Mr. Malcolm's List (20 page)

After
some time spent that way, she heard a knock on the door and Julia joined her,
to give her all the details of her own courtship and engagement.
 
The two girls were up until the wee hours of
the morning, whispering and talking and giggling, and entering into arguments
over which of their beaux was the worthier.

Selina
was still in a good mood when she awoke the next morning, and quickly changed
into her dark green habit in order to go riding with Malcolm.
 
She joined the others in the breakfast-room,
and pretended not to notice when most of her fellow diners watched she and
Malcolm like they were animals in a menagerie.
 

Later,
while she and Malcolm were riding, she asked him if he’d told anyone about
their false betrothal.

“Only my
mother,” he said.
 
“Why?
 
Did you tell anyone?”

“I only
told Julia.
 
But I felt at breakfast like
some of the others might know as well.”

“Oh,
really, what gave you that impression?” Malcolm asked, although he had formed
the same opinion himself.

“The way
they were observing us,” Selina said, and shrugged.
 
“Oh, well, it is probably my imagination.”

“I am
sure it is,” Malcolm said, worried lest she refuse to carry on the pretense and
leave before the three days were up.
 
He
introduced her to everyone he saw that morning as “Miss Selina Dalton, my
intended wife.”
 
When he even stopped a
passing farmer to introduce her, Selina protested.

“Malcolm,
I am sure that man does not care that I am your fiancé.
 
He is not one of your tenants.
 
I do not think he is even from this county,”
she said, once the farmer had driven on.

“That is
true.
 
I thought I recognized him, but
it’s obvious I mistook him for someone else.”

Selina
just smiled and shook her head.
 
She was
not going to protest too much.
 
She had
to admit she liked the way it sounded when Malcolm performed the
introductions.
 
Almost as if he were
proud that she was his future wife, real or imagined.

Malcolm
was
proud of Selina.
 
She was so beautiful,
so kind, so much the lady, that he was very pleased to be able to tell people
she was his affianced bride.
 
And he was
determined to ensure the match was as real in her mind as it was in his.
 
Half of the three days were already gone, so
he hadn’t much time to lose.
 
When he
reached up to help her from her horse, he almost told her of his feelings
then.
 
She was looking down at him, a
sweet smile on her face.
 
His hands were
around her tiny waist, and he had an overwhelming desire to pull her into his
arms, a desire that he thought he saw reflected in her eyes.
 
He was about to act on that desire, when a
groom suddenly appeared and he was forced to release her.
 
She seemed as disappointed at the
interruption as he.
 
He had no other
choice but to escort her into the house.

Malcolm
was correct in thinking that Selina was disappointed at the interruption.
 
She had thought herself close to being kissed
very soundly, and was irritated that they were always interrupted at the most
inopportune moments.
 
She returned to her
chamber to change into an afternoon gown, and stood in front of the closet for
quite some time, trying to decide which gown would incite Malcolm to declare
his undying love for her.

Selina
was still standing in front of the closet, dressed in her riding habit, when
she heard a knock at the door.
 
“Come
in,” she called absently, still staring into the closet.
 
She thought it was probably Mary, come to
help her dress.
 
She did not even turn
around, and so was taken completely by surprise when Cassie said, “Selina, you
must come with me at once.”

“What?”
she said, turning to look at him.
 
He
appeared extremely agitated; he was nearly wringing his hands in worry.
 
“Is something the matter?”

“It most
certainly is.
 
I haven’t got time to tell
you all the details; we must go down to the stables at once.”
 
He put his hand under her elbow and began
leading her out of the room and down the stairs.
 
Cassie was considerably taller than Selina,
and she was hampered by the long skirts of her habit, so she was distracted
from questioning him too intently.
 
She
was focused instead on trying to keep from tripping on her skirt and breaking
her neck.

“Cassie,
could you stop pushing me?
 
I am about to
tumble headlong down the stairs,” Selina said in exasperation.

“We must
hurry,” he replied, leading her through the front entry hall and down the
steps.
 
