His Obsession (7 page)

Winifred chuckled, poking at her lopsided
coiffure. “Well, that wasn’t very graceful, was it?”

“Are you injured, my lady?” Kate
inquired.

“No, thank you, dear,” Lady Faversham
replied, rubbing her derriere. “I’m afraid it’s only my pride.”

“Let me help you up,” Richard offered.

Kate stepped back a little as Richard and the
butler eased the woman back onto her feet. Once upright, however,
Winifred winced and quickly shifted her weight to one side.

“My lady?” Kate worried.

“Perhaps I hurt a little bit more than just
my pride,” Winifred acknowledged. “Take me back inside, will
you?”

Richard swept the older woman into his arms
as though she weighed no more than a feather. With ease, he climbed
the steps back into the house and bore the older woman into the
parlor. There, Richard lowered Lady Faversham onto one of the
settees. Kate and two of the other servants positioned pillows
behind her and under her apparently injured ankle.

“May I ascertain whether anything is broken?”
Richard inquired.

“Please,” Winifred responded and briskly
hoisted her skirt up to her pale knee.

Winifred winked at Kate and motioned her
closer.

“The last time I had a handsome man like that
bending over me was a good thirty years ago,” Winifred whispered to
her.

“My lady,” Kate gasped in mock horror. “How
scandalous!”

“Indeed. I married him two weeks later, too,”
Winifred replied. “Ow! That’s a little tender.”

Frowning, Richard sat back on his haunches.
“Well, there’s nothing broken, but you did twist your ankle.”

“Oh, dear.”

“I’ll tell the driver we won’t be needing the
carriage after all,” Richard gravely announced.

“Nonsense, dear boy,” Winifred chided.

“Surely, my lady, you cannot proceed like
this?” Richard asked. “The ride would be excruciating.”

“Of course not, but that shouldn’t stop you
two,” Lady Faversham reasoned.

Kate’s eyes widened at her suggestion. “My
lady, it wouldn’t be proper if we simply -”

“It’s a beautiful day. You young people
should go out and enjoy it,” Winifred replied. “Besides, the driver
will be there, won’t he? You really don’t need me at all.”

“Perhaps my mother then?” Kate suggested.

The butler cleared his throat and stepped
forward. “Forgive me, my lady, but I believe she just left with
your sisters, Lord Winslow and Viscount Marbury.”

“Oh.”

Kate could sense her hopes for a lovely
afternoon in the earl’s company dwindling quickly.

“Go on, you two!” Lady Faversham urged. “Now,
I’ll not hear of any foolishness. I expect you to be on your best
behavior, Warwick.”

Kate glanced back and forth between Lady
Faversham and the Earl of Devonshire. Richard grinned in response.
Apparently, everything had already been arranged.

“Believe me, I shall be a perfect gentleman,”
Richard promised the older woman.

Leaving Lady Faversham in the capable hands
of the servants, Richard once more assisted Kate into the carriage
and they were off. The driver took them beyond the gates and onto a
country road beyond the estate.

It was, indeed, a lovely day. It would have
been a shame to miss it. The sun was shining with a warm, yellow
glow and here or there, a stray leaf of flaming red or gold drifted
by on the wind. An arrow of geese crossed over their heads on their
way south for the winter and Kate glimpsed a large yellow tabby cat
sunning itself from the lush grass beside the road. Kate couldn’t
help sighing in contentment.

Glancing over at her companion, Kate found
the earl was watching her intently. It was difficult to gauge his
emotions and Kate tugged nervously at the edges of her gloves.

“Why do you stare at me so?” Kate finally had
the courage to ask.

“Should I not?” Richard asked. “I thought we
were here to enjoy the beauty of nature.”

“We are,” Kate confirmed.

“I am merely doing that, Lady Overton.”

Blushing under his praise, Kate quickly
glanced away. Richard unfolded his long arm along the back of her
seat, neatly trapping her against the side of the carriage. Kate
could feel the earl’s dark gaze burning her with its intensity.

“My lord, please,” Kate softly pleaded.
“You’re doing it again.”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“The way you – the way you look at me, it
makes me feel as though I’m hardly wearing anything at all,” Kate
whispered.

