A Lady in Disguise Read Free Page B

gentleman fifteen or twenty times. A glove was usually sufficient to prevent the contact from affecting her. But a cricket player’s leather would not have saved her from the warmth of Thorpe Everard’s touch. It seemed to reach through all barriers and take her over.
    “Ready?” he asked with another of his devastating smiles.
    Dear heaven, there was a dimple in his left cheek, the length of the tip of her forefinger. She could just imagine touching his face so that her finger fit into the impression made for it.
    She sat silently beside him as he flicked the reins over the horses’ backs. She was silent now because she was striving for control. This was ridiculous, this riot in her body and mind. All the more so, she scolded, when it is obvious that he is completely unmoved by my presence. Perhaps he wasn’t even aware that he had this effect on women. Perhaps it wasn’t him at all.
    The sun was certainly very hot, and she’d stepped out of the dark coach into the bright sunshine without a moment between the two. It was sunstroke, she decided. Let her lie down in a cool, dark place and this fancy would leave her.
    Driving by a field, Lillian turned her head to observe the people working diligently among the rows. As they passed, all the women, young or old, came racing forward to wave and smile at the curricle.
    “People in Mottisbury are very friendly,” Mr. Everard said. He briefly saluted the massed women with his whip. Something like a sigh passed through them, though it might have only been the breeze.
    “Indeed, I can see that.” She could also see that the men in the field leaned sullen faced on their implements until the curricle had gone past. Looking behind her, Lillian saw that some girls returned to their work, but many stood staring after the man in the vehicle.
    Apparently, Lillian thought, I am only one of many. No wonder Paulina wants to marry him. Oh, well, at least I shall be spending most of my time with the little girl. In ten days, I shall say we do not suit and go back. Paulina will simply have to believe that I could not find anything out. And I shan’t, not if I have anything to say about it.
     

Chapter Two
     
    Thorpe Everard was an excellent whip. His hands held the reins with great strength but also gentleness. He made no hasty jerks with the leathers, encouraging the animals to their best efforts without ever forcing their compliance.
    “What... what fine horses,” Lillian said.
    “You appreciate horseflesh?” he asked with a quick flick of a look in her direction.
    “Oh, yes! I often—” Lillian remembered the role she was supposed to play and stammered out, ‘That is, I admire smart horses very much. But until now, only from a distance.”
    “If you ride, I will be happy to offer you a mount from my stables. I think we can find some docile mare for you.”
    “That’s very kind of you, Mr. Everard. I enjoy taking exercise.”
    “I know from your references that you are used to teaching older children. I think you’ll find watching over a six-year-old to be exercise enough. All the same, there’s nothing like a good gallop to shake out the megrims.”
    He turned the horses into a lane marked by imposing gates, hanging open from massive stone pillars. No coat of arms proclaimed the owners of the land, simply the word EVERARD carved deeply enough to last until the stones themselves crumbled.
    “Have you a large estate, Mr. Everard?” Lillian asked, and then wished she hadn’t. She did not want to pry even into such innocuous details.
    “The village is on my property as is this road, and the road you were on for half an hour before reaching Mottisbury.”
    “Then you have a large estate.”
    “You are right. I could have just said ‘Yes, Miss Cole. My estate is tolerably large.’ I stand corrected.”
    “I did not mean ...” She must fight to recall the limits her imposture forced upon her. How much she would have enjoyed sharing with him a knowledgeable