Part 14 (1/2)

”Tattersall's is selling off Lord Drovner's stables tomorrow morning,” Lord Leo said after a short silence. ”I was wondering if you might enjoy accompanying me. He had acquired some prime horseflesh before his bankruptcy, so there might be some good buys to be had.”

”Drovner has gone bankrupt? How?” She set down her plate.

”Gambling, I believe. I heard he recouped his lost fortune by way of some highly lucrative s.h.i.+pping ventures only to turn around and lose it all again at the card tables. Rather imprudent of him, I would say.”

”Well, he never did have a lot in the way of brains. Too much hair and not enough sense.”

”How apt, particularly given the considerable amount of pride he actually does take in his hair.”

”Lud, you're right.” She leaned closer. ”Does he still wear that horrible pomade?”

”The one that smells like a pine bough?”

”Exactly,” she said. ”I always thought it a wonder that a bird didn't land in it and try to build a nest.”

”Or a squirrel, perhaps, in need of a place to hide acorns.”

He grinned and she grinned back, and for a moment she forgot all the reasons it would be foolish to let herself like him.

Unless it was already too late.

Do I like him?

The question danced along the edges of her mind.

”So are we in agreement?” he asked. ”Shall I come round tomorrow morning and pick you up?”

She stared, forcing herself out of her reverie. ”Oh, for the sale, you mean?”

”Yes. The sale,” he repeated, looking faintly amused. ”Would you care to accompany me? It would count, of course, toward our two weeks together.”

When he put it that way, she supposed it would be foolish to refuse. And she had to admit that a chance to see the horses from Drovner's stable sounded quite exciting. Not that she could afford to purchase any of them, but still, that didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy viewing some excellent horseflesh.

As for being seen publicly with Lord Leopold, well, she supposed it made no difference at this point. Anyone who cared to notice had probably already seen his coach parked outside her town house and knew he was even now inside her home. So what did it really matter? Then too there was all the gossip from their adventures at Holland House. . . .

”Yes, all right,” she said. ”What time?”

”Eight thirty, if that's not too early. The sale starts at ten, but I thought it would give us a chance to inspect the stock first without feeling rushed.”

”I am an early riser. Eight thirty is most acceptable.”

He settled back against the sofa. ”Excellent. And how interesting that you are not given to sleeping late. I wake up with the sunrise most days myself. We're even more compatible than I thought.”

”Many people awaken early. It hardly signifies.”

”Perhaps not at present,” he drawled in his smooth baritone. ”But later, I have every confidence, it will signify a very great deal.”

She didn't pretend to misunderstand his barely veiled innuendo. ”Then you suffer from an overabundance of confidence, Lord Leopold.”

A laugh came from his throat. ”One can never be too self-a.s.sured. It's rather like having money, I have found. And it is 'Leo,' remember? No more 'lords,' not when we are alone.”

”Hmm, so you've said. More tea, Lord Leopold?”

He reached down and placed his hand over hers where it lay in her lap. When she tried to slip free, he captured it firmly inside his own. ”I'm going to hear you say my name again, often and of your own volition. I look forward to those sunrises when you will whisper it in my ears, over and over again.”

She yanked her hand loose. ”I thought you understood that our arrangement does not include any bedroom activities.”

”I do. Still, you can't expect me not to at least try to change your mind.” He held up his good hand before she could say anything in response. ”Fine, fine. I'll behave for now. So what shall we do for the rest of the afternoon?”

”Who says 'we' are doing anything further this afternoon?”

”You promised to spend time with me.”

”I am. I've fed you tea and biscuits. You may leave whenever you like.”

Instead he remained seated and smiled. ”Do you play chess? If so, we could have a game.”

”You want to play chess?” she said, unconvinced.

”Well, I can think of other things to do.” He paused, his gaze drifting briefly upward toward the ceiling before returning to hers. ”But since you've ruled that out, I thought chess would suffice. I considered cards instead, but there's this arm of mine. One hand and all, makes it a bit difficult to draw and discard.”

She frowned, once again eyeing the black cloth sling he wore. He must still be in pain. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth in an old gesture of guilt, then let it go the moment she realized what she'd done. ”I have a set here somewhere. In the library, I think. It's been a long time since I played.”

”Good. You'll be easier to beat.”

She studied him for a time; then, to her surprise, she laughed.

Chapter 13.

”Congratulations, Lord Leopold, on a splendid acquisition,” Thalia told Leo the following morning as they stood among the crowd gathered in the auction yard at Tattersall's. ”That is one of the most beautiful pair of matched grays I have ever seen. Well done. Well done, indeed.”

Leo grinned down into her caramel eyes, not sure which pleased him more -the fact that he'd just won the bid for the grays or that Thalia was smiling at him, more at ease and happier than he had ever seen her look. He gazed at her and decided it was Thalia.

She'd been ready and waiting when he'd called on her promptly at eight thirty. Much to his approval, she was dressed in a dark green kerseymere day dress and a sensible pair of brown leather half boots. She'd donned a warm brown pelisse and hooked a small reticule over her wrist before accompanying him to his waiting coach.

Despite their early arrival, the sales yard had been filled with prospective buyers and curiosity seekers all there to inspect and banter noisily about the horses on view. Thalia had lit up from the moment her feet touched the ground, clearly delighted to be part of the action.

She'd surprised him, as she had done repeatedly since their very first encounter. He knew she rode well and enjoyed horses, but once they began considering individual animals, he quickly realized that she had a keen understanding of all things equine.

”Oh, my father was horse mad,” she explained when he inquired further. ”Really, it was the only thing the two of us could talk comfortably about when I was growing up. We used to drive my mother crazy, discussing breeding lines and conformation and which horse had the best chance of winning the derby in a particular year.

”I never really thought about all the things I was learning-I just took it in like children do and didn't question. I was sixteen and on the verge of womanhood when Papa died. I still miss those talks with him.”

Leo had thought of his own father in that moment, understanding what it was like to lose a parent at a young age. He'd only been seven when he'd learned firsthand about grief and death.

He'd been glad when Thalia continued talking.