The Danbury Scandals Read Free Page B

hand to her, intending nothing but
to reassure her, but she misunderstood him and tried to push past him, tripping
over a tree root in her haste. He caught her as she fell.
    ‘A thousand
pardons, ma’amselle, ’ he said, steadying her. ‘But I am not a man to
resist temptation, and when it is overwhelming...’
    It was really
much too late to pretend to any hauteur , but the whole encounter was
getting out of hand. She lifted her chin and faced him squarely. ‘Please allow
me to pass, Mr...’
    ‘Daw,’ he
finished for her. ‘Jack Daw.’
    She stared at
him for a moment and then laughed shakily. ‘I don’t believe you. I don’t
believe anyone could be given such a preposterous name. You’ve made it up.’
    He laughed,
throwing back his fine head so that she was aware of the strong arch of his
neck and the breadth of his chest. ‘I assure you, that is the name I am known
by.’
    ‘What are you
doing here? Are you a French spy?’
    ‘Do you think I
would tell you if I were?’
    ‘No, I suppose
not,’ she admitted. ‘At first I thought you were a poacher or a gypsy, but you
are not like any gypsy I have ever met.’
    ‘And have you
met many gypsies?’ he asked, with a smile and a lifting of his brows which made
the little scar more obvious. ‘I would never have guessed.’
    ‘No, of course
not.’
    ‘Nor French
spies?’
    ‘Now you are
laughing at me. It is very uncivil of you.’
    ‘I’m sorry.’ He
was chuckling openly now. ‘But you would hardly expect a gypsy or a spy to deal
in civilities.’
    ‘Who are you,
then? What are you doing here?’
    ‘You are an
inquisitive young lady, are you not? What is it they say - "Curiosity
killed the cat"? Beware of too much curiosity.’
    Being curious
about other people was one way to stop Maryanne thinking of her own
bewilderment and insecurity, but suddenly it all came flooding back. A tear
slid down her cheek, followed by another and then another and she, who, until
today, had prided herself on her self-control, could do nothing to stop them.
    He smiled and
handed her his handkerchief. ‘More dust?’
    ‘I... no.
Please let me pass.’
    ‘If you tell me
where you were going in such haste.’
    ‘To
Portsmouth,’ she said suddenly. ‘To visit my uncle.’
    ‘Without bonnet
or cloak? I know that spring has come but we are not yet at high summer. And
how were you expecting to arrive there?’
    ‘By stage,’ she
said, saying the first thing that came into her head. ‘From the village inn.’
    ‘Forgive me, my
dear Miss Paynter, if I do not believe you. Why are you so desperate you must
run away? Have they been unkind to you?’
    ‘Who?’
    He jerked his
head in the direction of the big house. `The people up there. The Danburys.’
    ‘What do you
know of them?’
    ‘Very little,’
he said laconically. ‘But they seem to have a talent for making people unhappy.
The man you came with in the coach, who was he?’
    ‘Came with? How
do you know how I came?’
    ‘I saw you
arrive. Tell me, was that the Duke of Wiltshire?’
    ‘No, it was his
cousin, Viscount Danbury.’
    ‘So that was
Lord Danbury.’
    Something in
his tone made her look up sharply. ‘Why are you so interested?’
    He pretended
indifference, though she was not deceived. ‘If he made you cry...’
    ‘It wasn’t him,
it was...’ She stopped, uncomfortably reminded of the conversation she had
overheard. She forced herself to speak brightly. ‘It was my own foolishness and
nothing that need concern you.’
    ‘Oh, but it
does,’ he said softly. ‘When I saw you in that coach, you looked so...’ He
paused. ‘So anxious, big troubled eyes and furrowed brow. You know, you should
not frown, it spoils your looks.’
    ‘You are
insufferable,’ she said, frustration making her forget her tears. ‘What do you
know of him, or me, or anything at all?’
    ‘I know you are
unhappy,’ he said softly. ‘And it distresses me to see someone so young and
beautiful in tears.’
    ‘If I