A curricle was standing in front
of the hall with a groom holding the horses.

“Why must
we hurry?
 
You have not told me what is
wrong.
 
Is one of the horses ill?”
 
Selina knew Cassie was generally more
concerned about horses than people, although what he thought she could do to
help she couldn’t fathom.

“No, it’s
much worse than that.
 
Julia’s run off.”

“What do
you mean ‘run off’?
 
Where would she go?”

“I don’t
know.
 
It’s probably some scheme of
hers.
 
But if we don’t get her back soon,
she’s going to ruin her chances with Ossory.
 
He doesn’t think too highly of her scheming.”
 
As Cassie was talking he was urging Selina
into a curricle.
 
She had no desire to go
anywhere, particularly not on some wild goose chase searching for Julia, but
her protests went unheeded, and before she realized it Cassie was leading his
horses down the drive and onto the main road.

“If you
don’t know where Julia is, where are we going?”

“To an
inn in Tunbridge Wells.
 
She mentioned it
last night.
 
I think that’s probably
where she’s gone.”

“But
why?
 
She spoke to me last night and she
said nothing of going anywhere.
 
Why
would she go off by herself and risk ruining her reputation when she’s so close
to becoming engaged to Mr. Ossory?”

“Why are
you asking so many questions?” Cassie said, looking sulky.
 
“I told you I don’t know.
 
I’ve never been able to figure out what
Julia’s thinking.
 
I just know she’s
always thinking up stupid schemes to make my life difficult.”

Selina
had to acknowledge this was true, but she thought it strange that Julia hadn’t
intimated anything of the sort in their conversation last night.
 
But Cassie was evidently not in the mood to
talk so she stopped questioning him.
 
She
did notice however, that he had not taken the road to Tunbridge Wells.
 
He was going in the direction of
London
.

“Cassie,
you’re going the wrong way,” she told him.

“Eh?
 
No, I don’t think so.
 
Why don’t you look at the pretty flowers?”

“You are
definitely going the wrong way.
 
This
road goes to
London
.
 
You should have turned back there for
Tunbridge Wells.
 
I saw the sign.”

“I know
where I’m going.
 
By Jove, look at the
pretty rose bush,” he said, pointing at a rhododendron.

Selina
was frustrated beyond belief.
 
She could
not imagine why she’d let this yahoo ever talk her into going anywhere with
him.
 
She reached over and grabbed his
hands that held the reins and pulled as hard as she could.
 

“Selina!”
Cassie yelled at her, as the horses reared back in confusion.
 
“Are you trying to kill us?
 
Don’t do that.”
 
Selina knew this was her only chance to
escape.
 
The ground looked awfully far
away, but so was
London
,
and she had no intention of spending hours on a journey there with Cassie.
 
So before the horses had a chance to resume
their previous speed, she stood up in the curricle, preparing to jump.

“Hey,
what’s that you’re doing?” Cassie shouted, pulling the horses to a halt with
one hand and grabbing the back of Selina’s dress with another.
 
She was extremely relieved she hadn’t had to
jump while they were moving.
 
Now that
she was standing up, the ground looked even further away.

“I have
no intention of going with you to
London
,
Cassie.
 
So please explain to me right
now what all of this is about.”

Cassie
sighed, running a hand through his already thoroughly disheveled hair.
 
“Women!” he said disgustedly.
 
“You can never just do as you’re told.”

“From
what I recall you haven’t
told
me anything,” Selina said, resuming her
seat.

“It’s for
your own good, don’t you see?
 
I left a
note.
 
The others think we’re
eloping.
 
I told them that since Malcolm
wasn’t prepared to do the honorable thing, I was going to.”

“You did
what?” Selina asked in disbelief.
 
“Why?”

“Julia
told me the engagement was just a farce.
 
I thought Malcolm needed some help coming to the sticking point.
 
Now that he knows Ossory is interested in
Julia, you needed someone else to make him jealous.
 
I was happy to oblige.”

“Did
Julia and Henry know about this, or was it your idea entirely?”

