Love Became Theirs (3 page)

"They lie who say it!" he declared theatrically. "Slanders, ma'am. Believe none of it."

She chuckled. He might not be quite proper, but he was exceedingly diverting.

"I also heard," she teased him, "that if it weren't for Columbine he'd be in even more trouble."

"Good heavens!" he cried. "Unmasked. My secrets are all revealed. It's true, I cannot deny it. Each man needs his Columbine to keep him on the straight and narrow. Are you Columbine? You look like it, all in white."

"Indeed no," she said firmly. "I'm an eighteenth century lady." She was falling in with his mood, finding it surprisingly easy to talk back to him in his own style. Not knowing who he was seemed to matter less as he whirled her about.

"Of course you are," he said. "A lady of the court. You have danced with kings and princes."

"And I also think," she could not resist adding, "that it would take more than my efforts to keep you on the straight and narrow."

He roared with laughter, showing strong white teeth. He was holding her improperly close but, strangely, she had no desire to back away from him, such as she had felt with Lord Robert. Instead, she found herself looking at his mouth, which was very near.

It was a wide, mobile mouth, that looked as though it was made for laughing, and it made her wonder about the rest of his face. He was certainly a young man. She could tell that from the strength of the hands clasping her, and his lithe, graceful movements with their unmistakeable hint of power.

He was very tall. Rona was tall herself, but he towered over her by a good eight inches. Beyond that, all she knew was his mouth. The face above was concealed by the black mask, with only the eyes showing through the slits. She could just see that they were blue, the most intense blue that she had ever seen. They gleamed with life and wit, and something that might even have been danger. She could not be sure.

The music was coming to an end. As the dance slowed Rona could see Lord Robert approaching, with a look on his face that said he would not be denied.

"Oh dear," she sighed.

"Remember," Harlequin murmured, "Don't let yourself be forced into anything."

Lord Robert presented himself in her path, holding out his hand for her.

"You will not be so cruel as to refuse to dance with me," he said. It was an assertion, not a question.

In fact his whole manner was of a man determined to have his own way, and for a moment Rona wondered whether Harlequin's suspicions might be correct.

But surely that was absurd.

Nobody could force her into anything she did not want to do.

Just the same, as Lord Robert led her away, she took a final look over her shoulder to where Harlequin stood watching.

Then he melted into the crowd, leaving her feeling rather lonely.

Rona had expected Lord Robert to lead her into the dance, but instead he continued walking out of the ballroom into the garden, hung with fairy lights.

"You asked me to dance," she protested.

"I have something to say to you," he replied, not slowing.

This high handed behaviour was not at all to her taste, but she followed him, thinking that at any moment he would stop, but he kept on walking. When he finally indicated for her to sit on one of the rustic benches, they were well away from the lights.

"It's very dark," Rona said, sitting reluctantly.

"That's why I've brought you here," Robert replied. "What I have to say to you I do not want overheard."

Her heart beat with apprehension. If only there was some way to stop him! But there was no way, so she resigned herself to listening.

He cleared his throat, sounding uncomfortable.

"It is quite simple," he said abruptly. "I love you, and I want you to marry me."

She had been half expecting it, yet now she found herself breathless and miserable. She did not want to marry this man. She wanted only to get away from him.

"You surprise me," she managed to say, "because I hardly know you."

"That is ridiculous," he replied, with a brusqueness that sat oddly with the proposal he was making. "I've stayed several times at your house in the country, and we got to know each other then."

"No, we didn't," she said rebelliously. "You scarcely spoke to me."

"I have always thought how beautiful you were," he pressed on determinedly. "But I suppose I was too shy to ask you then to be my wife."

"Shy?" she exclaimed. "You?"

That might not be polite, but she could not help herself. He was talking nonsense, and it occurred to her that he had learned his speech by heart and could not cope with unscripted interruptions.

He ignored her words and fell silent, looking into her face, as though expecting an appropriate response. When she did not speak he went on,

"Now things are different. You are grown-up, you have 'come out'. You may be a debutante but you are definitely old enough for men to love you and to want you to belong to them."

He waited again, but she remained stubbornly silent, hoping to discourage him.

It was a forlorn hope.

"Before anyone else snatches you up," he ground on determinedly, "I want you to listen to me when I say I love you, and I want you as my wife."

As he spoke he moved a little nearer and put his arm round her shoulders.

"I love you," he recited again. "You are so beautiful that I am terrified someone will take you away from me."

He did not sound terrified, or in love. He sounded like a man relieved to have got to the end of his prepared speech without forgetting it.

Suddenly he pulled her towards him and managed to press his lips on hers before she could stop him.

For a moment Rona held still, trying to decide how she felt about this. Did Lord Robert's kiss transport her to the stars, fill her with joy, make her heart beat faster with rapture?

No.

