* * *
"A beautiful evening for a stroll, yes," the Marquess of Kenwood agreed. And a moment later, "Yes, indeed, there do seem to be more stars than usual in the sky tonight.An extraordinarily clear evening."
It was very easy to converse with Miss Nancy Decker, he found. She said the obvious with grave good sense and seemed perfectly satisfied to have him repeat her observations after her. And she had a pleasant enough voice and a mildly pretty person.
It would be more amusing to have Mrs. Diana Ingram on his arm, of course, he thought, looking at the lady, who was walking ahead of him with Mr. Thomas Peabody. But there were compensations. It had certainly been amusing to watch her smile dazzlingly and quite shamelessly at the older man as soon as the countess announced during dinner that they all simply must walk the mile to the old castle afterward since the structure looked at its most romantic in the moonlight.
Mrs. Ingram had been sitting beside him at the time. Not that he had led her into the dining room. She had made a quite noticeable lunge for Lester's arm when dinner was announced and had looked comically chagrined when the oblivious Lester had seated her in her usual place.
She had smiled dazzlingly at Peabody, who sat directly across the table from them. "The castle really is beautiful, sir," she had said. "Have you seen it before?"
Hardly words of great profundity. But of course they had been accompanied by that smile. Shameless hussy! Peabody had almost swallowed his wine glass together with the wine.
"Once, when I was here a few years ago," he had said, "but it was during the daytime."
A most witty and fascinating conversation, Lord Kenwood had thought, eyeing his food with continued amusement. She so clearly had decided that being stiff and unapproachable with him—as she had been for the past four days—was not sufficient punishment for the embarrassment he had caused her at a certain inn. He was to be more aggressively cold-shouldered. Dear girl. She needed a helping hand.
"You must take Diana on your arm, Peabody," he had said amiably. "She will doubtless be able to show you the castle at just the right angles for maximum effect."
He had won a full and inscrutable look from those dark gray eyes for his pains. But it had all been arranged with the minimum of fuss. He really must take up matchmaking some time—perhaps during his dotage, when the pleasures of the chase on his own behalf had palled. Good heavens, would that day ever dawn?Ghastly thought.
"Yes, indeed," he agreed with Nancy, "it is almost as bright as daylight.But far cooler than during the day.More comfortable for a walk, I would say."
There would have to be some switching of partners when they reached the castle, of course. He was far too experienced a hunter to rush his fences, but nevertheless those fences must be jumped. He had played Diana Ingram's game for four days already. It was time to take the initiative. And what better place and time than a moldering old castle in the moonlight? Romantic, the countess had called it? He could think
of another more appropriate word. He did not believe in romance.
But really, he discovered when the castle came intosight,he was not going to have to use any great ingenuity after all.
Bless the countess!
"There it is!" she announced to the group that had been trooping along behind her, her voice full of triumph as if they did not all have eyes and had not seen forthemselves.' 'Anddid I not tell you all that it looks most splendid in the moonlight?"
A dozen voices murmured their assent and appreciation.
It really was rather magnificent, too. It was a massive fourteenth-century fortress, which had at some time in the dim past also been the family home. Indeed, it did not look quite the ruin the marquess had expected. The four circular bastions at its corners still looked remarkably whole as did the stone walls between with their battlements and arrow-slit windows.
Two square towers and a huge arched gateway were at the center of the front wall. A stone causeway led to them over a wide, dried-up moat.
"It is quite frighteningly magnificent," Nancy said in some awe.
"Yes, indeed it is," he agreed.
"It is a pity the moon is behind us," the countess said. "It would look far more romantic poised over one of the towers, would it not?But no matter.Now, you will all wish to step inside and see the courtyard. But you must be very careful, especially since we do not have full daylight. There must be no climbing whatsoever, dears. It would be too dangerous. Now let me see."
The marquess, who had been wondering how he might best interest Peabody and Nancy Decker in each other, sensed what was coming and relaxed.
"Ernest," the countess said decisively, "you must lead the way since you would know the place blindfold. Take Angela on your arm, dear, since she is the youngest and will therefore need the most assistance. Diana, my dear,dotake my arm for a minute and just gaze with me at the splendor of it all."
The guests began to follow Lord Crensford and Angela in pairs across the great causeway. The marquess watched in amusement as Ernie threw his mother a drowning look, offered his arm to a pert and smiling Miss Wickenham, andproceededon his way, his arm held stiffly out to the side, while his companion
was already chattering away to him. Poor Ernie! But really, hadn't he taken a good look at the girl?
"Thomas," the countess said, "Diana is a romantic like me and loves to just gaze. You will wish to explore the courtyard. Do go along and do not mind us. And take Nancy with you. Nancy, take Thomas's arm, dear. I do assure you that it is the steadiest one in the group, and that causeway is really quite high above the moat, though there is no water in which to drown yourself, of course."
The two of them reacted just like puppets on a string, the marquess thought, glancing in some admiration at his hostess. It was likely that they did not even realize that they had been manipulated. It was equally unlikely that Diana Ingram shared their ignorance. Her back had stiffened noticeably.
Diana knew what was coming as surely as if the words had been spoken already. And she was quite powerless to prevent them. She might as well be dumb and paralyzed.