“It was
entirely my own idea,” Cassie said, looking smug.

“Well,
while I appreciate your concern, I hardly think abducting me in the middle of
the afternoon will induce Malcolm to propose.
 
He’ll probably just think it’s another attempt to deceive him, which
will have the effect of making him distrust me again.”

“Dash it,
I never thought of that.”

“Yes,
well, there’s no harm done.
 
Why don’t we
just turn around and go back,” Selina said.

Cassie
looked a little disappointed at the suggestion.
 
He had thought participating in an elopement, even a false one, was a
dashing thing to do.
 
He had no desire to
return meekly to Hadley Hall and spend the afternoon sitting in the saloon
taking tea.
 
He was a man of action.

Selina,
sensing his disappointment, said, “Perhaps you could teach me to drive your
curricle on the way home.”

Cassie
perked up a little at her remark.
 
He
could envision himself riding up the drive to Hadley Hall, his arms masterfully
around Selina as she held the reins.
 
Malcolm would have to sit up and take notice then.
 
“All right.
 
You need to learn.
 
Or else you’re
going to end up killing someone.
 
The
first lesson is never to yank the reins out of someone else’s hands,” he told
Selina, while wracking his brain to figure out a way to guarantee Malcolm would
see them together.
 

Seventeen

Cassie
could not believe his good fortune.
 
As
luck would have it, Malcolm exited the house just as he and Selina started up
the drive.
 
Selina had progressed to the
point in their lessons where she was fully able to hold the reins without
Cassie’s help, but when he saw Malcolm off in the distance Cassie immediately
threw his arms around Selina in a tight embrace, placing his hands on
hers.
 

Selina
was startled by this sudden move on Cassie’s part.
 
She twisted her body, trying to put distance
between herself and Cassie.
 
“What are
you doing?” she asked him, turning her head to look at him.

“Never
mind,” Cassie said, who was peering in Malcolm’s direction trying to see his
reaction.
 
“Just keep driving.”

“I can’t
drive when you’re on top of me like this.
 
You’re pulling the horses in the wrong direction.
 
Cassie!” she yelled, as she looked forward
and realized they were headed directly for the lake.

Cassie
turned at Selina’s scream and pulled hard on the reins.
 
He was able to turn the horses at the last
moment so they did not enter the water, but the curricle wheel sunk into the
damp ground at the edge of the lake and tipped sideways and Selina and Cassie
were tossed into the murky water.

The water
was shallow and they were not traveling very fast so Selina was not hurt, but
she was shocked to be suddenly capsized into the lake.
 
It was muddy where she landed and she was
bogged down even further by her long skirt.
 
She attempted to stand up and tripped and fell down backwards, landing
on her bottom.
 
Cassie was a foot or so
away, and she realized it was his leg she’d tripped over.
 
He hadn’t attempted to move; apparently he
had still not recovered from the shock of finding himself in the lake.
 
Before she could make a second attempt to get
up, Malcolm appeared on the scene.
 

He
observed them in silence for a moment, his expression serious.
 
“Is this some sort of bizarre mating ritual
with you, Selina?” Malcolm asked.

“That is
not funny in the least,” Selina replied, struggling to get up.

“I was
not attempting to be funny.
 
I am not at
all in the mood for jokes, having discovered the woman I am engaged to ran off
with another man.”

Selina
ceased her struggling, looking at Malcolm in disbelief.
 
“You cannot believe I would actually elope
with Cassie?”

Cassie
took umbrage at her tone.
 
“There’s no
need to be insulting.
 
Plenty of young
ladies would jump at the chance,” he muttered, but was ignored by both Selina
and Malcolm.

“I must
admit I thought it farfetched at first, but then to see you drive up
practically in his arms, well, what was I to think?”

“Exactly,”
Cassie offered, grinning at the success of his plot, and he was again ignored.

“That
your addlepated friend had abducted me and was intent on dumping me into the
lake,” Selina said.

“That
last bit wasn’t part of the plan, actually,” Cassie said.

