“You shan’t know unless you allow me to give my excuse,” he replied in that laughing manner of his.
Was he truly attempting to tease her into good humor? Rosanna halted and turned to glare at him, but the man standing before her was not the Mr. Malcolm she knew.
As he’d always dressed like a servant, and last night he’d been covered by a mask, she’d never seen him properly attired, and he certainly knew how to dress. The perfectly tied cravat with shirt points so sharp they could cut, and a blue jacket that not only highlighted his eyes but looked molded to him, all offset by a tall hat that contrasted nicely with his light blond hair.
There was no debate on the subject—Mr. Tate was a handsome man. Unfortunately, he knew it.
Turning away, Rosanna continued down the lane, but he kept pace with her.
“I know it has been shocking to discover the truth, Miss Leigh, but I hadn’t intended to be dishonest. You assumed I was a servant, and I didn’t correct you. It was a little misunderstanding. That is all.”
Rosanna huffed and shot him a narrowed look while urging her feet to move faster. “Whatever ‘misunderstanding’ there may have been at first, it was not little, and you compounded it by lying—boldly and on more than one occasion. Do not try to dance around it, sir.”
“But I am such a fine dancer,” he quipped.
Rosanna scowled and focused on the road ahead. The buildings grew closer together, the distance between the houses and the road thinning as they moved into the town proper, which only encouraged her to move faster. Mr. Tate’s stride matched hers until she was fairly jogging to put distance between them.
“All jests aside, my actions were not designed to cause you pain,” he said, and a little frisson of pleasure slid along her spine—though it wasn’t from his words as much as from the way he huffed and puffed to keep pace with her whilst spouting his ridiculousness.
Ignoring him completely, she continued on her way, marching down the road with a single-minded determination. Nothing would keep her from her goal. Mr. Tate could follow her all he wanted, but she needed only to arrive at Prudence’s door to be free of him.
“I know from an outside perspective, my course may seem inexcusable, but I assure you I didn’t do so lightly or without reason.”
Of course not. People rarely acted without reason, and justification was what allowed people to lie, cheat, and steal without remorse, but Rosanna was done speaking to him. It would do no more good than screaming at a brick wall.
“Please, Miss Leigh, I know how it must seem to you, but I have spent my entire adult life being chased by mercenary mamas and their ambitious daughters. When the opportunity presented itself to allow me to get to know a lady without that expectation, I couldn’t refuse.”
The whole speech took Mr. Tate a while to recite between heavy breaths, and if Rosanna had been able to increase her pace without breaking into a run, she would’ve done so. The country was filled with far more sport than the city, and despite his athletic frame, Mr. Tate was a city-bred gentleman who likely thought a trot through Hyde Park was rousing exercise. Rosanna was only just growing winded herself, and it would be some time before she needed to slow.
“I cannot tell you how many times I have attempted to court a lady, only to discover that she cared only for my property and income. I am constantly surrounded by avarice and duplicity—”
Rosanna scoffed. “Do not speak to me of duplicity,Mr. Tate.”
“I deserve that anger, Miss Leigh,” he said with a little hop to keep pace. “But I have spent my life being viewed only as a means to an end, rather than admired for my own sake. I may have been wrong to deceive you, but for once, someone saw me as something more than a wealthy man to catch.”
For all that Rosanna feigned a deaf ear, Mr. Tate’s words resonated through her, dredging up feelings so real and raw that she couldn’t help her pace slackening as a sharp pain echoed in her chest at the sound of his frustration. How often had she said similar things to Prudence? How often had it hurt to discover a gentleman she cared for only thought of her as a trophy to parade about the ballroom? A dozen different memories surfaced one after the other, filling her heart with a sympathetic burn.
“Please, Miss Leigh,” he said, coming to stand before her, and Rosanna allowed herself to be stopped, though she couldn’t quite look at the gentleman.
“Mr. Tate, as you are not married, can I assume that you discovered the truth before you were irrevocably caught?”
“Yes—”
She raised her eyes to his and narrowed them. “So, you are quite capable of discovering the truth without resorting to lying and manipulation.”
Mr. Tate shifted in place, his gaze drifting to the crowd around him as he cleared his throat. “True, but for once, I wanted to see the truth before I invested my time and heart into the endeavor. I needed to know if I could trust you. Surely you can understand that.”
“Bravo, sir,” she said in a tone of unmistakable derision. “You have proven you can trust me. Unfortunately, I now know I cannot trust you.”
Dropping his shoulders, Mr. Tate sighed. “Perhaps you are right, but can I be allowed to make amends?”
He glanced behind her, and Rosanna followed his gaze, but there was nothing of note there, just the usual stir of people. With a chagrined twist of his lips, he shifted in place.
“This is when I had planned a grand flourish by presenting the phaeton to you, but unfortunately, there was no place in which to turn about, and I do not know where my groom took it.” Straightening, he met her gaze with a hesitant smile. “The carriage I arrived in is yours.”
Rosanna’s breath caught, her eyelashes fluttering like a hummingbird’s wings as she tried to comprehend what he’d said to her. “Pardon?”
“I know your family’s gig was damaged during our first drive together, and I thought you might like a new one before the other falls to pieces.”
