, but still my arm occasionally brushed his coat. I blew out some air in frustration, causing my mother to glance at me. I sent her an “I didn’t do this” look and her stern expression settled on Daniel, but it was wasted since he was too engrossed in eating to notice. I wouldn’t have minded a public set-down for him; he certainly deserved it. But my mother would never vocalize her disapproval considering the present company.

  Immediately after breakfast, Daniel and Lord Williams went out to tour the estate. I paced the morning room in my spencer, bonnet, and gloves, anxious to get out and finally have my walk around the lake. But I couldn’t do so until I was certain there was no chance of meeting the gentlemen outside. When I deemed enough time had passed, I slipped from the room.

  The sound of a carriage arriving greeted me when I opened the front door. Panic shot through me.

  Mr. Northam was already here.

  I slipped back inside and slammed the door, cringing as the sound echoed in the hall. Then I raced to the window and drew back the curtain. But instead of the expected coach or chaise, a tilbury driven by two women pulled to a stop in front of the house. Peering closer, I groaned and dropped the curtain back into place.

  Catherine and her mother had arrived, no doubt in an attempt to poach Lord Williams. If only they’d come a few minutes earlier, I would have thrown the door open myself and left them to it. But without the object of their visit being present, the Johnsons were sure to be sour company.

  I turned on my heel, intent on sneaking out through the back.

  The bell rang just as I passed the morning parlor. Inside the room, my mother glanced up from where she was giving Alice her morning lessons. “Margaret, who is at the door?”

  Cursing my luck, I turned. “I believe it to be Mrs. Johnson and her daughter Catherine.”

  My father stood from the breakfast table, folding the paper he had only picked up once the baron and Daniel had left. “Excuse me.” He strode past me toward the study.

  My mother rose from her chair. “I was expecting this. Margaret, ring for tea. Alice, please continue this lesson in your room. I want to see that you have mastered it by the time our guests leave.”

  I pulled on the cord to alert the servants as Alice gathered up her things.

  My mother glanced at me. “Margaret, you are still wearing your bonnet.”

  “I was going out.”

  “The arrival of guests changes that, does it not?”

  I waited until Alice had slipped by me before saying, “Mother, please don’t make me stay. I have yet to take my morning walk.”

  She shook her head. “You spend too much time out of doors as it is. And I have never understood what occurred between you and Catherine. Surely you do not think so ill of her as to refuse her when she calls.”

  My shoulders fell. “No, of course not.” I slid off my gloves and bonnet and was just removing my spencer when the Johnsons were shown into the room.

  Mrs. Johnson glanced at me sharply. “I hope we are not intruding.�
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  I curtsied, shadowing my mother’s movements. “Not at all,” my mother replied. “It is always a delight to have company.” She indicated a few chairs.

  I sat in the chair I always occupied when company called. It was situated so as to allow me to look out the window behind the guests without divulging where my attention truly lay. I couldn’t see the lake from so low an angle, but I could see the top of the beech trees surrounding it. I tried to determine if they were swaying or not. No breeze had cooled the air that morning, but perhaps one had picked up, in which case I might need a different jacket.

  When the usual fifteen-minute time allotment for a call passed, I shifted my attention back to the conversation. Mrs. Johnson was relaying some anecdote regarding one of her sons, who had recently moved to Bath with his wife. I focused back out the window. The trees definitely seemed to be moving. But perhaps it was a warm wind.

  “Your daughter seems anxious for a certain someone’s return,” Mrs. Johnson said, jolting my attention back to her. A knowing smile covered her face. “Can this have anything to do with your mysterious aristocratic visitor?”

  They had heard of the engagement?

  No. There would have been no point in their visit if they knew we were engaged. I could still make this work. “Not at all, I assure you. I was merely lamenting the passing of such a perfect day. I do not think we shall see many more of them this year.”

  “Ah, yes,” Catherine broke in, a small sneer curling her lip. “Ever the avid admirer of nature. Much more at home outside than with friends, even.”

  Catherine could not possibly still consider us friends, could she? We were barely more than acquaintances these days. “I do take pleasure in my daily exercise,” I said, refraining from adding that the sooner she and her mother left, the sooner I could enjoy it. I had a sudden thought of a way in which I could both repay Daniel for this morning’s chair incident and ensure that if the Johnsons heard the rumor of the engagement they wouldn’t believe it, all while sneaking in an attempt to pawn the baron off on someone else. “I believe our guest feels the same way, as he walked this morning in the gardens and is now riding about the estate with my brother. It is regretful that you have missed him. Perhaps you will return in a day or two and join us for dinner.”

  Catherine frowned, her transparent expression relaying her distrust in my invitation. But Mrs. Johnson seized the opportunity. “How very thoughtful of you, Margaret. I don’t believe we have any engagements for tomorrow night.”

  I smiled. “Wonderful.” Catherine could spend the night flirting with the baron, and, with any luck, drive him clean away. And Daniel would detest having her in the house. Her previous attempts at winning his affection had resulted in his despising the sound of her voice. Perhaps I could even convince her to sing.

  My mother rose and I rose with her. “Well, we shall plan for tomorrow, then.”

  They said their goodbyes and I even went so far as to see them out the door, waving as they drove off.

  “Margaret,” my mother said as soon as the door closed, her tone demanding to know why I had extended the invitation.

  I shrugged. “You are always telling me to be friendlier with Catherine. I thought this as good an opportunity as any.”

  My mother’s eyes narrowed, but she said no more on the subject. I retrieved my bonnet and gloves and left.

