Page 32 of His Scandal
She felt the sting as if slapped. How dare he allude to something she’d said in private!
“But I will gladly bare my soul to entertain you, Lady Emmeline.”
She thought of what else he’d bared before the whole court, and willed herself not to blush again.
“Thou young swan, be ever true,” he began, leaning back on his hands as if the impromptu crafting of words came easily to him.
Blushing, Emmeline hoped no one had overheard him calling her a swan earlier.
“Thy flock of chicks needs all thy mothering. Temper thy…temper when one does stray.”
When his audience laughed, he shrugged. Emmeline pinned him with a narrow-eyed stare.
“For the black swan’s wiles cannot be denied.”
Emmeline watched the ladies titter and the men laugh, while her insides seethed at the subtle challenge. Alex stood up to bow, but she was not so easily vanquished. The black swan had better be careful, or he would find himself roasting on a spit.
A short while later, Alex stood beside Edmund, watching the ladies say their good-byes.
Edmund gave a low laugh. “’The black swan’?”
Alex shrugged, his gaze on Emmeline, who was proudly watching Blythe curtsy to the noblewomen. He didn’t know many women who gladly gave center stage to another, even their sisters. “I was desperate. Could you not tell?”
“Oh, I could tell. So is the nest you’re disturbing sundered yet?”
Alex didn’t even hesitate. “No, it is a difficult challenge that you’ve given me, Edmund.”
Such a virginal kiss didn’t count, and he wasn’t ready to be done with the Prescott sisters. “The Lady Emmeline interrupted us. Did you have something to do with that?”
“After I saw you leave, I could not lie to her concerning your whereabouts, could I?”
Alex clapped him on the shoulder. “Never you, Edmund. Would you like to accompany us back to London?”
“You don’t mind my interference?”
“Lady Emmeline is plenty of interference all by herself, so you’re welcome to come with us—unless you have business with Lady Elizabeth.”
Edmund’s face remained impassive. “I’m biding my time with that one,” he said shortly. “So thank you, I accept your offer.”
Once their horses were guided onto the narrow lane, Edmund somehow managed to ride aheadwith Blythe, leaving Alex alone in the middle as Emmeline stubbornly rode beside her groom. Alex slowed down until Emmeline had no choice but to ride beside him, or risk leaving Blythe with yet another man.
Emmeline’s face was coolly fixed forward on her sister, who was laughing at something Edmund said. Alex couldn’t help studying Emmeline in her simple gown, so devoid of the ornamentation other women reveled in. Again he wondered if she wanted everyone to see only the shining light that was Blythe.
“My lady, you have crushed this poet’s spirit.”
He saw her lips twitch, but she only glanced at him before turning her gaze back to the village in the distance. The dusk of shadows had begun to darken the fields, and the descending sun was at their backs.
“I could not crush such a monumental conceit as yours, Sir Alexander.”
“You challenged me to poetry, yet you made no comment about all my hard work.”
“But, sir, you have disappointed me. I thought you might be able to embrace subtlety, and it is such a cruel blow to be confronted with the truth.”
“What truth, my lady?” he asked, enjoying their sparring.
“That you are not even capable ofpretendingcompetence.”
He laughed. “One cannot master everything, Emmeline. At least I try.”
