Lucas almost choked at those words. How brazen could she get? Derbyshire cleared his throat, looking slightly red, while Lady Derbyshire frowned at the younger woman.
“Do you talk like this all the time, Lady Marcia?” she asked in a clipped voice. “You shouldn’t talk in such a manner. People might get the wrong idea.”
“Forgive me, My Lady. I didn’t mean to upset anyone.” From the glint in her eyes as she looked at Lucas, she wasn’t apologetic at all. “Would you escort me into breakfast, Lord Dashwood? I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“I’ll let you know once you sit me down.”
Lucas could tell he would have to play mind games with the woman. He didn’t think he could get out of this. Fighting back a sigh, he held out his arm.
“Then let’s go, My Lady. Although you might be doing all the talking as I’m going to be eating.”
Lady Marcia smirked.
“I’m sure we can manage around that.”
#
“It looks like it’s going to rain shortly,” Gabriel commented, looking up at the sky with a frown. “I don’t see it being dry and pleasant for long.”
Dorothy also looked up and saw that the clouds had gathered even more. There had been just a few earlier that morning when she and Frederica had gone for their walk with Gabriel, but now the blue sky was gone, and it was just a dark grey. She could just about see the sun behind a cloud, but the light illuminating the puffy ball in the sky was starting to fade.
“What is the rain like out here?” she asked. “Is it bad?”
“As bad as it could be in the Peak District,” Frederica commented. “Aunt Annabelle said it could come down out of nowhere and drench you to the skin.”
“That doesn’t sound very good if we get caught in it.”
“We’re almost at the house.” Frederica tugged her arm. “I’m sure Gabriel will look after us if we are still outside when the rain comes down. He does have a jacket, after all.”
Gabriel pretended to look affronted.
“Do you think I would hand over my jacket when I’m trying to keep myself dry?”
“Aren’t you a gentleman?” Frederica shot back.
“Maybe I am, but how can I split my coat between you and Dorothy?”
Dorothy laughed at their banter, tugging her shawl around her shoulders. She was glad she had brought that with her after looking out after breakfast. Even though it was a lovely day, there was a slight chill in the air, enough that any sensible person would be inside and refusing to come out despite the beautiful scenery.
But Dorothy had needed to get out. She couldn’t be in the same room as Lucas Dashwood. She didn’t want to look at him, and the mere sound of his voice left her struggling to breathe. It made her want to run the other way and go back to her bedchamber, but instead of doing what she wanted, Dorothy had straightened her back and had her breakfast, sitting at the far end of the table to Dashwood.
Even then, she couldn’t drown out the sound of him talking or the giggling coming from Lady Marcia. She was giving Dashwood a lot of attention, touching his arm and sniggering at whatever he was saying. It was sickening, and Dorothy didn’t want to hear it.
At least Frederica seemed to understand that she was struggling. She had kept Dorothy distracted throughout breakfast, talking about the different things they could do in the area and how they should explore as much as they could. When Gabriel joined them, he had also helped to focus Dorothy’s attention on them and not on the man who had messed her around for most of the previous year.
Even so, Dorothy couldn’t help glancing over at Dashwood. She wished that she hated him and that she could look at him with disgust. Instead, a flutter in her chest left her a little light-headed. In the cold light of day, he was still good-looking, and he was, unfortunately, still attractive to her. God, Dorothy wished that he wasn’t. It would be so much easier to dislike him after the way he behaved.
Part of her had wanted to go up to him and demand to know what he was thinking after treating her in such a way. But that would cause a scene, and from how Lady Marcia kept glancing at her with a sneer, she would be delighted to see Dorothy break her composure.
She wouldn’t give the wench the satisfaction. As far as Dorothy was concerned, she could have Dashwood.
Even as she kept telling herself that, it made her feel nauseous.
“Erm, Dorothy?” Gabriel waved a hand in front of her face. “Are you still with us?”
“What? Oh, right.” Dorothy shook herself. “Forgive me, I haven’t been the best company this morning, have I?”