Lord Wrexley didn’t seem to notice it, however. He turned to her with an easy smile. “I believe Lord Huntington wishes to escort you back to the house, Miss Somerset, so I’ll leave you to him, but do let me know if you change your mind about that talk.”
He bowed, then sauntered down the pathway, whistling.
Lord Huntington watched him go, his face as hard as carved stone. Iris couldn’t imagine what had made him so furious, unless he was put out he’d had to abandon his mistress to come and search for her. Quite put out, if his grip on her elbow was any indication.
Perhaps she should be grateful he didn’t have a silk scarf to hand.
A rebellious little laugh tickled her throat at the thought, but Iris choked it back down. Oh, dear. She couldn’t saythat. Though it was tempting enough to go ahead, just to see the expression on his face—
“Well, Miss Somerset? Have you had a nice frolic in the gardens this afternoon?”
Frolic?For pity’s sake, hedidthink she was a child, or perhaps a small woodland creature. “Well, I wouldn’t call it a frolic, my lord. I believe it was more like a wander. One does tend to wander when they’re lost, you see.”
His hazel eyes widened with surprise at her clipped tone, then darkened to a mossy green. Goodness, what an unusual color. Perhaps she should have attempted to annoy him before now, because that was a lovely shade of green. Why should Lady Beaumont be the only one who ever got to admire it?
His scowl deepened. “What have you been doing out here all this time?”
All at once Iris recalled why she was out here in the first place, and her nervousness evaporated on a wave of righteous fury. “I believe Lord Wrexley told you already, Lord Huntington. I got lost.”
Lord Huntington recognized this for the blatant lie it was, and he wasn’t at all satisfied with it. “You got lost.”
“Yes.” Iris didn’t offer another word of explanation, because she was afraid if she opened her mouth again, every word she wished she could say to him would spout from her lips like water from a fountain.
Words likewager, andblindfold, andmistress.
“If you were concerned about your direction, perhaps you should have brought your sister with you. She made it back to the terrace easily enough.”
It took everything Iris had not to snatch her arm from his grasp. “I told you I got lost, my lord. I believe the wordlostimplies it was done by accident. The wordaccidentimplies I wasn’t aware it would happen before I left the terrace.”
Iris blinked, surprised to hear such an ill-mannered speech burst from her lips, and yet she couldn’t regret it, either. Ah, well. Docility was tricky that way, wasn’t it? One never knew when it might disintegrate into open rebellion.
He raised an eyebrow at her, a curious look on his face, something between surprise and impatience, as if she were a normally obedient child who’d stamped her foot and refused to go to bed when ordered. “You’ve been gone for nearly an hour.”
Only an hour? Was that all? It didn’t seem to Iris an inordinate amount of time to take to recover from her betrothed’s cruel betrayal. Considering what she’d overheard, he should be pleased she hadn’t asked Lord Wrexley to take her back to her grandmother’s house in Bedford Square.
“Was Lord Wrexley with you the entire time?”
Iris frowned at his harsh tone. “No. I met him not five minutes before you found us. I suppose my sister sent him out after me.”
He searched her eyes, then let out a long, slow breath, but his face remained hard. “It’s not proper for you to be wandering the gardens with him.”
Proper?Iris stared at him, dumbfounded. It wasn’t proper for her to be in a garden because Lord Wrexley, who was her friend, and who’d never been anything other than a perfect gentleman to her, might be here, too?
And this from Lord Huntington? He’d blindfolded Lady Beaumont and bound her with silk scarves, for pity’s sake!
Iris bit back a wild little laugh. It wasn’t at all amusing, of course, but his insistence on the strictest propriety struck her as hysterically funny, given his mistress had been on her knees before him less than one hour ago, her long fingers expertly lowering his falls, as if she’d done it a hundred times before.
Iris’s face heated at the thought. It might have been best, after all, if that gap in the branches hadn’t beenquiteso wide.
But it was too late now, and now she’d seen…well,that, she was hard pressed to stand obediently while Lord Huntington lectured her on improper behavior. But she thought of her grandmother and her sisters, gritted her teeth, and forced her lips into a stiff smile. “I beg your pardon if I’ve worried you.”
“Come. Your sister is anxious for your return.”
He held something out to her, and Iris realized with a start it was her shawl. Despite the drama with Lady Beaumont, he’d fetched it for her, after all.
“Thank you, my lord.” Iris took it and draped it around her shoulders, then tucked it into the crook of her elbow to keep it from dragging on the ground, but before she could stir a step, his hand snaked out and jerked the wrap away again.
Iris’s eyebrows shot up. “My lord, what are you—”
