Courting Miss Vallois by Gail Whitiker Page A

English.’
    â€˜But he said nothing impertinent, Robert.’ Jane’s smile was as bright as a new penny. ‘In fact, I do believe it is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. Merci beaucoup, Monsieur Vallois. ’
    â€˜De rien.’ Mr Vallois held her gaze a moment longer before addressing Robert. ‘Please accept my apology, Mr Silverton. It was not my intention to offend. Only to express an opinion that a beautiful lady’s smile is truly a lovely thing to behold.’ He touched the brim of his hat. ‘Enjoy your afternoon.’
    Robert stiffly inclined his head. He knew his feelings of resentment towards the French were not shared by his sister, but the strength of his conviction was such that he could not be happy about seeing her offered a compliment by one, especially one as handsome as Antoine Vallois. A man she barely knew, but who had the ability to make her blush. Damn his charming ways.
    â€˜Mr Silverton?’
    And now the sister sought to distract him. He turned to see her watching him with those perceptive blue eyes, the question on her face a direct result of the confrontation that had just taken place. Had she guessed at the nature of his thoughts? Figured out that his hostility towards her brother stemmed from a natural antipathy towards her countrymen? Judging from the way her smile dimmed as he handed her into the carriage, she knew something was amiss. But he wasn’t about to let it trouble him. For Jane’s sake, he would be pleasant, but that was all. He wasn’t looking for a wife and he certainly had no intention of making the exquisite Miss Vallois his mistress.
    She had made it perfectly clear at the Black Swan Inn that she’d prefer the company of the horses rather than have anything to do with him.
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    Sophie knew they weren’t off to a promising start. After settling her in the seat beside his sister, Mr Silverton had climbed back into the driver’s seat, picked up the reins and set the team off without a word. It wasn’t that he was rude, simply that he was distant. And whether that was a result of the stilted conversation he’d just had with Antoine, or of her unwelcome presence in the carriage, Sophie had no idea. All she knew was that the tension was as sharp as a finely honed blade—and that it cut with equal facility.
    Fortunately, Miss Silverton, with her delightful sense of humour, tried to lighten the mood by alternately paying her brother no mind, or teasing him to distraction. ‘I keep telling Robert that he needs to get on with his life before he becomes a doddering old foolno woman is interested in,’ she confided as they drove through the gates into the Park, ‘but he refuses to listen. He simply tells me I must find a husband and settle down. But really, Miss Vallois, at eight-and-twenty, what gentleman is going to look at me with marriage in mind? I do not have sufficient wealth to make up for the loss of my youth or agility—’
    â€˜Jane—’
    â€˜And now he is going to scold me for having suggested that my handicap stands in the way of my making a good marriage. He believes it does not, but you and I know better.’
    â€˜On the contrary,’ Sophie said, ‘I watched you at the ball last evening and though you did not dance, you got around very well in all other respects.’
    â€˜There, you see, Jane,’ Mr Silverton said over his shoulder. ‘Miss Vallois has not known you above a day, yet she is already of the opinion that your leg is not the handicap you claim it to be.’
    â€˜I wonder.’ Miss Silverton sent a sidelong glance at Sophie. ‘What would your brother say about my handicap, Miss Vallois? He is studying to be a doctor, after all, and is likely to be less emotional about such things.’
    â€˜I would venture to say it is the last thing Antoine would concern himself with,’ Sophie said without hesitation.