Rendezvous by Amanda Quick Page B

the man was standing so close to Augusta.
    “Yes, of course. Belong to some of the same clubs, don’t we, Graystone?” Lovejoy turned to Augusta and caught her gloved hand in a gallant gesture. “I suppose I must relinquish you to your future lord and master, my dear,” he said as he brought her fingers to his lips. “I realize now that all is lost as far as I am concerned. I can only hope that you will feel some pity in your heart for the devastating blow you have delivered to me by getting yourself engaged to Graystone, here.”
    “I am sure you will recover quickly, sir.” Augusta retrieved her fingers and dismissed Lovejoy with a smile. She turned to Harry as the baron disappeared into the crowd.
    Her eyes held a certain challenging glitter and she looked flushed. It struck Harry that Augusta had had that oddly heightened color in her face on each of the two short occasions he had seen her since the engagement had been announced.
    He thought he knew the reason for the blush. Every time Augusta looked at him she was obviously rememberingtheir midnight rendezvous when she had wound up lying in his arms on the floor of his library. It was clear that Miss Ballinger, in spite of being descended of the Northumberland branch of the family, was horribly embarrassed by the memory. It was a good sign, Harry decided. It indicated the lady had some notion of propriety, after all.
    “Are you too warm, Augusta?” Harry asked with polite concern.
    She shook her head quickly. “No, no, I am fine, my lord. Now, then, have you come over here to ask me to dance, sir? Or to lecture me on some fine point of behavior?”
    “The latter.” Harry took her hand and led her out through the open windows into the garden.
    “I was afraid of that.” Augusta toyed with her fan as they crossed the terrace. Then she snapped it closed. “I have been doing a great deal of thinking, my lord.”
    “So have I.” Harry drew her to a halt near a stone bench. “Sit down, my dear. I believe we should talk.”
    “Oh, dear. I knew it would be like this.
I just knew it
.” She scowled up at him as she sank gracefully down onto the bench. “My lord, this is never going to work out. We may as well face it and be done with it.”
    “What is never going to work out?” Harry put one booted foot on the end of the bench and rested an elbow on his knee. He studied Augusta’s earnest face as she confronted him in the shadows. “Are you referring to our engagement, by any chance?”
    “I most certainly am. I have been going over this matter again and again and I cannot help but believe you truly are making a grave mistake. I want you to know that I am extremely honored by your offer, but I really feel that for both our sakes it would be best if I cried off.”
    “I would rather you did not do that, Augusta,” Harry said.
    “But, my lord, surely now that you have had time toconsider the matter you see that an alliance between us simply will not work.”
    “I think it can be made to work.”
    Augusta’s mouth tightened. She leaped to her feet. “What you mean, sir, is that you think you can force me to conform to your notions of proper female behavior.”
    “Do not put words in my mouth, Augusta.” Harry took her arm and forced her gently back down onto the bench. “What I meant was that I think that, with a little adjustment here and there, we shall deal very well together.”
    “And which one of us do you envision making the
adjustments
, my lord?”
    Harry sighed and directed his gaze thoughtfully toward the massive hedge behind Augusta. “Both of us will no doubt make the slight changes that are required by marriage.”
    “I see. Let us try being more specific here. Just what particular modifications do you see me having to make, sir?”
    “To begin with, I think it would be best if you did not dance the waltz with Lovejoy again. There is something I do not quite like about that man. And I noticed tonight that he has begun paying you a