Page 53 of More or Less a Countess
“No, I—no, my lord.” She forced herself to remove her hands from his hair, reached down and gently pushed his hand away from her thigh, then slid off his lap and crammed herself into the corner of the carriage, as far away from him as she could get.
Silence fell, and it grew heavier as the moments ticked by. She avoided his gaze, instead taking great care to tidy her skirts. When the tension between them became so thick it threatened to suck all the air from the carriage, Lord Dare cleared his throat.
“Have I done something wrong?” His voice was subdued, but it seemed loud in the quiet carriage.
No. I have.
Violet made herself meet his eyes, and her heart kicked in protest as the confusion on his face began to give way to regret. She forced her lips into a stiff smile. “Not at all, my lord. It’s just…we’re nearly to Bedford Square.”
She waved a hand toward the window, but he didn’t follow the gesture. He was staring at her, his mouth tight. “Shall I call on you tomorrow, then?”
Violet hid her hands in her skirts so he couldn’t see the way they shook. “I don’t think we should—”
She broke off as her gaze caught on something outside the window. Lord Dare’s coachman had made the turn that led to her grandmother’s door, and there, sitting at the top of the drive, with luggage strewn across the stairs and footmen swarming about, was Lady Atherton’s carriage.
Violet’s body went cold with dread.
Lord Dare followed her gaze. “Is that your grandmother? I wondered why I never found her at home. It looks as if she’s been away.”
“Bath.” Violet’s voice was faint. “I didn’t expect her back so soon.”
He’d been looking out the window, but now he turned to face her, and he must have seen something in her expression he didn’t like, because his face hardened. “Well, what luck she should have arrived now, just as I’ve brought you home. I can meet her at last.”
“I don’t think now is the best time—”
“Given my current disheveled state, I’d normally agree with you.” He waved a hand to indicate his breeches, and Violet’s face flooded with embarrassed heat. “But introductions to your family have been rather difficult to come by, Miss Somerset, so I’d just as soon seize the chance while I have it. Fortunately for both of us, my cloak will hide any irregularities.”
Violet was ready to scream, or swoon, or leap from the moving carriage—anything to keep Lord Dare from meeting her grandmother, but his lips had thinned with determination, and before she could think of a way to dissuade him, Lady Chase herself appeared in the doorway to issue orders to the footmen, and spotted the coach coming up the drive.
Oh, no. Violet shrank back against the carriage seat. She was well and truly caught this time. There was no escaping the introductions now that her grandmother had seen them, and it was inevitable Lady Chase would call her by name. All it needed now was for Hyacinth herself to appear, so Lord Dare could see for himself the depth of her deception.
The carriage came to a stop on the drive. Lord Dare leapt down at once to open the door and hand Violet out. She tried to make herself slide across the seat, alight, and come face to face with her sins, but as was likely the case with every criminal, her limbs locked in place, refusing to approach the gibbet.
“Miss Somerset?” Lord Dare stuck his head back inside the carriage and beckoned to her with one crooked finger. “Are you coming out?”
She didn’t have much choice, did she? It wasn’t as if she could keep hiding the truth from Lord Dare forever. He may as well find out now, and if a lie was going to be revealed, it may as well be done spectacularly.
“Yes.” She accepted his hand and let him pull her from the carriage.
As soon as she alighted on the drive, her grandmother, who’d been staring curiously at Lord Dare, let out a little cry of welcome. “Well, child, here you are, and just as I’ve arrived. Well, come here and let me see you, and you must bring your companion, as well.”
Lord Dare politely offered his arm, but he frowned down at her when he realized he wasn’t escorting her across the drive so much as dragging her.
“Welcome home, Grandmother.” Violet pressed a dutiful kiss to her grandmother’s thin, powdery cheek. “How does Lady Atherton do?”
“Fit as I’ve ever seen her, dear. Astonishing, really, she should feel herself so very well after such a short stay in Bath, but then she did drink a great quantity of the waters while we were there, so I daresay that accounts for her quick recovery.”
“I’m pleased to hear it, ma’am.”
Lady Chase, who’d turned to Lord Dare with a great deal of interest, waved this off. “Yes, yes, I’m sure you are, but my goodness, have you forgotten your manners entirely? Who is this gentleman?”
Panic pressed down on Violet’s chest. She struggled to take a breath, but her voice sounded thin as she made the introductions. “Lord Dare, may I present my grandmother, Lady Chase? Grandmother, this is Lord Dare. He’s recently returned to London from the Continent.”
Lord Dare offered Lady Chase a polite bow and a charming smile. “It’s a pleasure, Lady Chase.”
“Well, Lord Dare. How do you do? I believe I know your aunt—Lady Westcott, isn’t it? I haven’t seen her for quite some time. She doesn’t go out in society anymore, does she?”
“No, not much, my lady.”
