An Escapade and an Engagement by Annie Burrows Page B

bad
influence on Milly?’
    ‘Not intentionally. And so far you have done her a great deal
of good. She has taken advice from you regarding her dress and manners that she
would never have taken from me. But was it wise to bring her here, tonight, for
example? Is it really kind of you to introduce her to a world in which she can
never have so much as a toehold?’
    She firmed her mouth mutinously. Milly could have very much
more than a toehold if he would only relinquish his absurd belief that he ought
to be making a splendid dynastic marriage. If she became his countess people
might talk for a while, but the novelty would soon wear off. There would be some
other scandal brewing, somewhere, to make them lose interest—particularly if she
behaved well.
    ‘You must have noticed how many looks have been directed at our
box tonight,’ he persisted. ‘Everyone wants to know who my guests are. And if
they don’t know, they will make it their business to find out. You know what
nasty minds people have. How long do you think it will be before somebody jumps
to the conclusion that I have foisted my mistress on you? You would become a
laughing stock.’
    ‘Much I care for that,’ she said, militantly lifting her
chin.
    ‘Your loyalty is commendable, but in this instance it is not
very wise.’
    She supposed she could see his point. People would want to know
who Milly was now that she had been seen in public in such elevated company. And
people were always prepared to think the worst. They
would never credit any man behaving with such generosity towards a woman of
lowly birth unless she was his mistress. And he had gone to such pains to shield
Milly from precisely this sort of conjecture.
    ‘Oh…’ No wonder he’d been so cross with her for bringing Milly
along tonight. All that talk about not wanting her to become a laughing stock was so fustian. It was Milly’s reputation he was
trying to protect.
    ‘This ruse has gone far enough. I cannot permit the association
between you two girls to continue.’
    ‘What?’ She had been on the verge of apologising for exposing
Milly to public scrutiny, and promising she would carry on the friendship with
more discretion in future. But now he expected her to drop Milly altogether?
Just when she was going to be most in need of a real friend?
    Breaking off with Harry was going to be the hardest thing she’d
ever done. But at least she’d thought she would have Milly to turn to for
consolation in the aftermath.
    But if Lord Ledbury had his way her life would descend into
that same dreary round that had pitched her into Harry’s arms in the first
place. Only now it would be far harder to bear because for a short while she’d
discovered what it felt like to have a friend, a girl of her own age, who had
given her a glimpse into a world she’d only ever been able to dream of.
    For years she had yearned for some kind of adventure. She had
sometimes wondered, wistfully, what it would have been like to have been the
Earl of Caxton’s other granddaughter. The one who had got away from England and
its stuffy rules and restrictions altogether. Lady Jayne might not actually be
having an adventure now, but hearing Milly talk about hers was almost as
good.
    And then again, once Harry was out of the picture, Lord Ledbury
would no longer need to pretend any interest in her, either. He would openly
court other women whilst cutting her dead. Not that she wanted to marry him, or
anyone else—not this Season. That was not the point.
    The point was… Well, she couldn’t think what the point was when
he made her so cross. She was sure she didn’t know why being set at a distance
from him should bother her in the least, when he was so overbearing and
critical…and…and he had no right to tell her with whom she might be friends! She
had defied her own grandfather when he’d tried to dictate to her on just such a
matter. Should she meekly fall in with Lord Ledbury’s orders?
    Absolutely not!
    She