Trondelaine Castle (21 page)

Gwen soon appeared. From her expression, it was clear the servants knew of and had been discussing
Kevin’s departure. From her increased deference, it
was also clear that the Earl’s proposal was not as great
a surprise in the kitchen as it had been to Wendy. She
sighed.

“Yes, Miss?” Gwen asked.

“Do you know where Mr. Wellscourt is to be
found?”

If Gwen was surprised at the question, she covered it
well. “In the orchard, I believe.”

“Thank you, Gwen.”

“Was there anything else, Miss?”

“No.” Wendy smiled. “I’m sorry to bother you about
it. I just seem to be a bit muddleheaded this morning.”

Gwen flashed an answering, conspiratorial grin, “I
understand, Miss!”

As the maid left, Wendy thought grimly, Do you? I
suspect you’ll all have a lot to gossip about this
afternoon! With another sigh, she left in search of
Tony. She fervently hoped he was where Gwen had
said.

She found him by the stream, staring at the water.
He was so intent on his thoughts that he did not hear
Wendy approaching. “Tony?” she said gently.

Startled, he turned swiftly. Then he spoke sardonically. “Well, well. I understand your boyfriend left.
Decided he wasn’t as good as an earl and it was time to
send him packing?”

“Oh, Tony, cut it out!” Wendy snapped unhappily.
“I’ve come to ask you to drive me to London.”

He looked startled and then wary. “Why?”

“Does it matter?” she asked wearily. “I thought
you’d be happy to see me go.”

Tony’s voice became curt. “Yes, frankly I am. How
soon can you be ready to leave?”

“I’m ready now. My suitcases are packed and just need to be carried out to the car,” she answered quietly.

“All right. I’ll take you back to London. Now. Let’s
retrieve your valises. And mine.”

Then he was striding back to the castle. When they
reached Wendy’s room, he said thoughtfully, “I’ll take
your things round the back way. Join me in ten minutes
at the drive. And do be careful. Shouldn’t want a scene
with Richard.”

“Not to worry,” she said grimly. “I’ve no wish to see
him either!”

As promised, Tony was waiting with his car when
she appeared. As he held the door for her, Wendy was
surprised to note that it was a Jaguar.

Seeing her expression, he gave an almost boyish
laugh and said, “Yes, it surprises most people. They
seem to assume an accountant would be too staid to
drive such a car.” Tony paused as he started the engine,
then continued, with a laugh, “They don’t know us
very well, do they?”

His good humor was infectious, particularly with the
sense of freedom and escape that Wendy felt. With an
answering grin she said, “Well, tell me, then, what are
accountants like?”

“Oh, at work, very serious. At home, secret
dreamers, bon vivants, highly sociable.” He laughed
again. “At any rate, I am. I don’t know how the rest of
my profession would react to that. But I think it’s true
for many of us.”

Wendy smiled, relaxing further. Tony drove well
and seemed to enjoy it. Leaning back in her seat, she
teased, “So you don’t spend weekends poring over
stock reports and financial statements?”

“Lord, no! I go riding, to the theater, dine out, all
manner of things. Or, if it’s been a difficult week, I leave
London and go hiking somewhere. Or sail on the
Thames.”

“Stop! Stop!” Wendy said in mock dismay. “You’re
shattering all my illusions.”

They laughed companionably. After a while, Tony
said, in a rather different tone, “You’ve only seen the
serious side of me, haven’t you? I’m sorry about that,
but I have been concerned.”

“I know,” Wendy replied gently.

Encouraged, he went on, “About Sylvia, of course,
and Richard. But even more, in the last week or so,
about you.” Wendy felt herself stiffening as he
continued, hesitantly, “I gather you’ve abandoned
your scheme, whatever it was, and I’m glad.” Wendy
felt herself go pale, then flush as he said, “You wouldn’t
have been happy with Richard, you know. You aren’t
the sort to be content with a title and money, if there’s
no love.”

“How perceptive of you!” Wendy said sarcastically.
“Are you sure you’re not just flattering me?”

Obviously distressed, Tony answered, “Wendy, I
know you’re upset. And you don’t like what I’m saying.
But it’s true, you know. You may not realize it now, but
you will eventually. Maybe in a year; maybe in ten
years. And I don’t want you to be unhappy. I want you
to think about what I have to say.”

