Chapter Seven

I gnoring her beautiful face and how her breasts rose and fell with the exertion of her ride, Alex tried to sound reproachful.

"And then there is the matter of your appearance."

With Clarity's hair down around her shoulders, her cheeks colored with a blush that was spreading down the slender column of her neck, and her eyes sparkling with amusement, she was breathtaking.

More like a wild Gaelic princess than an English earl's daughter!

In fact, she looked like a woman who had been pleasured in bed, and well and truly satisfied. Every particle of his being yearned to take her in his arms and kiss her again. Maybe that was why he was being tweaguey.

"You are all disheveled," he groused.

"We used to race at Oak Grove," Clarity reminded him. "Even though I was years younger, I believe I beat you a few times."

He remembered it well, with her long dark braids flying out behind her. On the rare occasion she passed him, he'd wanted to grab hold of one of those braids and yank her back. They'd always laughed, especially when he'd thought nothing of tossing his cap at her head to slow her down.

Today, when he'd watched her approach with her hair streaming behind her like a Norse Valkyrie, he'd been stunned by her exquisite beauty. How he would love to see her raven hair spread out across his pillow while he made love to her.

Swallowing his desire, he focused on the dangerous game she was playing.

"When we were children, you only won because the pathways were more familiar to you, and the horses knew you, too, so they responded better."

Her tinkling laugh made him ache.

"Is that why I beat you?" Then she cocked her head. "We both know this path well enough. And each has their own horse. Shall we race back to my brother? He will be growing worried if I don't reappear soon."

"No," Alex said. "It's not safe. It is asinine to race in a public park."

"Nevertheless, are you ready?" she asked.

"No!" he protested. Knowing she was going to do it anyway, he tried to get closer to grab her reins.

She nudged her horse to dance just out of his reach.

"Oh, Alex, what harm can come of a little horse race?"

With that, she urged her horse into a quick run.

The devil!

Kicking his own horse into action, he trailed her for merely a few yards before his larger thoroughbred caught up and came astride her.

"Stop!" he yelled to her, but she hunkered down along her horse's neck plainly intent on winning, which was impossible given her jennet's shorter legs.

And then the next few moments happened too fast for Alex to say what precisely occurred. A ball came from the other side of the hedgerow ahead of them, and a young child abruptly appeared in their path.

While Alex could easily swerve to the left, he was penning Clarity in with nowhere to go except to the right, which she bravely did, slamming her horse into the yew hedge and falling onto the shrubbery, before tumbling over the other side.

In an instant, she had disappeared.

"Clarity," he yelled, yanking back on the reins before jumping from his horse and dashing past the child whose nanny had followed behind. The woman was flustered and shrieking so loudly he couldn't hear if Clarity was calling for help with her body twisted and broken.

Scrambling through the opening by which the child had come, he found her in a heap, with her long hair tangled in leaves and half her dress caught upon the dense hedge, causing her silk stockings to be scandalously on view. Her head was down, and she rested upon her forearms.

Falling to his knees beside her, he dreaded learning the extent of her injuries.

"Clarity."

She looked up at him, not a scratch on her face and no tears either.

"Gracious!" she exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting that!" Then she pushed herself up to sitting and tugged at her caught gown. "Ow!"

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"Mostly my pride, but can you disentangle my hair from the bush? It is pulling frightfully. I fear I shall be bald."

"That's why you should wear your hair properly tied back when riding," he admonished, but he couldn't help glancing at her slender legs before he wrenched her dress free.

"Please be a little gentler with my hair than you were with my gown," she said, sounding not the least distressed. "And for your information, my hair was properly pinned and even under a hat when I started."

"That's neither here nor there. Obviously, it is undone now and in a frightful state. As soon as it came unpinned, you should have stopped riding."

"Clarity," called another male voice.

"Adam!" she replied. "I'm over here. Alex is helping me."

He cringed at her use of his given name as her brother suddenly appeared through a break in the hedge.

"Are you hurt?" The heir to the Diamond's earldom at least asked a sensible first question.

"Not in the least," she said. "Thankfully the queen's gardeners have maintained a full hedge."

Her brother started to laugh, and she joined in.

"I cannot believe you two," Alex said, thinking he should knock their heads together if he ever managed to disentangle Clarity.

"Good day, Hollidge," Adam addressed him finally. "If we took all this seriously, then I would have to call you out for being alone with my sister behind the shrubbery, in the intimate action of grooming her."

The siblings laughed again, even harder.

"Buffoons," Alex muttered, not caring if they heard him. His heart had only just calmed to its regular rate. "There. You're free and with few hairs lost."

She offered him her hand when she ought to have outstretched it to her brother. Taking it, he rose and pulled her up beside him.

"That gown is ruined," her brother pointed out.

"Agreed," Clarity said.

"She could have broken an arm at the very least," Alex reminded them. The dress was hardly important.

"Nonsense," she said. "The very least was no injury at all, and that's what happened. I assume the child is fine or someone would have told me."

