The Lady and the Earl (16 page)

“Now is the best time to tell him, Allana,” Lilly said.  “In fact, I will leave you two alone so
you
have
to tell him.”

“But
Lilly, it’s humiliating—
”

“It was wrong, and you did the right thing.  There is nothing humiliating about it.  Do not let your pride come between you and your brother, Allana,” Lilly finished.  She smiled tenderly at Allana.
  Then she pulled away and slid off the bed with a grunt.
  “Besides, I could use a nap.  Being pregnant is exhausting.”  She winked at Connor, before adding, “Be gentle.”  Then she slipped out of the room.

Connor was now very curious.  Why was Allana afraid to tell him about her argument with Lucas?  “What happened
?” he
prodded.

She gave him a dark look.  “I suppose you’ll find out sooner or later,” she said irritably.  “You were right.”

He wa
s right? 
Right about what?
  Imp
atiently, he waited for her to elaborate.

“I
…
h
e
…
,
”
she trailed off as the tears began pouring down her cheeks.  S
he buried her face in her pillows in agony and frustration. 

Connor came by her side and wrapped a comforting arm around her.  “What did he do
?” he
asked quietly and soberly.  A sinking feeling was in his stomach as all the wors
t
possibilities
came to mind
.

“He…he…
o
h Connor, I’ve been so
foolish
.  I thought he loved me, but how could he do such a thing if he loved me?  It
’s preposterous.  He said it
mean
t nothing
, but…
.
”  She sobbed
into his arms. 

Connor had no idea what Allana was talking about.  What had the wretch done to his sister to make her so upset? 
“Allana, please.
  Slow down and tell me what happened,” Connor said as gently as he could. 

“I caught him with
the maid!” s
he said hysterically, pulling aw
ay in anger.  “They were—Oh!” s
he cried out
as she
st
ood
and kick
ed
the bed.  “I hate him,” she said heatedly.  “How could he do this?  I told him I never wanted to see him again, but he wouldn’t believe me.  He said he would never let me go.  Can you believe the nerve?” 

She looked miserable, and all Connor could feel was relief and joy.  His plans for his sister and the Earl could now begin.  Everything was perfect! 

Connor pushed his feelings aside to c
onsole his sister.  “Allana, it is
n’t
your fault.  It
’
s
his for being stupid.  You are too good for him.  He does not deserve you.” 

She laughed lightly.  “And I
was expecting to hear you say,
‘
I told you so
.
’
”  S
he shook her head sadly.  “You’
re so good to me, Connor.  I should have listened to you when you warned me about him.”  She walked over to the fireplace across the room from her bed and sat down in
the rocking chair that
faced it. 

“I really would like to be alone now,” she said, head bowed. 

“Are you certain?”
Connor asked.  He could see her nod in reply. 
“Very well.”
  He came over to her and kissed her forehead like he used to do so often.  “If you need me, you know where to find me.” 

She smiled up at him.  “Thank you.”

He ruffled her hair gently before turning to go.  “Wait, I know what will make you feel better.  How about going for a ride with me?  Riding always makes you feel better.”

“Where are you going
?” she
asked
,
contemplating the idea. 

“I’
m going to
Lord
Cunningham’s to…
,
” he stopped.  She wasn’t supposed to know about the hunting party just yet, or at least know
Declan
was going to be there.  “I
’
m going just for a visit.  We had some unfinished
business in London I thought I woul
d try to finalize.  Anyway, y
ou a
re more than welcome to
join me
.  Have you ever met him
?” he
asked.  She blushed furiously, and memories he thought were lost came back to him.  He thought the sherry had stripped his mind of those, but seeing her blush when Cunningham was mentioned
,
brought their conversation from his first night home back to him.  He smiled at
her reaction.  Her rosy cheeks
along with his
memories from his drunken night
told him Allana was infatuated with
Declan
.  It
was odd considering she’
d never
met the Earl before, and she’
d been so insistent upon
Lucas’s
courtship of her.  But it was promising as well.

“No,” she said a bit uncomfortably
.  Was she lying?
“But I saw him once talking to Father,” she added
.
 

Connor looked at her skeptically. 
She was hiding something from him.
  “Come with me
,
then, and meet him.  The ride will be good for you,” Connor said, hoping she would come so he could pry her secret from her.

“No.  No.  I need some time to myself,” she said. 

“If you’
re certain, I suppose I
wi
ll just have to go alone.”  He turned to leave, thinking she would change her mind. 

*
             
*
             
*

Allana
watched
Connor
walk away from her.  Maybe it was time she faced her
fear and forced herself to meet
Lord
Cunningham. 

Allana tried to call out and stop Connor from leaving, but she couldn’t do it.  Today
would not be the day.  To her surprise, Connor stopped just before slipping out of her room.

