Page 20 of More or Less a Countess
He gestured her toward his phaeton, and she tucked her sketchbook under her arm and got to her feet. As she made her way toward the carriage, Nick saw she’d unbuttoned her cloak when she sat down, and he couldn’t help but notice her gown was clinging to her legs, revealing the distracting outline of softly curved thighs through the damp muslin.
Miss Somerset was an odd young lady, to be sure, but even covered in mud with rain dripping down her cheeks, she was rather fetching.
She didn’t wait for him to assist her into the carriage, but scrambled into her seat before he had a chance to offer his hand. He swung himself up beside her, took up the ribbons, and in the next moment they were dashing through the London streets at a brisk pace.
“I’m afraid you’re certain to take a chill,” Nick said, after they’d gone for some minutes without speaking.
“Not at all, my lord. I’m quite accustomed to the rain and wet, and I never get ill. I beg you won’t concern yourself.”
She grasped a fistful of her damp, clinging skirts and tugged. Nick winced at the rude sucking sound they made as they came unstuck from her legs, but he couldn’t help glancing over at her to see if he might catch another glimpse of the delicious curve of her thighs. Before he could have another peek, however, his gaze was caught by a tiny smirk on her lips.
He frowned. “For a lady who’s soaked to the skin and covered with mud, you look pleased with yourself, Miss Somerset.”
She cast him a startled look from the corner of her eye. “Satisfied? No, indeed, Lord Dare. I, ah…well, I’m afraid you’re right, and I am a bit chilled, after all.”
Nick’s eyes narrowed on her flushed cheeks and those pretty lips still glowing a healthy pink when they should long since have turned blue with cold.
She didn’tlookchilled.
“Then I must insist on calling upon you tomorrow, to inquire after your health.”
“What? You can’t mean you still want to call, after—” She caught herself and cleared her throat. “That is, what I mean to say is, that won’t be necessary, Lord Dare.”
Nick turned to stare at her, incredulous.
Devil take her, she intended to refuse his next call!
Why, the devious little chit. She never had any intention of encouraging his suit. On the contrary, she’d only allowed him to take her out today because she wanted to get to Islington to get her sketch, and if she could frighten him off with all her talk of bones and disease, so much the better. She’dusedhim, and now that he’d served his purpose, she thought she could discard him without a second thought.
But Nick hadn’t spent an entire afternoon standing about in ruined boots with icy water running in rivulets down his back—and discussing corpses, no less—just to be peremptorily dismissed by a crafty minx like Miss Somerset. “Oh, but I’m afraid I must insist on calling. I won’t be able to rest easy until I reassure myself regarding your health.”
Her health be damned. Nick didn’t care if she ended up with a raw throat and a red nose. It was time to bypass her altogether, and secure an introduction to her grandmother. Once Lady Chase knew the Earl of Dare wished to court her granddaughter, Miss Somerset would have a devil of a time escaping him.
No matter how clever she was.
Whatever satisfaction Miss Somerset had taken in the success of her burial grounds mission was now dissolving into uneasiness. “I’m afraid I must discourage you from calling again, my lord. I’m not interested in…”
She felt abruptly silent as he made the turn into Bedford Square and brought his phaeton to a halt in front of the door. A low, distressed sound escaped her throat at the sight of the black crested carriage waiting in the drive.
“Ah, but here’s some luck, Miss Somerset.” He tossed aside the reins and turned an angelic smile on her. “I believe your grandmother is home. I’ve heard a great deal about her, and I’m anxious to have the honor of an introduction.”
But Miss Somerset didn’t appear as enthusiastic as he was, and the phaeton had hardly rolled to a halt before she was scrambling to open the door. “Oh, ah…I’m afraid that won’t be possible, my lord. My grandmother never accepts calls this late in the day. Thank you for the drive, and for your diverting company. Good afternoon.”
“Pity, but no matter. I’ll simply keep calling until she receives me.”
There was no mistaking the look of panic that flashed across Miss Somerset’s face at this thinly veiled threat. “She won’t receive you, Lord Dare. She, ah…she doesn’t receive any gentlemen without a formal introduction.”
Nick raised a skeptical eyebrow at this. He knew a blatant lie when he heard one. “How fortunate we have you to introduce us, then.”
“Oh, I…well, we’ll see. I can’t make any promises, I’m afraid.”
She tried to leap from the carriage, but he laid a hand on her arm to stop her. Damn her, she wasn’t going to brush him off as if he were a bit of dried mud clinging to her skirts. If she wouldn’t invite him inside, he’d keep her sitting out here on the drive until someone inside the house noticed his phaeton and came out to investigate.
“Wait, Miss Somerset. Tell me more about the plague, won’t you? I’m certain I could learn a great deal from you.”
“The plague? You wish to discuss the plaguenow?”
“Well, I confess I’ve never been much interested in the plague, but after the engaging information you shared today regarding the mountains of bones, I could hardly fail to be intrigued. Now, tell me all about it, won’t you?”
