Page 16 of A Scarred Wallflower for the Duke
Every now and then, she seemed to remember herself, and flash a warm smile in the Baron of Renshaw’s direction. Lord Renshaw seemed a mouse of a man, squeaking a greeting to Vincent and sitting with his hands in his lap, as though in an attempt to make himself look as small as possible. Though he claimed to be courting Georgina, it was Lydia his eyes were fixed on.
Interesting.Nonetheless, Vincent knew that if Georgina was engaged in a courtship with Lord Renshaw, it was highly unlikely she would have allowed him to ravish her in the sitting room at the masquerade ball. Surely this courtship proved once and for all that she was not his mysterious masked lady. Didn’t it?
All week, Vincent had fluctuated between believing and doubting that Georgina had been the masked woman. A part of him longed for it to be the case. He realized he was desperate to put a name and face to the beauty in the sitting room. But he knew he was starting to see things that were not there. It was time to put such suspicions aside.
Lydia turned to him, as though suddenly remembering he was there. “Do you like the park, Your Grace?”
Vincent forced himself to smile. Was this what his life would be like if he were to marry Lydia Wyatt? Inane questions such as this?
“I am sure there is nothing to dislike about the park,” he said.
Georgina snorted. “Tell that to our cousin Matthew. When he was a young man, he slipped in duck excrement and spent the rest of the afternoon stinking like a half-emptied chamber pot.”
Vincent laughed loudly, drawing a look of surprise from Georgina. She had clearly been hoping to catch him off guard with her vulgar entry into the conversation. Hoping to offend him, perhaps, the way he had clearly offended her.
If she thinks such talk will offend me, she has another thing coming.
Lydia gave a nervous giggle, eyes darting fleetingly to Lord Renshaw again. “I hardly think that polite conversation, Georgina,” she scolded.
“Pardon me,” said Georgina. “I must confess, my manners can leave something to be desired. I think I get it from our father. He, too, had a knack for saying the first thing that came to mind.”
“There is nothing wrong with that, Miss Wyatt,” said Vincent, giving her a half-smile. “If you ask me, speaking openly is far more appealing than hiding behind rehearsed words and inane pleasantries.” He looked over at the Baron. “Don’t you think so, Renshaw?”
He swallowed visibly. “Uh, yes, Your Grace. Indeed.”
Georgina looked over at him, not bothering to hide her disgust.
The carriage slowed to a halt at the edge of the serpentine. Without waiting for the coachman, Vincent clicked open the door and climbed out, offering his hand first to Lydia, then Georgina. Georgina’s eyes narrowed slightly before she climbed out without assistance.
“You have an independent young woman on your hands, Renshaw,” Vincent said brassily. “I do hope you can handle her.”
Lord Renshaw smiled thinly. “I shall do my best, Your Grace.” His eyes darted nervously around the group, then he offered Georgina his arm. “Perhaps a walk, Miss Wyatt?”
Georgina looked at Vincent for a fleeting second, before giving Renshaw a warm smile. “Yes, My Lord. That would be lovely.”
And off they swept around the lake, Georgina’s lady’s maid falling neatly into step behind them.
For a moment, Vincent found himself following them with his eyes. Left alone with Lydia and her maid, he felt suddenly flat and uninterested. “A walk?” he asked dully, offering Lydia his arm. She pushed up her parasol without response, then slipped her hand around his elbow with more than a little reluctance.
They made their way around the lake in near silence, Vincent offering little more than mindless comments on the fine weather, and Lydia managing brief murmurings in response. Despite the warm sunshine, the park was not busy, with just one other couple making their way slowly around the lake. Ducks skimmed across the surface, leaving neat trails in the water.
Up ahead, Vincent could see Lord Renshaw and Georgina deep in conversation, and he felt a flicker of annoyance.Or is it jealousy?
The thought caught him off guard. He had never been the type to be jealous before. But he could not deny the thought of walking around the lake in the company of fiery, sharp-tongued Georgina was a far more interesting prospect than doing so with her sister.
Georgina and the Baron stopped walking suddenly and turned back to face Vincent and Lydia.
“Lord Renshaw and I think we ought to play a game,” Georgina announced.
Vincent raised his eyebrows, curious. “What kind of game?”
“Hide and seek.” Her eyes were shining with something he could not quite identify.
“Hide and seek?” he repeated with a laugh. “I have not played that since I was in leading strings.”
Georgina lifted her chin. “Then you can be the seeker. Close your eyes and country to twenty. Last to be found is the winner.”
Vincent laughed incredulously. “You cannot be serious.”