He turned and looked at her expectantly, and when she didn’t say anything he said, “So you really
aren’t
going to come?”

“Afraid not,” came her quiet reply.

H
e smiled understandingly. 
“Al
right, then.
 
Perhaps another time
.”

“Enjoy your ride,” she said.  He nodded, and she watched her chance to meet her Earl slip away as Connor left her room.

“Why not wait for me, Allana?”
Connor asked.  “
We could ride together. 
I will
take
Cherry, and you can ride Lancelot
as always
.”

Cherry was Lilly’s horse. 
Pregnancy was taking a toll on Lilly.  She
’d been
too exhausted over the past few days to exercise the beast herself, and thus Connor
was
doing it for her.  Allana had volunteered, but Connor insisted on doing it himself
,
except for today.  He was
busy and couldn’t
pull himself away from the work their father had him doing.

“No, I
will
do it, Connor.”

He sighed.  “I would feel better if it were me.”

“Why? 
Cherry is a good horse.  It’s not as if she would throw me,” Allana argued.

“
Actually, it is possible.
  She ha
s
been
lively
lately
and very uncooperative,
” Connor admitted.

“
Possible
?”
Allana asked in disbelief.  She laughed.  “I should be insulted.  She will not throw me, Connor. 
No horse has ever thrown me
, and I have ridden quite a few
lively
ones
.”

“I know, but she has been
ruthlessly stubborn
.  I t
hink she misses Lilly, and she’
s showing it.  Wait for me.  Let me come with you,” he pleaded.

Allana shook her head.  “I will be fine.  You must stop coddling me
.  Learn to
trust me
, Connor
.”

Connor sighe
d in resignation.  “Very well, but b
e careful.”

“I always am,” Allana replied as she left the house.

Allana rode Cherry to her secluded spot on Cunningham’s land.  Cherry was a beautiful, red
thorough-bred
Lord
Marcus Tananguard had given Lilly as a wedding gift.  Marcus had picked the horse for her spunk and red-colored coa
t, both of which mirrored Lilly
. 

Allana found it
humorous
her father had bought a horse because it reminded him of his wife.  Lilly found it endearing.  Lilly would do anything for the horse, and the horse would do anything for Lilly
.  But Cherry was usually quite well behaved for other riders as well.  Connor had either been correct about the animal’s behavior, or
he’d
been too forceful with her
in
the
past few days of riding her
, trying to shape her into the type of horse he preferred.  Either could explain Cherry’s defiance.  She was definitely acting up.
 
   

Allana prided herself in her knowledge of horses and
riding
expertise, but Cherry
was actually causing
her
to doubt her skills. 
The animal
was
being
ridiculous
.  Allana was struggling
to
keep her under control.  She ground her teeth irritably. 
Allana had ridden Cherry several times in the past, and she never had issues with the horse
before
.
 
But today Cherry was being
quite
stubborn. 
Twice the beast had reared on
her and all becau
se Allana wanted Cherry to go one way, and Cherry wanted to go another.  Luckily, Allana
m
anaged to win the battle between man and beast, safely making it to her secluded lake before any real mishaps could occur.

Allana relaxed by her spot pondering and eyeing Cherry with unease. 
Mischievous
animal,
Allana thought as she watched Cherry poke and prod her surroundings.  Allana wanted to relax, but
couldn’t
for fear Cherry might try to get away.  It was a preposterous
idea
since Allana had saved those briars
she’d
cut down years ago and
hidden her entrance to her lake with them
.
  She was quite pleased with her work too because o
nly she recognized it as a removable part of the wall of briars that guarded this spot from
intruders
.  But Cherry was curious, and she seemed willing to do anything to upset Allana.  The blasted horse knew where the
exit
was, which meant she could try to force her way through it.  And that thought kept Allana from
relaxing
.  It had been a week since
Lucas’s
betrayal, and all she wanted was a nice hour to
herself
where she could
forget
it. 
And today she was supposed to finally get that hour without another person bothering her. 
But no.
 
She had Cherry to worry about instead.

“Very well.
  You win,” Allana said irritably to the horse.  She sulked over to the animal and guided her back to the top of the cliff face then back to the makeshift gate
.  She removed it, guiding Cherry through before carefully replacing the barrier
, making it blend into its surroundings in order to keep her lake a secret. 

“Let’s go home,” Allana said, mounting Cherry and urging her forward. 

On
the ride home, instead of fighting Cherry for control, Allana gave the horse slack and let her pick her own path back to Tananguard
. 
Allana
needed to
think. 
She was
highly depressed since her misfortune with Lucas, wondering when and if she would ever marry. 
She’d
been so determined Lucas was the man for her she denied every other suitor who had come her way.  And now she couldn’t help wondering if she had lost her chance at marriage.  Would she ever find someone she could love, or had her infatuation with
Lord
Cunningham led her toward the miserable fate of
old maid?