“Why?” Wendy broke in. “Why should you care?
According to you I’m mercenary and hardhearted and
even a thief.”

For several moments, Tony was silent. Then he said
quietly, “Yes, I do think you’re all of those things-now. But I don’t think that’s what you want to be. I
think, that for whatever reason, you believe you
haven’t a choice. But you do. Wendy, you could be
such a lovely person if you only gave yourself a chance.
You don’t need to be wealthy or have a title to be
happy. Sometimes they even make it more difficult.”

Goaded too far, Wendy shook her head. “Nope. It’s too late. I don’t think I want to change my personality.
It’s fine the way it is.”

Tony clenched the steering wheel. Flushing, he said,
“Oh? They why did you leave Trondelaine?”

Wendy sobered quickly. Somehow there no longer
seemed to be any point in baiting Tony. “Because,” she
said quietly, “Lord Richard asked me to marry him.”

“What?”

“He asked me to marry him,” Wendy repeated,
evenly, “and I can’t. I don’t love him.”

More gently now, Tony replied, “Wendy, I might
believe Richard proposed something or other to you,
and you turned him down for one reason or another.
Maybe even because you didn’t love him. But I can’t
imagine him proposing marriage to you.”

“Why not? Because I’m American? Because of my
`evil’ character? I’m sorry, Tony, but he did propose
marriage. He seems to believe he loves me. Silly, isn’t
it?” she finished sarcastically.

Tony sighed. “No, he wouldn’t hold it against you
that you were an American. It’s simply that Richard
wouldn’t need to offer marriage. He would feel it
wasn’t necessary in order to get what he wanted. And
Richard never overpays.”

“I see.”

He glanced at her. “I say, I hope you’re not expecting
him to come after you with an offer of marriage? He
won’t, you know.” Wendy didn’t answer and, after a
moment, Tony slapped the steering wheel. “Damn it,
girl! I just don’t want to see you hurt. I don’t think
you’re nearly as hard as you claim to be. You deserve a
chance at happiness and you certainly shan’t find it
with Richard.”

Embarrassed, Wendy stared at Tony wordlessly.
Finally, she said quietly, “I am trying to see things the way you do. And almost, almost I can. Thank you for
caring, for wanting to help. And I’d hate to have you
stop caring about other people. But you really ought to
learn when it’s time to keep your nose out of other
people’s affairs!” Her voice had risen as she spoke and
Wendy was trembling slightly.

Tony didn’t answer and the rest of the trip was made
in silence. Even when he took her valises from the trunk
of the car, Tony said nothing to Wendy. Mainly, he was
asking himself why he cared so much what happened to
her. Surely, he’d never see her again. Unless Richard… “Goodbye,” he finally managed to say. “Take
care.”

Wendy stared at him for a moment. “I shall.
Goodbye, Tony.”

She turned and quickly walked toward the door as
Tony drove away.

He circled for a while, aimlessly, before heading over
to Sylvia’s townhouse. He had promised to visit her as
soon as he returned to London. Better get it over with.

“Tony, dear!” she exclaimed. “Come in! How are
you? How is Richard? Is-is that woman still there?”

He shook his head wearily. “No, I’ve just brought
her back to London. Richard-I don’t know. All right,
I guess. By the way, we found your bracelet, Syl.”

She evaded his eyes. “You must be famished. Shall
we have some tea and sandwiches?”

“Yes, thank you, Syl. But aren’t you happy about the
bracelet?”

“Let’s talk about that after we’ve eaten,” she said.
“I’ll be back in a moment, as soon as I’ve spoken with
Pamela about the tea things.”

Impatiently, Tony awaited her return. Sylvia was
more than a moment, however, and she was accompa Hied by the maid carrying a tray. So he stayed quiet,
waiting. Then Sylvia insisted on chattering about their
mutual friends.

