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ROBERT COLLINGWOOD
Outside the study door,
Victoria straightened the skirts of her apple green muslin
grown, knocked softly and then went in. Jason was seated
behind his desk in a high-backed, leather-upholstered
chair, talking to a man in his early thirties. When they
saw her, both men stopped talking and arose in precise, if
accidental, unison – a simple movement that seemed to
emphasize the similarities between them. Like Jason, the
earl was tall and handsome and athletically built, but his
hair was sandy and his eyes were warm brown. He had the
same aura of calm authority Jason had, but he was less
frightening. Humor lurked in his eyes and his smile was
friendly rather than sardonic. Still, he did not look like
a man one would wish to have as an enemy.
“Forgive me for
staring,” Victoria said softly when Jason had finished
making the introductions. “But when I first saw you
standing together, I thought I saw a similarity between
you.”
“I’m certain you meant
that as a compliment, my lady,” Robert Collingwood said,
grinning.
“No,” Jason joked, “she
didn’t.”
Victoria thought
frantically for some suitable reply and could find none,
but she was spared further embarrassment by the earl, who
shot an indignant look at Jason and said. “What possible
answer can Miss Seaton make to that?
************
In front
of the house, the Earl of Collingwood lifted his wife down
from the carriage. “There they are, over there,” he told
his wife, nodding in the direction of the stable. Tucking
her hand affectionately in the crook of his arm, he
started across the lawns toward the other couple. “Smile,”
he teased in a whisper when her steps lagged. ‘You look as
if you’re going to face an executioner.”
“Which
is more or less how I feel,” Caroline admitted, shooting
him a sheepish smile. “I know you will laugh, but Lord
Fielding rather frightens me.” She nodded at her husband’s
astonished look. “I am not the only one who feels so –
nearly everyone is in awe of him.”
“Jason
is a brilliant man, Caroline. I’ve made enormous returns
on every investment he’s been kind enough to recommend to
me.”
“Perhaps, but he is still horridly unapproachable and . .
. and forbidding, for all that. Moreover, he is capable of
giving the kind of crushing setdowns that make one
positively wish to sink. Why, last month, he told Miss
Farraday that he dislikes simpering females – particularly
those who cling to his arm while they are simpering.”
“What
did Miss Faraday say to that?”
“What
could she say? She was clinging to his arm and simpering
at the same time. It was most embarrassing.”
Ignoring
her husband’s meaningful grin, she smooth her white gloves
over her long fingers. “What women see in him, I cant
imagine, yet they continually make cakes of themselves
when he is about. True, he’s rich as Croesus, with six
estates of his own and heaven knows how many pounds a year
– and, of course, he’ll be the next Duke of Atherton, too.
And I’ll do him the justice to admit he’s uncommonly
handsome – “
“But you
can’t understand what women see in him?” her husband
teased, chuckling.
Caroline
shook her head, lowering her voice as they neared the
couple. “His manners are not at all nice. Quite the
contrary – he is shockingly blunt!”
“When a
man is relentlessly pursued for his wealth and title, he
should be excused for losing his patience now and then.”
* * * * *
*
Several
hours later, at another table, Robert Collingwood heard
the news of the duel, but he did not take it so lightly.
Excusing himself from the company of his friends, he left
the club and went to the Duke of Atherton’s London
residence, where Jason had been staying. After waiting
nearly an hour for Jason to return, Robert coerced the
sleepy butler into awakening Jason’s valet. As a result of
much urging and persuasion, the valet returned earlier
from escorting Lady Victoria to a rout, and then gone to
visit a certain female at No. 21 in Williams Street.
Robert
bounded into his carriage and gave his driver the Williams
Street address, “Make it quick,” he ordered.
His loud
knocking finally awakened a sleepy French maid, who opened
the door and discreetly denied any knowledge of Lord
Fielding. “Fetch your mistress to me at once,” Robert
ordered her impatiently. “I haven’t much time.” The maid
cast a quick look beyond him, saw the crest upon his
coach, hesitated, and then went upstairs.
After
another long wait, a lovely brunette wrapped in a filmy
dressing gown came down the stairs. “What on earth is
amiss, Lord Collingwood?” Sybil asked.
“Is
Jason here?” Robert demanded.
Sybil
nodded immediately.
“Tell
him Crowley and Wiltshire are dueling over Victoria at
dawn in the grove at Crowley’s place,” Robert told her.
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