Page 15 of Becoming Lady Dalton
For Piers, the chance to flick the reins and make the pretty young women at his sides squeal came with an unbidden thrill. It didn’t matter that he had no intention of genuinely courting either of them. Letting go on a glorious winter morning had him feeling more alive than Piers could ever remember. Miss Lowry’s squeal of delight urged him to twitch the reins again, until the bays broke into a canter, shaking their glossy manes as they stretched their legs and ran. They surged forward. Lady Margaret’s elbow signaled her alarm by driving so far into his ribs that Piers fleetingly feared for his kidney.
Piers collected the ribbons and brought the horses to a prancing trot as they pulled alongside the larger carriage.
There was a second figure seated beside the admiral. Piers thought he recognized the fine wool hood with fur trim. Any woman might wear such a garment in mid-December. Yet hadn’t Viola casually informed him, only yesterday evening, that she had accidentally agreed to a carriage ride with the admiral? In the excitement of the evening, he’d forgotten about it.
Viola turned slowly, features relaxed and her skin glowing in the pale sunlight. The sight of her swaying on the seat of the admiral's comfortable phaeton while the coachman drove sent a lightning shock of annoyance through Piers.
Their gazes locked. Her eyes widened.
“Good afternoon, your lordship,” was all she said, calmly. Then, she greeted his companions amiably. His body went hot as though the sun had peeped out from behind a cloud to warm his shoulders.
“My lady. Sir.” He addressed the admiral with a nod. “A fine morning for midwinter.”
“Is this as cold as December gets in London?” asked Miss Lowry. Everyone, except for Lady Margaret, appeared to be having a fine time.
“No, today is quite mild,” the admiral boomed. With his ruddy cheeks and nose, he looked the very picture of health.
“In New York, the winters are often bitterly cold and snowy.” Miss Lowry grinned widely. It was the first time Piers had ever seen her smile genuinely, and the sight was breathtaking. Last night, at the Woolrytes, he’d had an uneasy feeling about her. The way she’d surveyed the room had reminded him of a calculating queen from one of Emily’s fairy tales surveying her realm. Which was absurd. Americans had emphatically declared they didn’twanta queen or king, or an aristocracy, for that matter. They’d fought an entire bloody war about it. Then, she’d consoled Lady Margaret over the loss of her jewels, Piers decided he’d been wrong about Miss Lowry. This morning, with Lady Margaret almost toppling out of the vehicle trying to avoid him whenever she wasn’t clinging to him in panic, Piers found himself grateful for Miss Lowry’s confident presence beside him.
“You must stay in England, then.” Admiral Saxon puffed his chest out.
Piers felt the pull of Viola’s scrutiny. If she was in any way concerned about the admiral’s peacocking for another woman, he couldn’t tell. If anything, Viola looked bored.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Mrs. Cartwright?” he asked, puffing his own chest ever so slightly. If anything, Viola’s brows knit with disquiet at the sight of him out with two women.Mrs. Cartwright,rather. Never mind that only last night she’d encouraged him Miss Lowry’s direction and away from herself. Satisfaction curled through Piers’ body.
Viola promptly punctured that delicious feeling. “I am. And you, Lady Margaret? Miss Lowry?”
“Very much,” Lady Margaret replied with a disapproving chill. If she approved of anyone other than Miss Lowry, Piers would be very much surprised.
“Is this your notion of a pleasure ride, Lord Dalton?” Viola inquired lightly.
“Sandwiched between two lovely women? Absolutely.” He could play the rake when necessary. Piers glanced at Lady Margaret who glared daggers at him. When he turned to Miss Lowry, she inclined her chin with cool, bemused indulgence.
“The pleasure is all ours, Lord Dalton.” She winked.
Viola’s cheerful expression pulled into sourness at the corners of her mouth. With effort, she managed to arrange her features into a semblance of pleasantry.
“We shall leave you to it then,” she said quietly. The admiral, despite his habitual obliviousness, snapped his gaze forward and twitched his whip across the horse’s back. The dappled grey lurched into motion.
He guided his cattle in a tight circle and headed back the other direction. While the horses tossed their heads and pranced, making Miss Lowry squeal and Lady Margaret cling to the seat handle, he caught the briefest glimpse of Viola’s rueful expression as Admiral Saxon tucked his free arm around her shoulders.
A spark of jealousy flared within him, but Piers felt a flicker of satisfaction cross his face as they drove away. Viola might play at matching him with either of the ladies at his side. Two could play at that game. The more he pretended to push her into the admiral’s arms, the more his impromptu offer of marriage would appeal to her.
One of his bays blew a noisy sigh as if in agreement.
Lady Margaret kept a death grip on the curricle as he pulled it in a tight circle and sent his horses in the opposite direction at a fast trot. The ostensible reason for today’s outing—courting Lady Margaret—was not enjoying the trip. Neither was he. It seemed best to return the young woman to the overly protective embrace of her family before she passed out from sheer terror. Now that the horses had spent a bit of their excess energy, they proceeded at a lively trot along the roads of Hyde Park for another twenty minutes before exiting and returning to Evendaw’s city lodgings. As he was depositing the women in the elegant foyer, Miss Lowry turned to him with an assessing gaze. It was the same look that had sent a chill crawling along the back of his neck yesterday evening. The same finger of unease touched him now.
“Have you heard anything further from Bow Street about the stolen jewels?” she asked.
“I have not,” Piers responded stiffly, resorting to his ingrained upbringing. “Lord Woolryte has offered a generous reward for their return. The family is eager to locate the gems as quickly as possible. More was lost that evening than a few baubles.”
“Speak plainly, Lord Dalton.”
“It’s a stain on their reputation to have invited a thief, even inadvertently,” he explained.
“Ah.”
The American inclined her head, and Piers was struck again by the elegant delicacy of her features. Wide eyes and generous lips balanced the high contours of her cheekbones and the gentle curve of her nose. Deep brown glossy curls were pinned to the back of her head, peeping out from the edges of her cranberry and ivory bonnet.
