“Forgive me, that was uncalled for.”
She didn’t answer him, just kept her eyes averted.
“Wait!”
They all looked behind them to the galloping Lady Levermarch. She guided her horse around Phillipa, who was attempting to coerce Zach to move, and wedged herself into the row of horses. Everyone’s mounts stepped left or right and settled once more with her in their midst.
“Sorry, I was busy speaking with that windbag Greyson. Man’s a simpleton and tried to tell me Captain Broadbent was no hero!” Lady Levermarch, beautiful to the tips of her polished boots and every inch of red velvet between, looked indignant. “You may begin now.” She flicked her gloved hand.
“Hello, Phoebe,” the Sinclair twins cried. She waggled her fingers at them.
“Who is going first, Duchess?” she asked.
“It’s my belief all latecomers should be penalized, so that’s you, Lady Levermarch,” the Duke of Raven said.
“Since when has that been a rule?” Cambridge Sinclair said, hanging on his carriage door eating one of Mary Blake’s roasted nuts.
“As the highest-ranking peer here, it’s my rule,” the duke said, unruffled.
“He does outrank me simply because he is a man,” the Duchess of Yardly said. “However, not by intellect.”
“I read Keats and Shelly. You readCaptain Broadbent and Lady Nauticus, Duchess,” the duke said dryly.
“My point exactly,” the duchess replied, deliberately misunderstanding him.
“Very well, hand over the book,” Lady Levermarch said.
The precious copy was passed through hands, and Nathan attempted not to have any contact with Beth as he passed it to her. She did not meet his eyes.
“Beth.” She turned, her face composed, but he saw that didn’t quite reach her eyes now. “I’m sorry. I had no right to be mean, no matter what occurred between us.”
He may be angry with her and believe she’d treated him badly, but first and foremost he was a gentleman, and his words had been deliberately cruel.
Her nod was jerky, then she turned away.
How was he so aware of her? The slender thigh inches from his, the hands that held the reins of her mare. Every damn thing about this woman had his body in high alert.
“Dear Lord, what is she doing?” Beth whispered as Lady Levermarch climbed onto her saddle.
“I believe she once had a groom who was in a circus and taught her tricks,” Michael said.
“Really?” Beth sounded awed now.
Zach, never one to do anything simple when complicated was on offer, stood on his saddle beside her. He was also ensuring he could reach her should she fall. His brother may be many things, but honorable gentleman was top of the list.
As one, the rest of the Deville brothers were dismounting, Nathan included, without a word passing between him. They circled Lady Levermarch’s horse.
“This could either go spectacularly well, or horrifically wrong,” Nathan said to Michael.
“I know how to set a broken bone,” the Duchess of Raven called.
“What, pray tell, are you Devilles doing?” Lady Levermarch looked down at them.
“The ground is hard, my lady,” Nathan said.
“And you will break my fall?”
“That is our plan, should it be required,” Nathan said.
