Looking rueful, Freddie hurried to wipe his mouth with his napkin and sat down again, his fair complexion showing his embarrassment as he fell all over himself to apologize. “I sincerely beg your pardon, Miss Ellis. This is the second time I have chewed my feet upon meeting you. You must think me a clunch.”

She

smiled gently. “A charming clunch, perhaps. But truthfully, Mr. Lunsford, it is refreshing to encounter a gentleman who doesn’t mince words. In fact, you remind me favorably of my younger brother, Gerard. He seems to have a taste for feet as well.”

Freddie grinned and looked relieved. “Did you walk all this way from Danvers Hall?” he asked while the majordomo poured her coffee and brought various dishes from the sideboard for her to choose from.

“It was not so far—barely a half mile. I enjoy walking, and the Danvers housekeeper advised me how to access the path between the two estates. The view of the river is lovely with the autumn colors beginning to show.”

Then speaking directly to Rayne, she lowered her voice enough so that Bramsley could not overhear. “I have a serious bone to pick with you, my lord.”

Rayne dismissed the majordomo as soon as her plate was served. Bramsley had been with him for many years and could be trusted implicitly, but there was no point in having an audience if Miss Ellis wanted to have it out with him.

As Rayne expected, she waited until the servant was gone before taking him to task. “Mr. Lunsford seems to have developed a knack for apologizing. You could learn from him, my lord.”

“Oh?” He observed her over his coffee cup. “Do I owe you an apology, Miss Ellis?”

“You know you do—for abandoning me at Danvers Hall. Granted, you said your social manners are lacking, but even you should realize it is exceedingly gauche to impose on a hostess with no warning.”

Her tone was light, her expression quite pleasant, yet Freddie Lunsford’s eyebrows shot up. He was not accustomed to seeing the Earl of Haviland subjected to a scolding.

Nor was the earl himself.

Rayne drank a swallow of coffee before replying in a casual drawl, “By now Lady Danvers likely knows to expect less than civilized behavior from me. You can always lay the blame at my door.”

Miss Ellis had a ready reply. “But she will expect high standards from me if I am to teach at her academy. I will have to prove myself worthy from the very start. So you see why I would rather not be tarred by your same brush before I even meet her?”

“Indeed, I do see. But will you give me no credit for attempting to protect your reputation?”

She smiled sweetly. “Certainly I will. But for a brilliant spymaster, I expected better from you. You are clever enough to have thought your way out of my dilemma.”

“In my own defense, I had to decide on the spur of the moment.”

“A rather weak defense, is that not?” she replied, fixing him with her candid gaze. “I confess disappointment that you failed to live up to your vaunted reputation, Lord Haviland.”

Rayne had to wonder if Miss Ellis was purposely baiting him. At least her bright eyes suggested she was enjoying putting him on the defensive.

And she continued in that same light vein when she added, “I will contrive to forgive you, my lord. But naturally I could not remain at the Hall this morning. After Lady Danvers arrives home, I would be obliged if you would escort me there and perform the introductions. Until then, I mean to batten myself on you. You did make yourself responsible for me, after all.”

Rayne inclined his head. “So I did,” he agreed with growing amusement. “You are welcome to take refuge here for as long as you like.”

“Thank you.” Miss Ellis turned back to Freddie as she buttered a scone. “I believe it is I who owes you an apology this time, Mr. Lunsford. I did not mean to overset your plans last evening or to interrupt your conversation with Lord Haviland this morning. Please feel free to continue. I believe you were discussing searching for some letters in a particular lady’s boudoir?”

Freddie nearly choked on his eggs, while Rayne had to bite back a laugh. He was certain now that Miss Ellis meant to be provoking, perhaps as retribution for abandoning her last night. And evidently she had overheard his plan to steal Freddie’s letters back and drawn her own conclusions.

When Freddie gazed at her in dismay, Miss Ellis smiled in sympathy. “It was clear last evening that you are in a predicament, Mr. Lunsford.”

“You could say so,” he replied morosely.

“I assume this was an affair of the heart?”

“Well … not precisely.”

“Then what was it?”

Rayne broke in before Freddie mired himself any deeper. “I suggest you stow it, old son. You always have been too loose-lipped for your own good.”

Miss Ellis, however, ignored Rayne’s suggestion. “Certainly I don’t wish to pry, Mr. Lunsford, but is there any way I may help? I should like to repay Lord Haviland for arranging an employment interview for me, even if I cannot like his high-handed methods.”

Tags: Nicole Jordan Courtship Wars Historical
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