Page 47 of Seducing a Frigid Lady
“And rightly so,” Lionel said, sighing deeply, feeling regret at what he had done for perhaps the first time. His knuckles were still sore where he had beaten the gentleman. And his cheek was no better than where Mr. Kenyon had actually managed to get a hit or two in himself.
Again, Miss Lyttleton looked surprised.
Lionel shook his head and stated, “What happened was entirely inappropriate and I did not mean at all for it to reflect upon Miss Lloyd.”
“My lord, I fear it is not me that you need to be telling this to,” Miss Lyttleton pointed out. Lionel gritted his teeth, knowing that she was right. There was only one woman he should really be telling these words to, and yet just glancing over at her across the room he could feel that the ice-queen coolness was turned up to level ten.
“I fear she would not appreciate it,” Lionel said, lowering his own gave in slight embarrassment. “And I would not blame her for that either.”
Lionel was most surprised when Miss Lyttleton reached out and placed a gentle hand upon his forearm. She squeezed comfortingly, causing him to turn his gaze back to hers. The sympathetic smile on her face suggested that he was not entirely hopeless.
“My lord, I think you should at least try,” Miss Lyttleton suggested. She glanced around quickly then as though she wanted to be sure that nobody else would overhear what she said next. Then she leaned in and whispered, “Though not here.”
The hair on the back of Lionel’s neck tingled with anticipation and again, the woman glanced around before she finally told him, “I know my friend very well, my lord, and I happen to know that when these things occur Miss Lloyd is not anywhere near as unphased as she may seem.”
Was that supposed to make me feel better?Lionel thought, gritting his teeth to stop from saying something that he might regret. He was immediately glad that he didn’t because if he had, he might have never learned what came next.
“There is a small wood at the bottom of the Lloyds’ garden,” she explained. Her eyes darted in the direction of her friend as though she was concerned she might actually be betraying her in some way. Then she inhaled deeply before adding, “After these such things have occurred, she goes there to stomp around and get everything off her chest. I have often found her there, avoiding everyone else.”
Lionel could not hide the surprise from his face. Though she had looked sheepish and concerned with betraying her friend, he had never expected something quite so personal to be betrayed. Perhaps for many it would not have been a big deal, but knowing Miss Lloyd as he thought he did, he was certain she would not be pleased to have her most private moments talked about.
Miss Lyttleton offered him a mischievous smile when she seemed to see the surprise on his face. “Do not look at me in such a way, my lord. I would not tell this to just anyone.”
“Then why are you telling me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow with curiosity.
“Because, against my better judgement, I do believe that the two of you may be good for each other,” Miss Lyttleton admitted with a shrug of her slender shoulders. “I have seen a change in my friend since your arrival, my lord, and I would like to see where it might lead.”
Miss Lyttleton’s surprising support of him was more than a little heart-warming and it gave him the strength he needed to get through the rest of the gallery event without trying to force a conversation with Miss Lloyd. Besides, he would have much preferred to be alone with her, to explain everything properly and maybe, for once, tell her exactly how he was feeling. It had long since been time to do so.
And so, as soon as the event was over, Lionel did not head home with Max. Instead, he took a separate carriage out to Priscilla’s residence on the outskirts of London.
Though a part of him wondered whether he ought to call upon the household and ask to see her, he was well aware of how easily she might refuse to see him. Another thing he would not blame her for. Yet he could not bring himself to risk the fact. He had to speak with her, one way or another, and so he had the carriage drop him just around the corner.
And through some careful navigation and a hell of a lot of sneaking, Lionel managed to find his way around the outer boundary of the Lloyds’ gardens, slipping over the brick wall with athletic ease at the very end of the garden, in order to find his way into the woods that Miss Lyttleton had been talking about.
Almost the moment that his feet touched the ground, he heard the breathless exclamation come from behind him, “Lord Sinclair! What are you doing here?”
Just the sound of her voice made Lionel’s heart skip a beat, and he quickly dusted himself off before turning to find Miss Lloyd glowering at him from beneath an oak tree, sitting upon a wooden bench that had been built around the tree’s trunk.
As soon as their gazes met, Miss Lloyd bolted to her feet. For just a second, Lionel thought she might give him a respectable curtsey. Instead, she tightened her hands into fists and demanded, “I do not want you here!”
Lionel pursed his lips and looked at her with widened eyes, hoping that she would see all the hurt and regret there that he felt deep within himself.
“Miss Lloyd, the last thing I ever wanted was to have your name dragged through the mud,” he blurted, taking half a step towards her.
Miss Lloyd’s entire body tensed visibly and she looked as though she meant to step back, though it was clear that the bench had gotten in her way. Lionel realised he had never been so grateful to a steadfast tree before. Had they been in an open field, he feared she would have run from him immediately.
The anger and frustration upon her face was enough to tell Lionel that her friend had been right. She had most definitely come here to let off some steam. And he was intruding upon her chance to do that like an utter fool. Yet he could not bring himself to turn around and climb back over the wall, not until he had at least told his side of the story.
“Miss Lloyd, you have to believe me,” he insisted. “You have to at least let me talk to you.”
“I have to do no such thing!” Miss Lloyd yelled back at him in a most unladylike manner, and for some reason, it only made him want her more. This woman who was not afraid to go against the rules of society was so infuriatingly desirable that he could not have left, even if he had wanted to.
Instead, he dropped his gaze and backed away, hoping she would see the uncharacteristic submission he was offering to her. Not another living soul on earth had ever seen him react in such a way and yet here he was, willing to do anything it took for her to listen to him.
And in a way, it seemed to work. Miss Lloyd took a step towards him, her feet stomping as though it was anger that propelled her forward. “How dare you believe you have any right todefendmy honour?” she glared at him. “How dare you lay hands upon another man and say that it was for the sake of me?”
Lionel struggled to stop himself from scoffing at that. There were a hundred women of thetonwho would likely have swooned over and over for him to do such a thing for them. But here he was, standing before the only woman in the world who did not see it as what it was; a compliment and a testament to all that she had done to him.