"Yes," her brother said. "The nanny had already taken him by the hand and dragged him away as I ran up. I think she feared she was going to be reprimanded for letting the toddlekin run onto the path like that."

"The boy could have been killed, too," Alex couldn't help pointing out, knowing he sounded like a worried crone. "Trampled under your horse's feet."

"At the very least," Clarity quipped, echoing his previous words.

She was mocking him, standing in a state of disarray with twigs in her hair and her gown half-shredded. He felt a bubble of amusement but attributed it to his great relief that she was uninjured.

Her brother went first back through the hedge, and then Clarity and Alex followed. Their horses stood nearby, eating grass.

"We didn't lose our mounts," Clarity said. "There is always a bright side."

Alex wanted to tell her what a remarkable woman she was. He couldn't imagine any other lady not in fits over such a mishap. However, he didn't wish to encourage her antics.

Instead, staring at her accusingly, he reminded her of her own words. "‘What harm?' you asked directly before doing something irresponsible."

She shrugged.

" Twice now you've asked that same question," he added.

Her lovely gaze flew to his, and they were both thinking of their ill-advised stroll in the garden and the even more foolhardy kiss. Her cheeks, now smudged with dirt, blushed a ruddy hue.

Adam gave them both an interested look, and Alex wished he hadn't said anything.

"I will leave you," he said to the Diamond heir, "to take your errant sister home safely. Good day!"

Feeling like a coward but needing to get far away from Clarity's alluring presence and her reckless behavior, Alex mounted his horse and rode away.

He didn't miss her calling after him, "Thank you for your help, Lord Hollidge!" emphasizing his title in a persnickety way that told him she was mocking him again.

What could he do but sigh? Every meeting proved her less suitable to be his viscountess, yet each time he was with Clarity, he wanted more of her.

A conundrum, indeed!

Entering the ballroom , Clarity cast her gaze over the crowd, scanning for Alex before she even had her fan out. He had well and truly made an impression upon her with that kiss. And when he'd rescued her from the vicious yew, restraining his fury at her predicament while plainly worried, something inside her shifted from fondness to a deeper sentiment.

All she knew for sure was she wouldn't mind repeating their kiss. Unfortunately, he would never agree to walk outside with her again. Besides, he had chosen a woman to be his wife, and for all Clarity knew, he had made a declaration of intent to the lady already.

That was, unless he wished to repeat their kiss as much as she did. He'd acted less friendly after the incident in Hyde Park when they'd both attended a dance two nights later. He'd steered clear of her. And now, she didn't know what reception she would receive when next they met.

"Are you going to stand there gawking?" Purity asked. "I nearly bumped into you."

"Then you should look where you're going," Clarity quipped. "That's what I am doing, looking to see which way I wish to go."

"I suggest we simply enter the fray," their mother said. "As it's too crowded to get our own table, I fear we shall have to stroll about the room all night while you girls each find your heart's desire."

"Mother!" Purity said.

"Why not?" her mother asked. "You know that's how I met your father. He was walking one way and I, the other, and we met near the musicians' dais. I couldn't hear a thing he said at first." She offered a beaming smile. "Not until we took a private stroll."

"Mother!" Purity exclaimed again. "I swear it is your red hair that makes you so devilish. What if Ray takes after you? You and Father will have to watch her like hawks."

Clarity led the way clockwise around the edge of the dance floor. Occasionally, a gentleman came up with the ball's manager who introduced him if he was unknown, first to their mother and then, with her permission, to each of her daughters.

They had their dance cards practically filled within fifteen minutes, and then Clarity stopped accepting partners until she determined if Alex were there.

At last, she saw him. Her heart lurched. He looked remarkably handsome for such a miserable man, and misery was the expression he was projecting to the rest of the guests while standing by himself on the edge of the throng.

Shaking her head, she approached him, knowing her mother and sister would follow.

"Good evening, Lord Hollidge. You are looking well." As well as an unhappy man could look!

"Good evening, Lady Clarity." He bowed and looked past her. "Good evening, Lady Diamond, Lady Purity. Is this the extent of your party tonight?"

"It is," her mother answered. "And you? Not that you need a chaperone, but are you joined by your aunt?"

"She prefers to remain at home."

Clarity smiled at him, wondering if he would pay her special notice after their last encounter. When he didn't, and the conversation tapered off, it meant they ought to move on, but she hesitated. Alex hadn't offered to partner with her or Purity for a dance yet.

"Are you dancing this evening?" she asked in the next breath, instantly feeling Purity's disapproval radiating like a hot coal beside her. Clarity knew it wasn't her place to make such an inquiry, as it was generally understood the gentleman should ask the questions, particularly those related to dancing.

"I have not secured any partners as yet," he said.

"I believe you have not grasped the way this works," Clarity told him. "You must set up your dances now. If you stand here as you are doing, like a pedestal, someone will give you a plant to hold, but you shall not get any dance partners unless you ask."

"Oh, gracious!" Purity said. "Thank goodness, Lord Hollidge is an old friend and will forgive your forwardness, your condescension, and your rudeness, dear sister."

