“I heard you were a suspect,” he said matter-of-factly.
She chuckled, but humor was the farthest thing from her mind. “And so are you. For that matter, half of the men he played cards with are suspects, as well as most the women he had affairs with.”
He shrugged. “So, you live out here alone?”
“Don’t sound so surprised. I’ve been alone since you publicly proclaimed to win my hand in marriage by dueling with Ludlow, and then ran away from the duel that morning.”
“Ran away from the duel? No, Diana, you cannot believe that. Hollingsworth—”
“Lord Tristan, please say no more. I don’t want to hear your lies.” Pain clenched her heart—a feeling she was accustomed to. She should also correct him for being so forward with her name, but she enjoyed the way it sounded on his lips. She recalled when he’d used it before.Diana, I want to hold you so badly it’s killing me… Diana, your lips are like wine—so pleasing to taste…
“Diana, please, you must listen. I don’t know what—”
She stuffed a rag into his mouth, muffling the words. “Gag him, Tabitha.”
“With pleasure, my lady.”
Diana took a deep breath, trying to remove her traitorous thoughts. Her head felt ready to explode, and she rubbed her temples again. Tabitha fidgeted with the rag, but was finally able to secure it around his mouth.
What am I going to do now?Diana needed a clear head to think logically, because obviously Tabitha had not thought this out before she acted. Until Diana could figure out a rational plan, Tristan would just have to remain tied to the chair.
“I’m tired and I want to return to my room.” Diana walked around him and tested the ropes on his arms and legs. “You shall be fine right here. I suggest you get some rest, too.” Peeking over her shoulder at the maid, she motioned with her hand. “Come, Tabitha. Let us leave him to wallow in his pitiful state right now. Perhaps the morning will be brighter for all of us.”
Tabitha kept the victorious grin on her face as she walked out. Before Diana could quit the room, she took one more look at Tristan. His eyes watched her as a frown deepened his expression. Being away from him for three years hadn’t been long enough, because his sad, helpless eyes still tugged at her heart.
Chapter Five
Bath, England, three years earlier
“Your Grace.” MissDiana Baldwin bobbed a curtsy to the Dowager Duchess of Kenbridge—the hostess of the party who wandered through the flower garden, greeting her guests. The older woman was such a sweet lady, and Diana wished all women of thetonfollowed the dowager’s example.
Beside Diana, her mother, Baroness Baldwin, sighed as they strolled along the pebbled path. “Oh, my sweet daughter. It is my wish that someday you will be as grand as the dowager.”
She looked at her mother. The older woman’s expression was marred with lines of worry. “Mother, I have been out for three Seasons. I highly doubt I’ll catch the eye of a duke. I would just like to catch some man’s eye before I become a spinster.”
“I know, dear.” Her mother patted Diana’s arm. “I do think this is the year you will get an offer. Your father has been very selective in the past, but now he’s finally decided that we need to get you married this year.”
“I fear Father has waited too long. I don’t think any man will want me now, especially not a duke.”
“A mother can dream, can’t she?”
Chuckling, Diana shook her head. She wasn’t really discouraging her mother’s dream, she just knew the older woman’s expectations were set too high. “I shall be satisfied married to a baron, but what would please me more is being married for love.”
“Oh, my dearest daughter.” Her mother stopped and faced Diana. “Most of us grow to love our husbands after we’ve been married a few years.”
This was one of thoserulesDiana didn’t understand. Why was it acceptable to marry a complete stranger? Most of Society lived this way, but one of her childhood friends had parents who were truly in love. Inwardly, she sighed. That was the kind of marriage she wanted.
She and her mother resumed their stroll through the dowager’s flower gardens, but Diana’s mind wasn’t on the lovely roses. Instead, she silently questioned why her father had been so picky. Every year since she’d come out, she’d had a few men ask her father for her hand in marriage. Her father always found some reason to turn them down. She prayed her mother was correct and that this year would finally be the year she married.
“Oh, look. There is Lady Hastings,” her mother, Esther, exclaimed. “My dear, do you mind if I go speak with her?”
Diana glanced toward Lady Hastings and her ill-mannered daughter, Lady Jane. She had never liked the girl who was out for her first Season. As an earl’s daughter, that girl had always worn her father’s title as her own.
“That’s fine, Mother. I want to rest a spell under the shade of this tree.” She fanned her face. “I fear the sun is terribly hot today.”
“I shan’t be gone long.” Esther hurried to the other women.
Diana perched on the bench under the wide tree and peered out across the yard. The dowager’s weekend party guests were still arriving. Several men who didn’t look familiar had walked past her, and she hoped for introductions soon.
