Page 4 of The Moonstone Pirate
“Do you think Lord Woodley would agree to my coming here to paint his garden? It is so beautiful.”
“I am certain he will, since it is actuallymygarden.”
“Yours?” Imogen paused to study him, ignoring the other guests wandering the grounds all around them. “Are you suggestingyouown this property? All of it? The house, too?”
He nodded. “Did I neglect to mention? I am the Earl of Woodley, still too new to the title ever to think of myself as that. My uncle, Albert Woodley, has always been Lord Woodley to me. He and his daughter, Deandra, reside with me. They are welcome to stay as long as they wish. In truth, I expect they will settle here while I spend most of my time dashing around the south of England looking after the Woodley properties. I suppose I must also spend time in London when Parliament is in session. But I hope to avoid it as much as possible. Well, Deandra will soon be old enough to make her debut, and I will have to bring her and her father to London for that. Not for another two years yet, I should think.”
“I am to make my debut this upcoming year. I shall be almost twenty by then, and my parents believe I ought to be ready to face theton.”
“Almost twenty,” he murmured, seeming to find it humorous. “That would make you only nineteen now.”
He did not appear to be more than in his mid-twenties, so what made him so superior? “What do you find so amusing, my lord? How old are you?”
“Why are you taking offense? Did I say anything insulting about your age? There is nothing wrong with it. Many young ladies are placed on the Marriage Mart at a younger age. Manyare married and have children by the age of nineteen. But you still look offended.”
She nodded. “It is your expression.”
“The one hidden behind my mask?” He sighed. “It isn’t what you think.”
They had reached the stone wall that separated the Woodley garden from the meadow beyond it that sloped downward toward the old pirate caves and sparkling cove waters. He released her to lean back and rest his elbows atop the weathered stone while he now faced the magnificent house. “You are young, Butterfly. But it is your innocence more than anything that makes you unsuitable for one such as myself.”
She gasped. “Unsuitable? For what? Marriage? I did not realize I was anything more than a guest at your party. How could you presume—”
“Do you dare deny it? All the young ladies are after me.”
“You are the one who approachedme, not the other way around. Are you suggesting they would take you sight unseen?” She shook her head and choked out a laugh. “I assure you, I would not. If you’ll excuse me, I ought to return inside.”
“No, wait.” He caught her hand and regarded her for a long moment. “You are different from the others, aren’t you?” he said, sounding a little surprised but pleased. “I like this about you, Butterfly. You will not settle for just any man.”
They continued to stare at each other, mask to mask.
“Indeed, I would not. I wish for a true marriage and not an empty title.” She meant to curl her hands into fists while frowning at him, but he still held her hand, and now took gentle hold of the other.
He glanced down at their entwined fingers and cast her a soft smile. “You rise in my estimation. But the fact remains, I am an unmarried earl, and every other young lady here considers me a desirable catch.”
She slipped out of his grasp. Those louts in the corner were ridiculous, but her handsome pirate was proving to be little better. “It is a good thing you are not ready to marry yet,” she muttered, for this man was so full of himself, she did not think he knew how to be a good husband. “You would make the young lady you’ve chosen quite miserable.”
“Would I now?” he replied, his tone one of surprise mingled with dismissive arrogance.
Imogen thought he would burst out laughing, but his gaze soon turned pensive. “Perhaps you are right,” he said softly. “But who is to say I will not have a change of heart and be ready to take a wife within a year? I might be ready to settle down by then.”
She shook her head. “You won’t be.”
“How do you know?”
“I sense quite a restlessness in you, not to mention a good dose of arrogance. You enjoy your freedom and your power. It is a good thing you are earl, because you do not have a subservient nature and will not bow to anyone.”
“So this is what you think of me? Not a flattering opinion at all.”
She sighed. “It did sound insulting, didn’t it? Forgive me. Actually, I like you. I think you are probably a very good man, just not ready to be a good husband yet. That is the only point I wished to make, and I fear I have made it rather badly.”
“Perhaps I am a little too full of myself,” he admitted.
“Because you are much sought after. It is hard to let down your guard when so many people are ready to lie to you to advance their own purposes. I like to think I can read one’s true character. This is what makes me a good artist. I pick up on what people are feeling and bring it out in my portraits of them.”
“You think you are wise about people?” He studied her in return. “Then tell me more about myself. Start with how old you think I am.”
Imogen was up for the challenge. “That is hard to say when I cannot see your face. But if I had to guess, I would say you were no more than twenty-six years of age. Am I close?”
