A Lesson in Pride (12 page)

Hope stood and walked to stand before Grant. Raising an eyebrow, she kept her eyes on Grant when she stated, “Why, Ally, you led us to believe that Lord Grant was old and infirm.”

Grant turned his head to look at Ginny with a smile on his face. “Old and infirm, am I?”

After taking a deep breath, Ginny felt more herself. “I never said you were old; they assumed it because you are a friend of my father's.”

Turning back to her stepdaughters, Grant gave him his best smile. “As you can see, ladies, I am not so old. As for infirm, you may have on my physician's expertise that I am as fit as a fiddle.”

“Yes, we can certainly see that for ourselves, my lord. I would say you were not a year over thirty.”

Gesturing to Hope and Ginny, Grant waited for them to take their seats before taking a chair for himself. When seated, he responded, “I am definitely above thirty, Miss Drake, and that is all I will say on that subject.”

Ginny sat mute as her stepdaughters and Grant took up the conversation. Feeling like a ninny, her mind wandered from topic to topic, hoping that she could come up with some witty repartee to contribute. The girls asked pointed questions about London and Grant offered his insight, all while Ginny sat in obvious silence. Finally, like a saving grace, Mr. Frommer appeared to announce dinner.

Hope stood with Charlotte and announced, “Please escort Ally, my lord. Charlotte and I can see to ourselves.” Hope grabbed Charlotte's arm and practically dragged her from the room.

Grant held out his arm to Ginny, who took it out habit. As soon as her fingers touched him, she was consumed by a wave of heat that permeated her body. Her mouth dried up and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, making speech once again impossible. Worse than that, Ginny could feel tears forming in her eyes. With her free hand, Ginny reached behind her and pinched as hard as she could. The pain made her more herself, tucking away the freakishly emotional Alysanne. Finally, she could speak.

“Where have you been all this time?” she blurted out accusingly. She stiffened in horror over her tone and immediately went to set things right. “God, that sounded awful. I had just expected to hear from you sooner.” Where was the lightning bolt when she really needed to be struck down?

Laughing, Grant said, “I was at one house party after another. I finally returned last night. I must say it is good to be home.”

“I hope you're not too worn out from your journey. I had hoped to talk to you about Ni... my father.” Ginny had gotten into the habit of referring to Alysanne's father as Nigel, mostly because she didn't even want to be remotely related to the scoundrel.

“Let us save that for when we can speak in private, Alysanne.”

“Of course,” Ginny responded just as they entered the dining room.

The staff had outdone themselves, probably because it had been so long since they'd had the chance to entertain. Drake would rarely invite people to his home, and no one had even lived in the townhouse for over a year. The room was lit with dozens of candles. The table had been set with the finest linens and china.

Hope and Charlotte were already seated, assisted by the footman. Grant pulled out Ginny's chair with the air of a seducer, formal but personal.

The meal went along companionably, with Hope and Charlotte asking an array of questions. Ginny almost felt sorry for Grant, as he barely had time to breathe between questions. Hope asked mostly about eligible bachelors, and Charlotte asked about the sights in London.

When the meal was over, they all returned to the parlor for tea. Ginny offered Grant some port, but he declined stating that he was too full from the delightful meal. After only one cup of tea, the girls excused themselves to go to bed. Ginny was grateful for their absence, knowing that she had to start laying the groundwork for a relationship. Grant would not likely be very forthcoming with two innocent girls in the room.

After taking one last sip of her now tepid tea, Ginny asked, “Do you know anything about my father?” The question was asked not out of any sort of feeling for the man, but out of a need to keep him at bay. The more information, the better was Ginny's philosophy.

“We parted ways shortly after you left London, Alysanne. He was very angry over Drake's will and threatened to expose you. He asked that I come forward as well. As that would have damaged you beyond repair, I refused. We have not spoken since.” Grant was a little uncomfortable making himself out to be a hero when he probably thought mostly of himself, but the thought of losing any of Alysanne's respect hurt him deeply.

“I see,” was all Ginny responded, the wheels of her head turning feverishly. She had no one else to ask and it made her unprepared for whatever the man had up his sleeve. Perhaps she could reach out to Robert, though any communication would be reported immediately to their father.

“Does it concern you?” Grant asked, watching her face for some clue.

“Yes. I admit that I don't like not knowing where he is. I have little doubt that he will be back to make as much trouble for me as possible.”

“Perhaps Robert found some rich girl to marry and your father is now focused on them?”

“Wouldn't you have heard if that was the case?”

Grant looked down at his empty teacup. “Most likely I would have. If they had left town, I may not have heard.”

“Are you worried?” Ginny asked, knowing that the scandal would leave him in just as bad of shape. There were few who didn't know just how ruthless Grant's father was.

“No,” Grant responded quickly. “Your father had ample opportunity over the past year to expose us. Perhaps he has an ulterior motive for leaving us be, but I think not. He most likely ran off to lick his wounds.”

It grew quiet and Ginny let her mind wander. It was then that Alysanne spoke up. “Have you thought about me during the past year?” As soon as the words passed her lips, Ginny wanted to lift her hands to cover her mouth. Dammit, she had to be more careful.

“Of course I have. I would have visited you in the country, but I was worried about gossip. No one has ever suspected as far as I have heard.”

Ginny looked into his eyes. Did he want this as much as Alysanne? Did their encounter a year earlier mean as much to him? What she saw on his face left her no more informed. He was a gentleman who was capable of hiding his feelings with the best of them. Unlike Ginny, or in this case, Alysanne, who wore her heart on her sleeve. Which was most likely the cause of his next statement.

“We cannot revisit last year, Alysanne. You are not a girl to be dallied with, and I respect you too much to break your heart.”

