Page 18 of Surrendering to a Fiery Lady

“Lord Chester.” She curtsied quickly and hurried to grasp her pelisse off a nearby coat rack. “I am afraid I am going out for a walk, my lord. Mr Urwin, would you arrange for my maid to accompany me, please?”

“Yes, of course.” The butler made the arrangements as Lord Chester tried to offer Ophelia the oversized bunch of flowers.

“May I accompany you then, Miss Townsend? I am keen for us to know each other better, ahead of our wed—”

“Thank you for the flowers.” She was careful to speak over him and take the flowers, just to stop him from uttering the words. With Mr Urwin heading back toward them, she didn’t need the staff gossiping about a wedding she would work hard to keep from ever happening. “Mr Urwin, would you place these in some water, please?”

“Of course.”

“Well, if you are to accompany me on a walk, Lord Chester, I hope you are fond of a brisk pace. I do not walk slowly.” She spoke with triumph, rather hoping it would put Lord Chester off, but it did not.

“I’m sure I’ll manage to keep up.”

They waited for the maid to be prepared then left the house. As they headed to Hyde Park, it didn’t take long for Lord Chester to see she had not been lying. Ophelia strode with purpose, and more than once did Lord Chester’s pace slow too much for her liking. He was not really here for a walk, after all, but to charm her. She suffered through his pleasantries, and the compliments that were so generic the falsity of them was plain to see before she’d had enough.

“Lord Chester.” Coming to a stop in the park, she glanced back, ensuring the maid was far enough behind not to hear her words.

“Yes, Miss Townsend?” He tried to take her hand, but she fidgeted with her gloves, avoiding it.

“Forgive me for speaking so, but you’ll find me quite a plain speak in these matters.”

“What matters?”

“The matter of your compliments,” she said tightly.

“Ah, would you like more?” He moved toward her. “Perhaps I should compare your eyes to glittering aquamarines?”

“If poets are starved for inspiration, my lord, they need to consult you.” He didn’t appear to notice her dryness, nor that she was scoffing at him. “Please, enough with the compliments. You must understand that the conversation you had with my stepmother did not involve me. You may have asked for my hand in marriage, but I have not accepted it.”

Lord Chester’s smile fell from his face.

“Why would you refuse me?”

“Because I do not love you, my lord, and you do not love me. In short, we barely know each other at all.” Spying the maid catching up, she walked on, urging him to follow. “We have met a handful of times, and in all those instances I have seen you give your attention to a series of different ladies.”

“None so seriously as you.” He caught her hand and raised it to her lips, kissing it. She was glad the gloves kept her skin from his lips as she retracted it quickly. “Rest assured of my ardent desire for you.”

“I beg your pardon!” she spluttered, looking around, wary of who had heard him speak so, but no one was close enough in the park.

“We will be happily married; I am sure of it.”

He tried to take her hand again. She was careful to snap a twig off a nearby tree and hold it in front of her. It would have seemed to many as something she had just picked up to fiddle with, whereas she planned on using it to bat his hand away if he came near her again.

“I am not so sure. I am refusing you, Lord Chester. Can you not understand that?”

“What I do understand is that ladies often do not know the ways of their hearts,” he whispered to her, conspiratorially, coming so close that she gripped the twig hard. “Allow me to persuade you of my passion for you.”

When his hand reached for hers, she swiped him with the twig.

“Ow!”

“Do not take my hand again, my lord.” She stepped away from him. “I will return to the house now. Please, take seriously what I have said. This marriage will not proceed.”

“Your stepmother has assured me it will.” Lord Chester changed in that moment. The effect was so sudden that Ophelia flinched. The charming smile was gone, and his face was set in a deep frown, his jaw tightened. “The wedding will proceed,Ophelia.”

“Do not call me that. My name is Miss Townsend to you. Rest assured, my lord, this wedding will never take place.” With these final words, she turned on her heel and left, urging the maid to hurry to catch up with her.

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