Finally, when they were both leaning back, sipping
tea, Sylvia said, “About the bracelet, Tony. I’m, well,
very glad to have it back, of course. But it’s rather
embarrassing being reminded of what a stupid thing I
did. I gather Richard didn’t tell you his suspicions, so
I’ll have to confess. Tony, the day we left, I was so
angry I-I hid my bracelet in that young woman’s
room. And left a note saying it was missing. You don’t
have to say it, Tony! I know how bad it sounds. Worse,
I’ve only now got round to confessing to Richard. But
then, he was eager not to press charges against her
anyway.”

“I see.”

“Truly? I think perhaps you do, Tony. Poor dear,
I’ve been an endless amount of trouble to you. But at
least you needn’t worry about Richard and me
anymore. One thing this business has done is shocked
me into realizing no man is worth such stupidity.”

She paused, then added, “One of these days I shall
have to apologize personally to Miss Pratt. In the
meantime, I have been speaking with Margery. If she
cares to, Miss Pratt will be quite welcome to visit the
Hewitts. And anywhere else I have the entree.”

“But-but you know nothing about her!” Tony
protested. “I understand your desire to make amends,
but you should know Richard considers her a gold
digger.”

She smiled wryly. “Richard has always been a bit of
a fool about women, always either under - or overestimating them. But then, men usually do. Poor Tony,
you’re half in love with her, I should say, and yet you
are so suspicious. Why?”

He looked away. “Because she as much as admitted
everything.”

“When?”

“Most recently, on the ride back to London,” he
replied unhappily.

She laughed then, drawing an angry look from him.
“No, Tony, I may have been jealous of Miss Pratt. I still
am, a little. But, when I considered her realistically, I
knew she was telling the truth when she said she had no
designs on Richard. And women generally understand
each other better than men. I know, I know. The
confession. Hasn’t it occurred to you, my dear, that
you can be remarkably exasperating at times? And that
she may have been baiting you?”

“Perhaps,” he said unwillingly.

“Does it matter? No, you needn’t answer, Tony.
You’re very much afraid of being hurt again, aren’t
you? But I can reassure you about Miss-about
Wendy. Richard called. Just a little while ago. He
offered to marry her. This morning. And she refused
him. Richard doesn’t want to accept that, but he’ll have
to.,,

Tony stared at her. “Syl, do you think-”

She sighed. “That I don’t know.”

He stood abruptly. “I’ll call you, Syl. I’ve got to go
now. And thank you.”

She smiled gently. “Good luck, Tony. Lord knows
you deserve some!”

He kissed her on the cheek and hurried out the door.
An amazed butler caught it just in time to prevent the
door from slamming.

“Please, ma’am, I only want to speak to her for a few
minutes.”

“This is a respectable house, sir. I’ll not have men in the girls’ rooms. Besides, she particularly said she
wanted no callers.”

“But-oh, lord! All right. I shall simply have to
camp on your doorstep until she comes in or out!”

“Sir!” Scandalized, the woman slammed the door.

In spite of himself, Tony grinned and sat down on
the stoop to wait. A few minutes later, he saw her
slowly walking toward the house, head bent. Before she
could look up and perhaps turn away, he was standing
in front of Wendy. As expected, she tried to escape, but
he held her by the shoulders.

“No, you’re going to listen. Then you can send me
away if you want to. Wendy, I’ve been a jackass.
There’s no avoiding that. But I love you. I don’t expect
you to feel the same. Hell, I didn’t even mean to say that
yet. I just meant to ask you to forgive me and let me see
you. And I hoped that in time you might-you might
begin to care about me.”

He stopped, breathless, and Wendy protested, “But
Tony! You think I’m a crook and a gold digger!”

“Yes, you’re a very good actress,” he said sourly,
“but I’ve spoken to Sylvia, who has, among other
things, spoken with Richard. When I think of the way
you’ve been baiting me these past few weeks-”

There was a gleam in his eye and Wendy hastily
stepped backward with a laugh. “Well, you were rather
nasty, you know.”

Poor Mrs. Aylses was shocked then, as she peered
through the curtains at the brash young man who was
kissing her tenant. Such a nice young lady, too. So why
wasn’t she slapping his face?

Tony looked down at Wendy suspiciously. “I have
this odd notion my declaration of love was not so
premature, after all.”

Her head against his chest, Wendy smiled happily.
“I’ve just been thinking the same thing myself.”