Blinking several times, it took Ginny a full minute to understand his meaning. It must have taken Alysanne less because Ginny experienced a sharp pain piercing her chest. With her penchant for drama, Ginny thought that Alysanne's heart had actually broken.

Stifling the desire to scream, “Why not?” Ginny instead said, “If we are caught, I could lose my inheritance. We can't marry because we would be both be poor.”

“Exactly,” Grant whispered, looking at the fire to avoid her eyes. What he didn't say was that he could see that she was already in love with him, and he would never have considered himself cruel enough to use her in such a way. She was not part of his world and she would never likely be. That was exactly as it should be.

Returning his face to hers, he added, “You will need to find a man who can take care of you, Alysanne. Just as I need to find a girl with enough of a dowry that she can take care of me.”

A chuckle crossed Ginny's lips, signaling that there was still part of her involved in this convoluted story. “We are quite a pair, Grant. If only you had been born first.”

“I would make an abysmal duke. I have no stomach for it.”

Wanting to give him something, though she could not claim any real knowledge of his personality, Ginny said, “You would make a great duke, Grant. You would be generous, kind, and mannered. All the things your father decided were not necessary.”

His half-smile crossed his lips, but not the one he used to seduce women. It was the smile he reserved for those who made him feel good about himself. Something that happened far less often than it should.

“Thank you, Alysanne. You are not the girl I met all those years ago. You are by far the best of women, of people. I count myself fortunate to be called your friend.”

With a half-smile of her own, signaling impending sarcasm, Ginny responded, “Yes, you are lucky, Grant. I'm pretty wonderful.”

Grant laughed. No woman genuinely made him laugh any longer. Most were more interested in having him invade their beds. A strong desire to grab her came over him. It must have shown on his face, because in a second, Alysanne's expression changed as well. Before he could act on it, he stood and walked toward the door.

“It is late and I must be off. Perhaps you could arrange an outing with the girls this week. Charlotte was most interested in seeing some of the gardens and museums around town.”

Ginny watched him run off and thought it a good sign. Something would happen that would allow them to be together. She only had to be patient. After a year in the country, she had already been plenty patient, but there was little she could do to change the situation at the moment.

“Yes, of course. I'll send you a note tomorrow.”

Walking him to the door, Ginny watched as Mr. Frommer handed Grant his coat and hat. After disappearing out the door, Ginny turned and made her way to bed. Her mind whirled with plans on how to get Alysanne and Grant together. How hard could it be? It was a romance novel after all. Everything would work out in the end.

Chapter 15

As the weeks dragged on and the Season got into full swing, Ginny saw less and less of Grant. She would spot him occasionally at parties, but he would only speak enough to inquire about her health, then move off to flirt with some unhappily married woman.

With every brief encounter, Alysanne would grow more despondent. Like a bruise on an apple, Ginny wondered if eventually Alysanne's despair would consume her whole. She became snappy, unpleasant to be around and more sarcastic than usual. Even her stepdaughters avoided her when possible.

Finally, presumably having had enough, Hope cornered her in their family parlor one afternoon.

“Dear God, Ally, whatever has gotten into you? You have become such a bore lately.”

At the sound of censure, Ginny almost laughed. It wasn't as though she couldn't see what was happening. For some strange reason, she was sharing this story with the character she was supposed to be portraying. Instead of being left to her own devices, she was having to deal with some kind of strange split personality. It was wearing thin on Ginny, who would rather have been in her own home, her own time, her own space.

“I forgot how much I detested London,” she said in reply, knowing it would never fly past the astute Hope.

“Poppycock! Your attitude changed shortly after seeing Lord Grant. If he is who you want, why not discreetly pursue him? By the way he looked at you, he was most interested as well.”

“If only life were that easy,” Ginny said, taking a seat and inviting Hope to join her.

“He is a second son, and therefore in no way in line to receive any inheritance. I cannot marry or I will lose my inheritance.”

A saucy smile crossed Hope's face when she whispered, “Who said anything about marriage?”

Ginny's eye widened at the talk from her naïve stepdaughter. “Your father considered many possibilities when he drew up his new will. Isn't it entirely possible that he considered that if I'm caught in an affair, I would be cut off without a cent?”

Hope's smile diminished slightly until she stated, “Then do not get caught.”

Ginny did laugh then. “Oh, all right. I'll make sure I don't.”

“In all seriousness, Ally, my father was an evil man. He lived to make others unhappy. Now that he is dead, I hate to see you so.”

“If there is one thing I've learned from my life,” Ginny stated, when she really meant lives, “is that everything works out the way it's supposed to.”

She believed her own statement for exactly one more week. Then her world proved her dreadfully wrong.

Chapter 16

There was nothing left for him to do. His sister-in-law grew larger every day with the newest Bedford heir. The days of his carefree lifestyle were dwindling by the second. Grant's father was so certain that Alexandra was carrying a boy, that he was forgetting to give Grant his own allowance. The proverbial writing was on the wall and there was just nothing left for him to do.

Grant sat in his study chair, drink in hand, staring out the nearest window. His mind circled over and over his dilemma. He would be summarily cut off, but he had to find a wife first or it would be that much harder after the new heir was born.

He couldn't understand why this time felt so much more desperate. Alexandra had been pregnant before and it always worked out in his favor. For some reason he knew that this time would be different. The life inside his sister-in-law was male and he would become even more redundant.

Why the solitary contemplation? It was because he had decided on the girl. Miss Persephone Horton. Her father had made millions in manufacturing. He owned lumber mills, cotton mills, and coal mines. There were few things that Malcolm Horton didn't have his greedy little hands in. The one area the man had yet to conquer was the aristocracy. That would be where Grant came in.