“Oh,
please be quiet, both of you, and somebody help me out of this lake.”

Malcolm
was instantly remorseful.
 
He hadn’t really
believed Selina had eloped with Cassie, the idea was laughable, of course, but
he couldn’t help feeling pangs of jealousy when he saw
his
woman in the
arms of another man.
 
He knew he was
acting positively primeval but he couldn’t seem to help himself.
 
If Selina didn’t consent to marry him soon he
was sure to start grunting and pulling her around by the hair, while beating
any man who looked in her direction.

He
stepped as close as he could to the water, reaching out a hand to Selina.
 
He was so busy berating himself for his lack
of chivalry that he completely missed her wicked smile and the mischievous
gleam that lit her eyes before she pulled him in.

Malcolm
was shocked to find himself on his hands and knees in the cold water, with
Selina’s laughing face just inches from his own.
 
“Why you little vixen!” he said, reaching for
her with his muddy hands.

Selina’s
laugh turned into a little scream, but Malcolm merely splashed some water in
her face and pretended he was going to pull her under.
 
When he became aware that Cassie was laughing
at him as well, Malcolm splashed him for good measure.
 
Fairly soon the three of them were throwing
mud and water at each other while Selina giggled and shrieked, totally
oblivious to the fact that they’d attracted an audience.
 

It was
not until Lady Kilbourne very calmly said, “I see that we are going to need
more towels,” that the three stopped their horseplay and looked around.
 

Lady
Kilbourne was standing at the banks of the lake, along with Mr. and Mrs. Dalton
and Julia and Henry.
 
They all watched
with varying expressions of amusement and dismay.
 
Lady Kilbourne broke the silence again to
ask, “I know, Jeremy, that you and Selina are engaged, but who’s going to do
the proper thing for Lord Cassidy?”

Selina
quickly cleaned up and started down the stairs to join the others.
 
She was met at the foot of the stairs by
Malcolm, who told her that since Cassie’s note had been delivered directly to
him no one else knew of the aborted elopement, and that they should just tell
everyone that Cassie was giving Selina a driving lesson when the accident
occurred that launched them into the lake.

“Did
Cassie tell you why he attempted to elope with me?” Selina asked a little
fearfully.
 
She did not want Malcolm to
know it had been another ploy to entrap him.

“He was
overcome by your beauty, of course.
 
What
other reason could there be?” Malcolm answered lightly.
 
Selina thought that he must have figured out
the true reason but he did not appear bothered by it.
 
He had to realize that she would never have
willingly entered into such a harebrained scheme.

Malcolm
appeared to be on the verge of saying something else but they were interrupted,
and so they joined the others for luncheon.

The
entire party was gathered in the drawing room after luncheon when Malcolm
decided it was time to make his move.
 
Turning to Selina, he asked if she would care to join him for a walk in
the gardens.
 
He was surprised to see his
mother vehemently shaking her head no, just as Selina was nodding her head yes.

As he
excused himself from Selina to go speak to his mother, he heard Mrs.
Thistlewaite say, “Selina, dear, perhaps you’d do better to stay away from any
bodies of water on your walk, considering those other unfortunate incidents.
 
You know best, of course, but be careful not
to get too close.”
 

He did
not hear Selina’s reply, as he had reached his mother’s side and she’d begun
speaking, but he did hear a hastily suppressed snicker from Julia.

“Jeremy,
dear, what are you about to do?” Lady Kilbourne asked her son.

“I am
going to propose to Selina.
 
Properly,
this time.”

Lady
Kilbourne looked dismayed.
 
“Jeremy, I
don’t think you’ve thought this out sufficiently.
 
You can’t just walk Selina out on the terrace
and spring this on her, particularly after what has passed so far.
 
You need a grand gesture, some romantic deed
that conveys how much you love her.”
 
Lady Kilbourne paused, her finger on her chin.
 
“Maybe you could compose a song,” she finally
suggested.

“Mother,
I am not composing a song, and I’m not going to waste any more time with
elaborate strategies when the girl I love is leaving my house the day after
tomorrow, and I may lose whatever chance I have.
 
