“Letty, for heaven’s sake! I was funning you,” Callie said, then lowered her voice to say, “he kissed my mouth and I…I kissed him back. In truth I have been able to think of little else.”
“Oh, my.”
Oh, my indeed.
“Do you like the viscount? Because I do not think you can marry him and then his father marry mamma. Is that…is that even legal?”
She flushed hot, and annoyance prickled her spine. “Letty you go too far. It was just a few kisses and you are suggesting marriage! I do not even like him!”
Her sister folded her arms beneath her bosom and arched an elegant brow. “Then why did you allow him liberties?”
Callie closed her eyes briefly. “I…I feel a bit foolish to say this but when he kisses me, I feel like he is the center of a storm and I am happy to be caught in it.” An odd sensation quivered low in her belly.
Letty appeared at loss for words for several seconds, then said, “Is he courting you?”
“He has no favorable intentions.” And Callie did not know if she wanted him to have any.
In round-eyed astonishment, her sister glared at her. “That leech! Ruining Vinnette did not satisfy—”
“He did not ruin her,” Callie blurted, disconcerted by how she wanted to defend him. Did she dare to really like the viscount?
“Oh,” Letty said, her ire deflated. “Still…what did he mean by his kisses?” she asked with naïve curiosity.
Callie lifted a shoulder in a shrug, not wanting to admit she had wondered the same thing for hours. Was he interested in her, or was he playing the libertine? “I do not want to think about that now…we need to direct all our efforts to Mama. She was refusing to come down this morning for fear of encountering the earl.”
“Yes, I heard all those mutterings about the dreadful mistake she made. It took much convincing for her to accept the earl’s invitation to a stroll this morning,” Letty said with a heavy sigh. “Why did he not asked her to dance at last night’s soiree. It is evident the earl is shamelessly besotted. He danced with three ladies and not once with mamma. She was miserable for it.”
“I think mamma is being too careful with her emotions, it makes her seems rather indifferent. Perhaps Lord Deerwood was uncertain. But he tried to make up for it this morning. We did shamefully eavesdrop, and the earl worked hard to persuade Mama to take a stroll with him,” Callie replied, wondering for the first time if she should allow the entire scheme to run its course naturally as the viscount suggested.
Then she recalled how delighted her mother had seemed before she’d allowed the fear to burrow into her heart. But what did she fear? “Letty…do you think Mama is afraid to love again?”
Letty swallowed, a shadow of pain darkening her eyes. “We all still miss Papa so dreadfully. Perhaps she is afraid. Mama did just now inform us we will quit the house party early!”
They shared a speaking glance, and said in unison, “She is running!”
Callie worried her bottom lip with her teeth. She wouldn’t want her mama to live with guilt about betraying Papa, and if there was a chance of that happening, then she may truly not be ready for a new love.
“Oh Letty, I have been so single-mindedly concentrated on securing Mama’s happiness, I never truly expected that she would resist the earl when she so plainly admires him. We must put a stop to the rowing!”
Letty nodded, and they hurried across the too-large lawns toward the lake in the distance. As they approached, she spied her mother peering up at the earl, a frown on her face. The man only seemed besotted while her mother appeared cautious.
“Mama,” Callie cried, pressing a hand atop her head to secure her bonnet under the sharp gust of wind.
Their mother turned and waved, a smile lighting her face. Their mother was still an extraordinarily gorgeous woman, without a hint of gray in her vibrant mass of primrose-colored hair. Her eyes were a pale green, and her figure had retained its elegant slenderness. As they drew closer, Callie spied the viscount ambling toward them from the impressive stables. He was devilishly handsome in an open black great-coat thrown over his dark blue jacket, gray waistcoat, dark trousers, and the de rigueur white shirt and cravat. His ebony hair was well groomed, and his beautiful dark blue eyes quickly scanned her body.
Her breath hitched and she gasped as mortification raced through her heart. Thankfully, she had worn her best gown today with a green redingote and a stylish matching bonnet. She knew she was fetching to look at, and the appreciative glint in his eye warmed her. Callie dearly hoped her attraction to the man wasn’t visible for all to see. Worse, she did not want him to now believe she was trying to set her cap for him!
She hurried her steps, wanting to reach her mama and save her from falling into the plot before the viscount arrived. But the wretched man increased his pace to match her strides. They arrived at their parents on the verge of breaking into all out sprints, as he blurted, “What a charming coincidence to find you here, Miss Middleton.”
Callie’s thoughts churned, and she glared at the viscount. “I was about to see if Mama wanted to play croquet with a few of us by the eastern side of the lawns.”
“The grounds are wet,” the earl inserted. “I would not recommend it.”
“Yes, and Lord Prescott is urgently searching for you, Father. Something about the news of an investment you are both a part of.”
The earl started in surprise. “He is?”
“Quite so,” the viscount drawled.