Richard grinned roguishly. “Fear not, my
lady. I have no intention of ravishing you. At least, not yet.”

Kate blushed furiously and Richard
chuckled.

“You puzzle me, Lady Overton,” Richard said
thoughtfully.

“My lord?”

“Why haven’t you married?” Richard
demanded.

“Sir!” Kate gasped. “You’re being
impertinent.”

Richard Warwick appeared anything but
apologetic.

“Besides,” Kate went on. “Dorothea and Helen
must wed before me. Everyone knows that.”

“Oh, I see,” the earl acknowledged.

“Yes. They are older than I am, you see,”
Kate explained.

“And is that the only reason?”

“They both have the latest gowns, gloves and
shoes made of the finest leather and their hats are all the rage on
the Continent,” Kate noted. “They are much better equipped than I
to find someone with whom they can share the rest of their
lives.”

“You feel that is all that’s important in
securing a suitable husband?” Richard demanded with a frown.

Apparently, Kate’s attempt to impress the
earl had fallen short somehow. Most young swains would have been
enraptured by a woman’s new gown or chapeau. They might have
simpered, gushed and glowed with enthusiasm. Not so, the Earl of
Devonshire. Kate stared at Richard in puzzlement.

“A woman must look her best to attract
suitors, don’t you agree, my lord?” Kate softly asked.

“Perhaps on the surface,” Richard grimly
replied. “However, a man usually looks for more than that in a
wife.”

The driver overheard part of their
conversation and turned his head, grinning all the while. At
Richard’s glower, however, the driver quickly returned his
attention to the horses.

“What would you look for, my lord?” Kate
challenged.

“Hum?”

“In a wife, my lord,” Kate clarified. “I
believe you’re still unmarried. What would you look for in a
potential bride?”

Richard smiled indulgently. “I believe you’ll
find my tastes a trifle unusual, Lady Overton.”

Kate frowned, then raised her eyebrows with
sudden understanding. “You prefer men, then?”

Richard coughed and shifted to the other side
of the coach. So much for the shy and retiring Lady Overton.
Apparently, there was more to the woman than met the eye. However,
Richard Warwick liked a good challenge.

“Very well. I’ll tell you,” Richard began. “I
like a woman with a good head on her shoulders. I have no use for a
silly female without a single thought in her head except for the
latest gossip or the cut of a lady’s gown. She must be poised and
gracious, the perfect hostess.”

Kate crossed her arms in silent challenge.
“And what of beauty, my lord?”

“Well, yes, if that’s possible.”

“I thought so,” Kate acknowledged in
triumph.

“I want children, Lady Overton. I’ll not rear
a house full of dogs,” Richard quipped.

Kate laughed openly and Richard found himself
grinning at the merry sound. He rather liked it.

“And would you add modest and shy to your
list of virtues? What about a woman who is chaste and demure?” Kate
suggested.

“God willing. Of course,” Richard agreed.
“I’d rather not spend the rest of my days confronting former lovers
or challenging suitors for her hand.”

Sadly, Kate shook her head, a smile curving
her lips. “You’ll never meet such a paragon of virtue.”

Leaning back against the back of the seat,
Richard crossed his arms as his dark eyes speared Kate from across
the coach.

“You might be surprised, Lady Overton. You
might be surprised.”

Later that evening, Viscount Marbury happily
claimed Kate for dinner. Although Kate found his company pleasant
enough and he was conversant on a suitable number of subjects, she
was secretly bored. The man chattered on almost non-stop about his
estates or his latest victory at cards. Indeed, Kate could just as
well have been a vacant chair at the table for all of the notice he
took of her.

Unfortunately, Kate couldn’t say the same for
her sisters. Helen and Lord Winslow couldn’t seem to stop staring
at each other across the table. Kate’s mother and father appeared
delighted by the young man’s interest. Kate wouldn’t be surprised
if Lord Winslow proposed within the next day or two.

Viscount Marbury sat several chairs away from
Dorothea. Clearly, he was unhappy with the seating arrangements,
but his eyes never left Dorothea as the meal progressed.

Dorothea had apparently made her choice, too.
Seated beside the handsome Earl of Devonshire, she positively
glowed with happiness. To all outward appearances, Richard was
suitably attentive to his dinner partner, but the glance or two he
cast Kate were filled with anything but amusement.