  Fourteen

  That evening, I took a book down from the shelf behind the door in my father’s study and turned it over in my hands. It wasn’t that I wanted to read. But it was nice to find a quiet corner where I was certain not to be disturbed by the baron. Situated where I was, even if he looked in this room, he wouldn’t see me. It was the perfect place.

  I set the book back. It wasn’t the one I wanted. My favorite book of poetry was missing.

  The door opened and Daniel walked in. “He has some excellent ideas regarding the estate,” he was saying to someone. “We rode over the entire property today.”

  My father and Lord Williams entered behind him. Even here was not safe, it seemed.

  “I would like to hear them,” my father said.

  I rolled my eyes. Daniel and my father were fawning over Lord Williams simply because of his title. It was absurd. If any other man had offered suggestions, no one would have paid half as much attention.

  The men took seats around the desk. Though Daniel was still in his riding clothes, the baron was dressed for dinner in a conservative blue jacket. I glanced down at my blue gown and frowned.

  “He has this idea regarding the crops. Well, why don’t you tell him yourself, my lord?”

  “The first thing to do would be to drain the lake and use the water that feeds into it—”

  “What?” I stepped forward. “You cannot get rid of the lake.”

  The men all turned and Lord Williams quickly rose.

  “Ah, Margaret,” Daniel said. “Will you excuse us? We have some estate business to discuss, not a matter for women.” Not waiting for a reply, he turned back around in his chair.

  “There is no reason to drain the lake,” I reiterated, nodding that Lord Williams should sit back down. He did so with a small frown.

  “Of course there is. It’s little more than a dead pond as is,” Daniel replied. My father didn’t look convinced, though he returned his attention to Daniel. Lord Williams’s attention, though, lingered on me, a thought-filled expression on his face.

  I ignored him. My father allowed Daniel to take on occasional projects he deemed necessary to allow Daniel the experience for when he had the management of the estate. I had to find a way to ensure that draining the lake was not one of those projects. “No. This is absurd. You’ve had some interesting ideas in the past, Daniel, but this wins the prize as the worst.”

  Daniel kept his attention on our father. “It’s not useful. It’s nowhere near any of the crops or livestock. It isn’t even stocked with fish.”

  “It most certainly is useful,” I replied, striding forward. He would listen to me. This was one matter in which I would not back down. “And, as I am sure Lord Williams will inform you, what with his tastes being so very refined, the lake is the only tolerable aspect of our estate, according to modern standards.”

  Lord Williams cleared his throat.

  “Margaret, shouldn’t you be getting ready for dinner?” Daniel asked.

  “I am ready. Father, you can’t possibly contemplate such an action. That lake has stood as a landmark on our estate for generations.”

  My father sat back in his chair. “I would like to hear what Lord Williams has to say on the matter.”

  I moved around the desk, my back to Daniel and Lord Williams. “Why?” I asked quietly. “Riding over the estate doesn’t provide a person with a knowledge of the day-to-day workings of the land. He can’t know what he’s saying.”

  “Perhaps,” Daniel said loudly, “it would be best to discuss this after dinner.” Which meant he wished to continue the discussion when I was not present to voice objections to whatever scheme he and Lord Williams had concocted.

  Mother entered. “Colin, Daniel. Dinner is in half an hour.”

  “That is my cue to dress. Thank you, Eloise.” My father stood.

  Behind me, Daniel and Lord Williams stood as well.

  “Please, father,” I said quietly. “Please don’t do this.”

  “Margaret, I know how important the lake is to you. Nothing will be decided tonight, but I would like to at least hear Lord Williams’s ideas.”

  “Did you know, Margaret,” Daniel interrupted, “that Lord Williams is quite fond of music and has studied a bit himself? Perhaps you will entertain us all with a song later.”

  I turned to him in shock. I rarely sang for anyone outside of the family. I could not endure the thought of the baron’s reaction to my singing when he had found my playing so atrocious. “I am certain
that if Lord Williams is so very fond of music he will find no pleasure in listening to me.”

  “Quite the contrary, Miss Brinton,” Lord Williams said.

  “You are too kind, my lord. But you will have to excuse me.”

  He bowed his head in consent and followed my father and brother out of the room.

  My mother stayed at the door. “You should at least play for him.”

  “You would understand why I cannot if I were to tell you of his behavior at the Hickmores’.”

  “I am listening.”

  Surprised but grateful for my mother’s willingness to hear my story, I relayed everything that had occurred.

  When I’d finished, she said, “This engagement has never sat well with me. I will endeavor to learn more about our guest.”

  Relief washed over me. My mother was on my side. She was going to help me escape. “Thank you.”

  A half hour later, we assembled in the parlor. Now was the perfect opportunity to get Daniel away from Lord Williams and ask him for an update on his letter to Mr. Northam. I walked over to a pile of books on a table and rifled through them. Under the pretense of indecision, I said, “Daniel, I believe you have read most of these. Will you assist me?”

  “Actually,” he said, “that is a stack Lord Williams has recommended for me. You will have to ask his opinion on which one you should read, though I doubt you will find any of them very interesting.”

  I stepped back as Lord Williams rose from his chair. Why was every attempt to distance myself from him backfiring?

  “There are no novels here,” he said apologetically, coming to stand near me.

  “I read more than just novels,” I retorted.

  “I am glad to hear it.”

  It was lamentable that anything I did made him glad. “You disapprove of novels?”

  “Not at all, though I believe some novels are of more merit than others.”

  “No doubt you are one of those who rank sermons on conduct much more highly than novels.”