Page 26 of His Scandal
Finally he realized that he was ignoring Blythe and allowing Edmund free reign in their wager. He would merely wait for his enemies to show themselves again. Meanwhile, he had to find a way to be alone with Blythe, without spending much pocket money.
Lady Morley gave him the perfect opportunity by inviting him to an outdoor party being held at her country home the next afternoon. He well knew Lady Morley’s reasons for inviting him: she had a marriageable daughter, and her other suitors would look better beside him and whatever scandalous behavior he could create for her guests.
He could start the first small scandal by inviting guests of his own: the Prescott sisters. Oh, he would try to invite only Blythe. But if Emmeline found out, she would also come; he was counting on that. She was much more amusing than her sister. He hired a boy to take an invitation to Blythe, then sat back and waited for curiosity to do its work.
When Emmeline heard about the invitation from Alex, she could only fume. Could he possibly have known her schedule? It was the one afternoon a week when the council on exploration met at Whitehall, and she so enjoyed observing their meetings.
Worse yet, the fine weather had yet to ripen, and they would freeze!
Blythe kept insisting that a few maidservants were all she needed to accompany her, but Emmeline knew Alex could outwit any of them with a wink of his eye and a slow grin. No, she would have to attend this silly gathering, for she could not dissuade Blythe, who thought it perfectly wonderful to be invited somewhere by a man.
Emmeline told herself she wasnotaverse to the outing because of Alex himself. She knew she could control her proclivity to watch him; she would pretend she didn’t feel…unsettled when he was too near.
Yet when she stood in the arched doorway of her home and watched him ride his black gelding toward them, her breath caught, and her heart began a strange rhythm. Under the bright blue sky of an unusually warm spring day, he was so handsome in a sleeveless leather jerkin over a brilliant white shirt. His breeches were striped red and black, and he wore high black leather boots up to his knees. Why did she imagine that he smiled at her before he looked at Blythe?
Emmeline turned away and mounted her own horse sidesaddle. Then she allowed Blythe to ride in the lead at Alex’s side, while she rode behind with their groomsman. The roads were not so heavily traveled on the outskirts of London, where farmers’ fields still competed with the building of mansions along the Thames. Soon the houses were few, and they even rode past a village green with a duck pond in the center.
She tried to enjoy the lovely day and the serenity of the ride, but she kept straining to hear what Alex and Blythe were discussing. She only caught occasional words, while she watched his broad gestures and the uninhibited way he laughed. For a moment, she felt absurd and small-minded worrying about Blythe’s future with such a man.
But her sister was an innocent, and who knew what Alex’s true purposes were? He was a scoundrel, as everyone made sure to tell her.
Lady Morley’s home nestled between two small hills in the valley, and was made of a light, pretty stone, with high windows along every wall. It glittered like a jewel in the sun, and Emmeline shaded her eyes to see it better. Alex guided his horse along the gravel path that led to the rear of the estate.
As Emmeline rode up to Blythe’s side, she couldn’t help the little gasp of pleasure that escaped her. It reminded her of her father’s gardens in Kent, which she missed terribly. Lady Morley’sgardens were really a park, with orchards and a kitchen garden in the distance, and ornamental flowers and trees scattered around a fishpond. In the distance more ponds were connected by footbridges. And everywhere a green hue was returning to the earth, and primroses and daffodils gave new color.
It took Emmeline a moment to realize that Alex was speaking to her. With a start, she tore her gaze away from the peaceful garden, and saw that Blythe’s horse was trotting forward as she waved to friends. The groomsman followed her, as Emmeline had instructed him, and she was left behind with Alex.
