Page 41 of Lady Audacious
‘She will have to go,’ he told Chase as he mounted the stairs, taking them three at a time, his mood soured by her attempt at manipulation. ‘She is getting ideas above her station.’
Ideas that were actively being encouraged by his mother.
Chapter Twelve
Odile kept herself busy for the rest of the day, but her mind remained fixated on her time in the tack room with the earl.
‘I cannot understand why he is being so obliging,’ she told Willow when she retired that evening and the dog leapt onto the bed as if she had been doing it for her entire life. Willow turned in several tight circles before settling down, her body pressed against Odile’s as though worried that she might leave the bed without Willow being aware. ‘I would be wise to remember that he wants to get his hands on this property, not help me keep it. His motives are suspect and yet I trust him.’ She frowned at the ceiling. ‘How odd.’
Odile plucked at her lower lip with her forefinger as she considered her conflicting feelings. ‘I like him very much,’ she confessed in a conspiratorial whisper, even though there wasn’t the slightest possibility of her being overheard—not even by Willow, who was already snoring. ‘He makes me feel alive, and hot and breathless, and fluttery, if that makes any sense, whenever he looks at me in a particular way. Whenever he is anywhere near me, for that matter. I suppose that’s one of the signs of instant attraction the girls at Miss Mackenzie’s spent so much time discussing. At my age I ought to know better, but then I have never been exposed to the exclusive company of an attractive gentleman before. Or indeed any gentleman at all for that matter, which might explain my immature reaction. Anyway, I will accept his help. The question is, shall I take Mrs Blaine with us tomorrow in order to make everything look respectable?’
Odile had never had to think about the rules of conduct before now, but already knew the answer to that particular question. She was not a lady of quality and no one would pressure the earl to marry her in order to protect her reputation if she accompanied him unchaperoned. She would decline the offer anyway, given that he would have made it out of some warped sense of obligation.
Probably.
She hugged her knees to her chest, reliving the wild sensual disobedience that had flooded her system whenever he rested his intelligent gaze upon her in a gesture of compassion and dawning respect. She had become increasingly and acutely aware of his close proximity in that quiet tack room and the deep gravitational pull that she felt towards him—as unrealistic as it was inappropriate, yet impossible to shake off.
‘I have no experience of male company,’ she told the sleeping puppy, anxious to justify herself and appease her conscience. Miss Mackenzie had lectured the girls about propriety and the perils of flirtation that could, apparently, lead a girl into trouble. The sort of trouble, Miss Mackenzie had predicted darkly, that would embarrass their families and lead to disgrace. ‘Anyway, I shall not permit his polite attentions to go to my head. I am well aware of my limitations. I am no raving beauty and I am far too stubborn and opinionated for my own good. I am also aware that my renovating this property without a big, strong man to guide me will have the traditionalists shaking their heads in disapproval. So I will ignore my silly obsession with the earl and concentrate upon finding answers about my parents. That would be for the best, do you not agree?’
Willow, snoring more deeply now, had no advice to offer. Smiling, Odile turned on her side, and after her long and active day fell quickly into a deep sleep.
Willow woke her just as the sun was rising. She repeated the routine of the previous day, running down the stairs with the dog tucked under her arm. Odile herself was too nervous to take more than a cup of tea and a slice of toast before returning to her chamber and dressing with more care than she had ever taken over her appearance before. Not to secure the earl’s admiration, she assured her reflection, but to enjoy her limited freedom of choice and give herself confidence.
Despite her best efforts, her heavy hair stubbornly refused to remain pinned in place. Odile lost patience with it but refused to resort to the tight bun that Miss Mackenzie had insisted upon that tugged on the scars beneath her hairline. She compromised by fixing it in an untidy chignon and tying her bonnet firmly on top of the arrangement to keep it as secure as it was ever likely to be.
‘You look very smart,’ Mrs Blaine said when Odile returned to the kitchen, wearing the green striped gown. ‘I’m glad there is someone willing to fight your corner. I have a feeling you will need all the help you can get if you are not to be troubled by unwanted attentions or people keen to see you fail.’ She scowled, as though she had a particular person in mind. ‘I expect you will want me to care for this one whilst you are gone,’ she added, patting Willow’s head.
‘If you don’t mind. I am sure she will be happy to remain in the kitchen with you, given the way she has taken to your cooking.’
Mrs Blaine laughed. ‘She needs feeding up. She was deprived of her share before now by her greedy brothers and sisters.’
‘And she seems to be taking shameless advantage of your kind nature.’ Odile smiled as the dog looked up at Mrs Blaine, who happened to be carving ham, through appealing, liquid eyes.
‘Ah, well.’
‘The earl’s outside,’ Harris said, putting his head round the kitchen door.
Odile felt breathless with anticipation as she collected up her reticule and patted Willow’s head, adjuring her to behave. ‘I shall not be gone above half a day,’ she told her servants.Herservants. Sometimes she had to pinch herself just to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming.
‘Take all the time you need,’ Harris replied calmly. ‘We’ll keep on top of things here.’
Odile walked outside, almost colliding with Doris and Ruby as they arrived to start their working day. Doris’s eyes bulged when she noticed the earl. He was not inside a closed carriage, driven by a liveried groom, as Odile had assumed would be the case. Instead, he had driven himself in a curricle drawn by a superb pair of matching black horses.
‘Get on with your duties, girls,’ Odile said briskly. ‘Mrs Blaine will tell you what needs to be done.’
Doris sent Odile a speculative yet defiant look before following Ruby around the side of the house and into the kitchen.
‘Good morning,’ Odile said, glancing at the earl’s carriage which only had room for two. ‘Where is Mrs Blaine supposed to sit?’
The earl laughed as he jumped down and insisted upon helping Odile into the conveyance, even though she was perfectly capable of getting into it unaided. ‘I took a chance that you would…well, take a chance on joining me alone. You don’t seem to me to be the type who is overly concerned by public opinion.’
‘It is you who should be worried,’ she replied, taking the seat beside him and watching him collect up the ribbons and encourage his team forward. ‘It is your position that will be compromised, gossiped about and generally speculated upon.’
His smile was broad and infectious. ‘I’ll risk it if you will.’
‘You appear to be enjoying yourself,’ she said, sending him a curious sideways glance. ‘What is it that you find so appealing about the company of Chichester’s parish clerk that you cannot seem to help smiling in anticipation of it?’
‘I am enjoying playing truant from my duties, truth to tell,’ he admitted. ‘It is not often that I am at leisure to please myself.’