"She is only trying to assist," Lady Diamond defended her, and Clarity sent her mother a grateful smile.

"Truthfully, I am," she told Alex, "but I concede I let my tongue run off."

When his gaze dropped to her mouth, her insides fluttered.

"Would you like to dance with us?" she offered when still he didn't ask.

"Clarity," her sister warned her.

"I appreciate your kindness," Alex said stiffly, "and I don't wish to give insult, but I must decline. I see no point in partnering with either one of you."

She heard her mother heave a low groan at his awkwardness. One simply didn't say such a thing to a lady.

"I called upon you, and you know my intent," he explained, while all three of the Diamond females remained speechless and staring at him. "If I understand how this works," he echoed Clarity's words, "you want dance partners who might be potential husbands, men who will request to visit with you. Thus, I would hate to waste your time as well as my own."

"Your logic is beyond reproach," Purity said, although Clarity knew by her sister's tone she was displeased with his words.

Unable to help herself, Clarity explained further. "While I agree with my sister that you are logical, an assembly such as this one is not merely a marriage market. It serves to provide entertainment, a way to make merry and enjoy oneself," she finished.

He stared without blinking. The notion was lost on him.

Purity added, "While we shall not take offense since you have explained yourself, other ladies will not take such a pragmatic view."

Alex frowned. "How do you mean?"

Clarity jumped in again. "For instance, you might have deigned to dance with us because you enjoy our company, regardless of any future hope for matrimonial ties. Also, it is considered the duty of single guests."

She had said it as plainly as she could, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. Apparently, Alex could not look past his appointed task purely to have fun.

"Enjoy your evening, my lord," was all her mother had to say before ushering her girls away.

"Such a pity," Purity remarked as soon as they were out of his hearing.

"I cannot believe anyone could change so drastically," their mother said. "He used to be such a happy boy and always wanting to be in the mix, either having fun or making it for others."

Clarity knew that fact more than anyone, and her heart squeezed painfully to think of him standing alone with no better intent than to find a wife. Right then, she decided she would approach him again during the evening and at least offer some companionship.

For her own part, she enjoyed most of her partners that night. Besides Lord Brennon, she was being courted by Lord Horwood, a marquess's younger son, and he was charming, smiling, and attentive — everything Alex was not.

When she stood wearily with her sister and mother in the assembly's final minutes, she was ready to remove her dancing slippers and consider it an evening well spent. Lord Brennon, who had just completed his second dance with her, bowed over her hand and departed. The man was enthusiastically stepping up to be the favorite if she wanted to make a match that year, as she'd told Alex she intended to do.

That had been partly bravado, seeing as how he'd dismissed her out of hand as a potential wife. Truthfully, she was in no hurry unless her heart dictated otherwise. Moreover, if Purity found someone to love before she did, it wouldn't bother her in the least.

"Penny for your thoughts," her sister said.

"Not worth the cost," Clarity insisted.

"As long as you are thinking of that dashing Lord Brennon and not musing upon Lord Hollidge."

Her sister knew her so well.

"Tell me who you liked this evening?" she asked Purity, sidestepping any focus on Alex.

"Yes," their mother said. "Did some lucky buck catch your eye?"

"I had some good partners," Purity allowed, "but I didn't feel any instant tingling as you once said you did with father."

Her mother blushed prettily. "Did I say that?"

"You did," Clarity agreed. "On your last anniversary when we'd all had too much spirits, I recall. You and father danced around the drawing room without any music."

"And the dance ended with a kiss that night, as it did the night you met," Purity added.

"Naughty girls," Lady Diamond said, but she was beaming. "It would be lovely if you each experienced some wonderful surge of feeling upon meeting your future husband for the first time."

Then she laughed. "Of course, your father and I didn't simply fall in love and stroll blissfully to the church, either. We had a few matters to work out."

"Tell us in the carriage," Clarity said. "I can't stand on my feet one more —"

She interrupted herself as she realized she was staring at Alex, deep in conversation with Miss Brambury. Somehow, maybe by the tilt of his head or the way he was focusing on the lovely young lady, she knew the viscount's daughter was the one to whom he'd referred. She was his idea of a suitable wife.

Clarity had spoken to Emmeline Brambury a few times, once while waiting in the antechamber at St. James's Palace for their turn to be presented to the queen. After that, she'd come across her at a dinner solely for single ladies. Clarity could think of nothing against Miss Brambury. She'd been polite and was intelligent, a little reserved but not in a shy way.

In fact, she'd been as proper as Purity in attending to all the niceties of each interaction. In short, the perfect wife for a man who didn't want gales of laughter ringing through his house or even the slightest hint of indecorous behavior.

"Are you well?" her mother asked. "I daresay you are tired. You've gone pale. We don't have to wait until the bitter end. Let's go pay our respects to the hosts and call for our carriage."

"Yes," Clarity agreed, tearing her gaze from the couple and following her mother and sister out of the ballroom.