Page 31 of Saving a Scoundrel
“Dear God, gel!” A loud voice carried through the open door from the hall. “What have you done now?”
He and Ellie exchanged a look of surprise.
“Just a small accident, Father. I’ll be fine,” Susanna’s voice replied.
Ellie raised a hand to cover her face. “Oh no, what did she do?”
He and Ellie hurried out of the library to see what happened. The end of the corridor opened to the front hall where Lord Dearborn stood, his face like a thundercloud. Susanna looked decidedly damp from head to foot. Her red hair lay in long lank strips down her back. Her dress was wrinkled and clinging to her; a dirty brown discolored the pink hue.
Ellie rushed forward. “Susanna, what happened?”
Lady Dearborn wore a look of utter exhaustion. “There was a small mishap, my lord. An accident. The poor dear fell into the water as we disembarked at Windsor.”
“She did what!?” Lord Dearborn boomed.
Susanna looked up at him with wide eyes. “My bonnet came off in the wind, and I thought I could catch it before it blew into the river. I lost my balance. Before I knew it, I was in the water.” She placed her hands over her face. “I’m so embarrassed!”
Lord Dearborn let out a loud sigh. “Well, get upstairs and clean up.” He turned to return to his study muttering to himself.
Lady Dearborn handed her hat and parasol to the butler. “I think I will just go lay down for a bit. This was far too exciting of an outing.” She patted Lucius’s cheek as she passed him. “Don’t worry, we took your friend safely home. A very nice girl.” Then Lady Dearborn climbed the stairs to head for her suite.
Ellie put her hands on her hips. “Susanna.”
Susanna slowly pulled her hands from in front of her face revealing a wide grin. “Yes?”
“Did you do that on purpose?” Ellie asked with a frown.
“No one will remember that you vomited. My plunge into the Thames was quite dramatic.”
Lucius chuckled. Ellie turned to glare at him, and he coughed into his hand to cover his smile. Susanna Ashby was always entertaining. “Well, I better be going. I hope you both recover from today’s sail. Perhaps we can try a different entertainment next time. Like going to see a play?” He winked at Ellie, and a small smile turned up the corners of her mouth.
The butler snapped his fingers. A footman appeared with Lucius’s hat and gloves. He stuffed the gloves into the pocket of his jacket and put on his hat. “Good day, ladies.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ellie fiddled withthe buttons on her gloves as she waited in the library. Where was he?
“You’re doing it again,” Susanna said from her chair by the fire. Then her friend sneezed.
“Bless you,” Ellie said automatically. “Doing what?”
“You are tapping your foot endlessly. It’s beginning to give me a headache.”
“You should be in bed.” Ellie stilled her foot. She couldn’t help it. Tonight she was breaking the rules, and it made her quite nervous but also incredibly excited. She simply could not sit still.
“It’s just a small cold. I’m fine.” Susanna sneezed again, belying her words. She pulled out a handkerchief and blew her nose. “Mother and Father won’t be home until very late. Without us to chaperone, they can stay at Lady Chester’s and gamble all night, which they love to do. Don’t worry. I’m sure Lucius will be here soon. Fred is on duty at the door tonight. I’ve already bribed him to keep his mouth shut.”
“You are a mastermind. It’s a bit scary how you think things through,” Ellie said.
Susanna shrugged and returned to her book. Her friend’s not-so-accidental fall into the Thames had resulted in Susanna getting sick. Lady Dearborn insisted she rest for several days before even thinking about attending any social functions.
Perhaps Susanna’s penchant for scheming was beginning to rub off on her. Sharing her list with Lucius had turned from embarrassment to an opportunity. Ellie had never lied so quickly, grasping at any reason to explain why his name was on her list. Then to her surprise, he had offered to help her with the list. And he’d acted so strangely, almost jealously, when she had mentioned finding someone else to practice flirting.
After mulling over his unusual behavior, Ellie had gathered her courage and sent a note to Lucius. She asked if he would be up for an adventure this evening. He replied a couple of hours later,Always. I will come to fetch you at eight o’clock.
So here she was, dressed in a silk gown of pale apricot, fiddling with her gloves and waiting for her night to begin. She sucked in a deep breath. No matter what he had in store for tonight, she would allow herself to enjoy the evening. A night out with Lucius Grisham. How often had she dreamed about this exact scenario?
She knew he still thought of her as a friend, someone he had to watch over. But that afternoon in the library, after the boat trip, she hadn’t imagined the strange new tension between them. Had she? Ellie shook her head. She may not have any aptitude for flirting, but Lucius said he would teach her, and she had every intention of using any new skills she learned on him.