Kate was startled by the intensity of the
earl’s gaze. With but one look, Richard seared her with his dark
brown eyes. His stare was probing and intimate, asking questions
for which Kate had no answers. The earl made her decidedly nervous.
So, Kate attempted to ignore him during dinner and she was grateful
when the Overton coach and horses finally led them away toward the
sanctuary of home.

The following day, Lord Winslow came to call
at the Overton estate. He was followed shortly by the Earl of
Devonshire and Viscount Marbury, who had apparently shared the
earl’s opulent blue coach on their way to the manor.

Penelope grasped her husband’s hand in
excitement, as Lord Winslow requested the opportunity to speak with
Helen alone for a few moments. Penelope swiftly ordered tea for her
guests and the group settled into the parlor to await the much
anticipated happy news.

The squeal of joy that pierced their ears
from the library a few minutes later was all too conclusive. With
Helen in tow, looking radiant as ever, Lord Winslow then asked to
speak with her father about a matter of some importance. The two
men retired to the study.

“You’ll see, Kate,” Dorothea whispered into
Kate’s ear. “The earl is quite taken with me, too. I expect a
proposal any day now.”

Although she was stricken by Dorothea’s
declaration, Kate bravely averted her eyes and tried to smile at
those seated across the room from her. Soon, her green eyes came to
rest on Richard Warwick. The earl returned her gaze, then for some
reason, he abruptly rose to his feet.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll take a turn about
the gardens, if you don’t mind?” Richard suggested.

“Yes, of course, my lord,” Penelope readily
agreed. “The remaining flowers are really quite lovely.”

Kate’s eyes followed the large gentleman as
he exited the room. Even as Penelope served the tea and the
conversation flowed around her, Kate’s gaze strayed repeatedly to
the earl as he slowly walked the familiar paths outside.

Eventually, Viscount Marbury suggested that
he’d like to see the gardens, as well, and Kate politely escorted
him outside. Once outside, Kate reached down to pluck a yellow mum
from the side of the path and twirled it thoughtfully between her
fingers.

“Did you hear me, Lady Overton?” the viscount
asked.

“Hum?” Kate asked, abruptly coming to her
senses.

Lionel seemed pained.

“I’m sorry. I was wool gathering. What were
you saying?” Kate inquired.

“I was saying that you and I seem to get
along rather well, don’t you think?” Viscount Marbury suggested.
“We are compatible.”

Kate could neither agree nor disagree with
Lionel. She hadn’t been born yesterday. In a moment, she realized
what the viscount might be leading up to. Good heavens, the man was
going to ask her to marry him!

She didn’t love the viscount. Kate didn’t
love any man, if truth be told, and she doubted that she ever
would. Viscount Marbury wanted a woman he could wear on his arm
like a fancy little bauble. He didn’t really care what she felt or
thought about anything, as long as his intended bride conformed to
his way of thinking. Indeed, Kate mused, Dorothea might have suited
him better.

“So, I can only hope that you feel the same
way, dear girl,” Lionel declared.

Kate glanced up to see the viscount looking
at her expectantly.

“I don’t expect an answer right away, of
course, if you’d like a little time to get to know me better. I
will need to speak with your father, too, so that there is an
understanding between us,” Marbury continued.

“Yes,” Kate responded, nervously fingering
the lace at her throat. “That might be best.”

Marbury’s face lit up. “Then you’ll consider
me?”

Kate’s eyes widened in alarm.

“Sir, please understand that I -”

“I know you’ll say yes! I just know it,”
Lionel gushed. “You must!”

“Must?” Kate questioned with a frown of
annoyance. “My lord, I really don’t think that you understand me at
all.”

“I must speak with your father immediately!”
Marbury declared.

Tucking Kate’s hand into the curve of his
elbow, Marbury drew her back toward the house. The irritating man
pontificated all of the way. Kate was quite pleased to bid him
adieu as a servant directed the viscount toward her father’s
study.

Their guests lingered for luncheon, and
eventually departed. Lord Winslow was hard pressed to leave his
intended. Clearly, Frederick and Helen seemed to be very much in
love and Kate was pleased that her sister had made such a good
match.