Now I appreciate all of your help thus far,
but I can handle it on my own from this point forward.”

 
“I must admit I have not been too impressed
with your wooing ability so far, but if you’re certain this is the best way to
go about it, I am sure you are right.”
 
Lady Kilbourne did not sound very convinced.

“I
appreciate the encouragement,” Malcolm said, walking away from her.

During
Malcolm’s hushed conversation with his mother on one side of the drawing room,
Mrs. Dalton had approached Selina on the other side.

“Selina,
I need to tell you something before you take a walk with Mr. Malcolm,” she
said.

“Yes,
Mama?”

Mrs.
Dalton looked a little uncomfortable.
 
“Now, dear, I know that you and Malcolm say that you are engaged, but
Lady Kilbourne told me, in the strictest confidence, of course, that it is
actually a pretense and that you refused Malcolm’s proposal.
 
Now don’t be upset with her,” Mrs. Dalton
said, as Selina started to speak, “she thought that I should know, and I think
that she was right to tell me.
 
I rather
wondered that you did not tell me yourself.”
 
Mrs. Dalton held up her hand when Selina would have spoken again.
 
“It’s all right, your father and I discussed
it and decided you were trying to spare our feelings—”

“’Your
father!’”
 
Selina repeated, finally able
to interject a comment.
 
“Papa knows, as
well?”

“I
couldn’t very well keep this kind of information from him.
 
You mightn’t have felt any compunction doing
so, but…at any rate,” Mrs. Dalton continued, when it was obvious Selina was
growing impatient, “I wanted to counsel you to accept Malcolm if he should
propose again.
 
I know that you admire
him, so I cannot quite understand why you did not accept his first
proposal.
 
I realize that some ladies
consider it fashionable to go around rejecting a gentleman’s first proposal,
but I must admit I didn’t expect that sort of behavior from you.
 
And if you reject another proposal, there may
not be a third.”

“I have
every intention of accepting this time, Mama, so do not worry yourself on that
score,” Selina told her.

“Wonderful!”
Mrs. Dalton said.
 
“Then I have nothing
left to say except I hope you enjoy your walk, and whatever you do, do not
allow Malcolm to coerce you into the water.”

It was
unfortunate that Malcolm returned to Selina’s side in time to hear Mrs.
Dalton’s last comment, but he manfully restrained himself from acknowledging
it.
 
With his most wooden expression, he
turned to Selina and offered his arm.
 
“Shall we go?”

They had
turned to leave the room when Cassie surprised everyone by saying, “It’s a nice
day for a walk, by Jove.
 
I think I will
join you.”

Malcolm
turned to glare at his friend.
 
“You were
not invited.”

Cassie
was pleased at the success of his strategy.
 
It was obvious Malcolm was fairly eaten up with jealousy.
 
But Cassie thought he still needed a little
further encouragement.
 
“I daresay I can
walk if I’d like.
 
This is not a ball; I
didn’t think I’d need a formal invitation.
 
What are you winking for, Malcolm?
 
Do you have something in your eye?”

Julia
came to Malcolm’s rescue before he could respond, much to his surprise.
 
“Cassie, please be quiet.
 
It is very obvious that Malcolm and Selina do
not wish company on their walk.”
 
Before
Malcolm could thank her for her kind interference, she rose from her seat next
to Henry to walk over to Malcolm and say in a whisper which was perfectly
audible to Selina,
 
“If you are taking
Selina away in order to propose to her, I think I owe it to her as her friend
to warn her of your less desirable qualities, as you were kind enough to do for
Henry last night.”

Malcolm
had reached the limit of his endurance.
 
In a tightly controlled voice that still managed to convey his
frustration, he announced to all those in the room, “Would you all please allow
me a moment’s privacy so that I may be permitted to propose to my fiancé?”

Into the
short silence that followed Malcolm’s painful entreaty a new voice said, “I
would think if the lady is your fiancé you would have already accomplished that
particular endeavor.”