The Wicked Baron. Sarah Mallory

bonnet of leghorn straw from her for Carlotta…’

      Mrs Ainslowe laughed gaily. ‘Then you will be all the rage, my dear, and we shall all be looking daggers at you when you wear it! But this is your first time in London, is it not, Miss Rivington? Tell me how you find Bond Street.’

      ‘Exhausting,’ Lady Broxted answered before Carlotta could speak. ‘My poor niece is crying quits before we have completed even one side of the street, which is a great shame, because I did so want to visit the silk mercers of Covent Garden.’

      Carlotta gave a rueful smile. ‘I am sure one soon grows accustomed, but it is all so new to me. You must forgive me; my senses are quite overcome by so many shops, so many wonderful things displayed. I am very much afraid that if I have to make one more purchase, I shall be completely undone.’

      ‘Well, then, I have the very thing,’ cried Mrs Ainslowe. ‘We shall change partners. Lady Broxted and I will finish our shopping together while Darvell escorts Miss Rivington back to Berkeley Square.’

      ‘Oh, no, ma’am!’ cried Carlotta, appalled. ‘Truly I am not tired, I was merely funning.’

      Luke bent a frowning look upon his sister-in-law. ‘Pray, Adele, do not be so overbearing.’

      She gave him a mischievous smile, but turned to address Carlotta. ‘My dear Miss Rivington, I can see that you are quite done up. You must accept this opportunity to rest. Let Darvell take you home; he dislikes shopping as much as you and has been wishing himself elsewhere for the past hour. Your aunt and I can enjoy ourselves for a while longer, then we shall follow you. What do you say, Lady Broxted?’

      ‘You are looking a little tired, Carlotta.’

      ‘No, really, I couldn’t leave you, Aunt—’

      Mrs Ainslowe raised her hand. ‘Do not think we are putting ourselves out for you, Miss Rivington. This arrangement will suit us all. And you need not fear any impropriety; one of Lady Broxted’s footmen shall walk behind you.’

      ‘Well, if Lord Darvell does not object to taking my niece home…’

      Carlotta could see that her aunt was weakening. ‘No, really, I could not impose upon Lord Darvell!’

      She was ignored. Lord Darvell was bowing.

      ‘Nothing would give me greater pleasure, ma’am.’ He spoke with studied indifference and Carlotta cringed. ‘Well, Miss Rivington, shall we leave these ladies to their hedonistic pursuits?’

      She was trapped. There was nothing she could say that would not sound churlish and ungrateful.

      ‘There, now!’ cried Mrs Ainslowe, beaming. ‘Take good care of her, Luke. Tell James I shall send for the carriage later to collect me from Broxted House.’

      The two parties went their separate ways. Carlotta stared ahead of her. At Malberry she had wanted nothing more than to be alone with Luke but here, even with Lady Broxted’s footman walking a few paces behind, she felt very tense. It was as though she was walking beside a wild beast. A tiger, perhaps, that might pounce on her at any moment. However, when he spoke, Luke’s tone was perfectly polite.

      ‘My new sister is a minx,’ he remarked. ‘She likes to organise everyone her own way. I must apologise for her.’

      ‘Not at all,’ murmured Carlotta cautiously. ‘I like her; she is very…very refreshing.’

      He laughed. ‘When you have known her a little longer, you will call her exhausting. She has so much energy to expend on her friends, especially when it comes to matchmaking. Tell Adele your requirements, Miss Rivington, and she will have you fixed up with a rich husband before you can blink an eye.’

      Hellfire! Luke swore under his breath. What had made him say that? He had been surprised at the lightness of spirit he felt at the prospect of having Carlotta to himself for the short walk to Berkeley Square. She looked so pretty with that straw bonnet framing her face, the dark brown ribbons matching her eyes. He wanted to put their quarrel behind them, but his joking remark had come too soon. He sensed her drawing away from him.

      ‘I beg your pardon, I—’

      She waved her hand, saying airily, ‘Pray do not apologise, my lord, it is an excellent notion. I am sure Mrs Ainslowe must know all the most eligible gentlemen in town. And she will not be shocked by my ambition—after all, your brother married her for her fortune, did he not?’

      Luke ground his teeth. ‘I’ll have you know that James is very much in love with his wife!’

      ‘I am sure he is,’ came the honey-sweet reply. ‘But I’d wager the fortune does not detract from their happiness. Perhaps we could ask him, for he is even now approaching us.’

      ‘We shall do no such thing,’ he retorted as James hailed them from across the street.

      ‘Luke, well met!’

      James tossed a coin to the crossing sweeper and came up to them, a look of enquiry upon his features. Luke performed the introduction almost reluctantly and Carlotta held out her hand.

      ‘Mr Ainslowe, how do you do, sir? I was speaking to your wife but ten minutes since.’

      Luke glanced down at the little figure beside him. She was smiling shyly up at James, showing no sign of the scheming minx he knew her to be. James, damn him, was beaming back at her, obviously enchanted.

      ‘Were you, by Gad? I thought she had prevailed upon Luke here to take her shopping.’

      ‘She did, but she has met a kindred spirit in Lady Broxted,’ explained Luke. ‘Miss Rivington, however, has made her purchases and I am escorting her back to Broxted House. Where are you going, brother? I did not know you would be coming out today or I would have let you escort your own wife.’

      ‘It wasn’t my plan to come this way, but I was at Brooks’s last evening with a party of friends, and I am now off to collect my winnings from Sir Gilbert Mattingwood. Quite rolled up, he is. Poor Gil, almost lost his boots last night and did not have the means to pay me, so he told me to call on him today at his lodgings in Dean Street, which is where I am going now.’ He took out his watch and studied it. ‘By Jove, is that the time? I had best get on; there is a house sale in Curzon Street later today and I thought I might give it a look. I fancy there are one or two nice pieces of Sèvres that would look very well at Malberry Court. So—your servant, Miss Rivington; good day to you, Luke.’

      James strode away and Luke set off again. He was aware that Carlotta was watching him and said irritably, ‘Very well, I will admit that James could not be fitting out his house in such grand style if Adele had not brought a fortune with her. But there is a very strong affection between them.’

      ‘I am sure there is,’ was all she would say, but her soothing tones made his fingers itch to strangle her.

      He took his leave of her at the door of Lord Broxted’s residence, but as he bowed over her hand, a thought struck him. ‘Tell me, Miss Rivington, once you have married your fortune, how do you propose to enjoy it, if you are so ill disposed to shop?’

      There was a flash of anger in her eyes but it was gone in a moment. She said haughtily, ‘It is the proximity of all those other shoppers that disgusts me, my lord. When I have my fortune, then the merchants will come to me.’

      As the door closed behind her, Carlotta felt an immediate surge of remorse that her antipathy for Lord Darvell had prompted her to utter such an ill-bred comment. She ran up to her room, trying to shut out the look of surprised contempt that she had seen in his face at her words. It was the second time she had seen that look in his eyes and it hurt, even though she knew she deserved it. She sat before her mirror and tried to tidy her curls, which had been sadly flattened by her bonnet.

      ‘What if he does think me mercenary?’ she asked her reflection. ‘I do not care a fig for his opinion!’

      Nevertheless, the feeling of guilt persisted, even though she tempered it with anger