“If I’d annoyed him, he would have ignored me, but he didn’t. He invited me to converse with him,” Mellie said with a frown. “We had a very agreeable conversation about the Shakespearean play we saw last night.”
“Which one?”
“Othello.”
His eyebrows snapped together. “An inappropriate subject for a young, innocent girl. Chandos should have realized it.”
She stared at him. His lips thinned with disdain. “Why is it inappropriate?”
“I shall not lower my standards to discuss it with you, Lady Mellicent. It is better perhaps if we let it go. When you become my betrothed, will you promise me never to talk to the duke again?”
“As I am not your betrothed, I don’t see the necessity to answer you,” she said, glancing at her mother, who watched from afar.
His face reddened. “I see the task might fall on me to teach you how you should go on.”
“I shouldn’t worry, Lord Pallthorpe,” she said far more breezily than she felt, her heart beating hard in her ears, “That will never happen.”
He smiled. “Won’t it? Ah, here comes your father. Shall I advise him of my concerns?”
“I would prefer that you didn’t. But I’m prepared to defend myself if need be.”
“Then I will leave it for another day.”
There will never be another day, she thought miserably. She would run away before that happened. But her father looked dreadfully somber, and she quaked.
Chapter Four
It was theKirshaws’ rout, held at their home in Hampton, when Gene saw Mellicent again. An informal affair with no dancing, where guests could talk, play cards, or wander the gardens.
While Gene talked to Nicholas, Marquess of Pennington, he watched Pallthorpe approach Mellicent where she stood alone, her mother having left her for a moment.
Mellicent made to walk around Pallthorpe, but he stepped to one side to block her way. He took hold of her arm, and Mellicent winced as if he’d hurt her.
Gene straightened and took a step in their direction.
Nicholas paused mid-sentence. “Am I boring you, Duke?” he asked with a grin.
“I don’t like the way Alfred Pallthorpe behaves around Lady Mellicent.”
Nicholas turned his head to view them. But Mellicent had managed to slip past Pallthorpe. Head down, she hurried across the room and disappeared through a doorway. Pallthorpe looked after her with a heavy frown.
“A lover’s spat, perhaps?” Nicholas asked.
“Do you know Alfred Pallthorpe?” Gene asked.
“He’s no friend of mine. I saw him once in the park whipping his horse in a fury. And he treated his groom in like manner when something the hapless man did annoyed him. I wouldn’t want a daughter of mine to marry him.”
“I wonder why Abbersley does?”
“They’re neighbors. Their boundary borders Pallthorpe’s acres. But I doubt Abbersley would know quite what a rascal he is. He is all charm when it suits him. Someone should tell her father, perhaps.”
“Would it make any difference if one did?”
“Maybe not. Abbersley’s in a bit of financial strife.” Nicholas turned to look at him. “What is your interest?”
“I like her. She deserves better.”
Nicholas grinned. “Like her, eh? She is very attractive.”
