Brushed by Scandal

Author:Gail Whitiker [Whitiker, Gail]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4603-4939-7
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Having just returned from a drive in the park, Anna was about to enter the house when she heard the clatter of carriage wheels in the street behind her. Aware that it was slowing down, she turned in time to see a matched pair of greys pulling an elegant black cabriolet draw to a halt in front of the house. Moments later, Sir Barrington stepped out, ebony cane in hand, his black beaver glistening in the afternoon sun.

‘Sir Barrington,’ Anna said, cursing the tiny catch in her voice. ‘This is a surprise.’

He looked as startled as she, but there was something else in his expression she couldn’t quite define. ‘Lady Annabelle. I thought you would be out paying calls.’

‘In fact, Lord Andrews has just returned me home from a drive in the park.’

‘Andrews!’ His countenance darkened. ‘You allowed him to take you driving?’

‘I did,’ Anna said, caught off guard by the sudden intensity in his voice. ‘He has been after me for weeks to allow him to show me his new pair of blacks, so when the weather turned fine this morning, I decided I would allow him to do so.’

‘And did you enjoy your drive?’

Remembering several rather alarming moments when the horses had been going too fast for safety, Anna was tempted to tell him no, but pride demanded a different answer. ‘It was…invigorating.’

He snorted. ‘Invigorating. Andrews is a mediocre whip at best and notorious for buying troublesome animals. He has an inflated opinion of his ability to train them, so when a seller tells him a horse is bad tempered, Andrews tells them they’re not using the right methods of control. But most of the time, he ends up selling the horses back to whoever he bought them from and always at a loss.’

‘I admit, they were a touch wild,’ Anna conceded, ‘but for the most part, he seemed able to keep them under control.’

‘Nevertheless, I would ask you not to drive out with him again. He is not a man I would encourage you or any other young woman to spend time with.’

Anna bristled. Having already made up her mind not to see Lord Andrews again, the warning was unnecessary, but she resented Barrington’s belief that he had the right to tell her who she should and should not see. ‘I think you are too hard on the gentleman, Sir Barrington. He was very pleasant to me. Attentive to my wishes and interested in what I had to say.’

‘What do you know about the viscount, Lady Annabelle?’ Barrington asked softly.

‘Not a great deal,’ she was forced to confess. ‘He told me his wife died two years ago and that he has three married sisters he seldom sees.’

‘He also has four children ranging in ages from six to thirteen and he is looking for a new wife to take care of them.’

‘He cannot be looking very hard,’ Anna said. ‘I’ve spoken to several young ladies who told me of their desire to become the next Lady Andrews, but apparently, he offered them no encouragement whatsoever.

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