She turned her head sharply away but he didn't release her. Instead he attempted to put his arms further around her, trying to kiss her again. His lips brushed her cheek and he tried to pull her head towards him, which she firmly resisted.

"Tell me that you will love me and be my wife!" he grated.

"I cannot – do – that," she replied, "because – I hardly – know you and I have – not thought – about you in – that way."

She stammered a little over the words, and Lord Robert said,

"You have to think of me, I will make you think of me. I will make you want me, and I know that once we are married we will be very, very happy."

He would have pulled her closer and kissed her again but Rona deftly managed to loosen his grasp, saying as she did so,

"I'll think about it. I will let you know, but I must have time to think."

"Why need you think about something that is so obvious?" he said with a touch of impatience.

She was growing very annoyed.

"It is not obvious to me," she said.

"That's because you're not looking at it in the right way," he said. "If you consider the matter properly our marriage makes sense."

She stared at him, wondering if he really thought this was how a man proposed.

"It is in every way suitable," he continued. "Your father has given his blessing – "

"What?" Angrily Rona rose to her feet. "You spoke to my father before me?"

"Certainly. I could not have married you without his consent."

"You cannot marry me without
my
consent," she said. "I think we have said enough. I will consider your most flattering offer – " She spoke ironically, but she doubted he was astute enough to realise it, "and let you know my decision. Now I am going back to the house."

"I think you should remain, and hear me out," he said firmly. "Perhaps I have not expressed myself well. I have told you that I love you, but I should have spoken longer about the – ah – depth of my passion. For some time now you have filled my thoughts and dreams – "

"Please," she said hastily. "I assure you it is needless for you to say more. We will talk later."

He reached out to restrain her, but she dodged away and began to run in the direction of the house. She was in turmoil, not only at the proposal, but at the discovery that Lord Robert had virtually settled the matter with her father first.

'Almost as though it did not concern me at all,' she thought angrily.

And again she remembered Harlequin's warnings.

She tried to slip into the house unobtrusively and mingle with the crowd. But then she saw her parents, and realised that they were looking for her, eager to know what had happened.

"Alone, my dear?" asked her father, too jovially. "Surely I saw you come in from the garden? I hope you weren't wandering there unchaperoned?"

"I was with Lord Robert. You must forgive me, Papa. I realise that it was improper of me to go out there with him alone."

She said this because she was curious to know how he would react, after what she had just heard.

"My dear, I'm sure it can be overlooked in the circumstances."

"What circumstances, Papa?"

"Well, you and Lord Robert – I'm sure he behaved like a gentleman – but if his ardour carried him away – well, heh, heh!"

"Lord Robert proposed marriage."

"Did he? Did he indeed? Well, well!"

"And I told him I would consider the matter. Then I returned to the house."

"Very proper, my dear. But now you have spoken to me it will be quite correct for you to show your affection for him."

"But I have no affection for him, Papa."

"Nonsense, nonsense! Of course you have," he responded sharply.

"No Papa, he doesn't please me at all."

"What foolishness is this? You don't know what you feel. Take my word for it, you'll be very happy."

"But I – "

"Ah, there he is! Lord Robert, my child has been speaking to me – "

"Papa – "

But her father ignored her distress, seized her hand, then seized Lord Robert's hand, and forced their two hands together.

"What a fine couple you will make!" he exclaimed. "How proud I am!"

Lord Robert inclined his head towards Rona.

"Miss Trafford, I take it this means you accept my proposal."

"No sir," said Rona, summoning all her courage. "I have not yet made a decision. My father was being premature. Excuse me!"

She heard her father's sharp intake of breath at this defiance, and knew that he would be very angry with her later. But just now she had to get away. Snatching her hand free she turned and fled.

She soon realised that she was not to be allowed to escape so easily, but at least it was Mama who came running after her.

"My dear child, don't be so hasty! Stop a moment. I'm out of breath."

Rona relented and turned to face her mother, who was puffing in a way that violently agitated her ruff.

"I won't be forced, Mama."

"Who says anything about forcing? Don't be silly."

"Both Papa and Lord Robert would force me if they could. Oh, he was right! Why didn't I see it?"

"He? Who?"

"Nobody," she said hastily. She could not tell Mama about Harlequin and his predictions. He seemed even more mysterious now that she knew he had seen and understood so much.

"Lord Robert is infatuated with you, darling," her mother said. "In fact he told me you were the most beautiful, the most charming and the most entrancing girl he had ever met."

"Yes, he told me I was beautiful," Rona said. "But he's never spoken like that before."

"Perhaps you didn't give him the chance. A man is shy of telling you he loves you the first time."

Shy. There was that word again. Anyone less shy than Lord Robert it would be hard to imagine. She began to wonder if her Mama had actually coached him.

"You must encourage him," Mrs. Trafford continued.

"The truth is, Mama, I don't find him at all attractive," Rona said.

Her mother stared at her.

"But why? After all he is very good-looking and he has a title."

"Not much of a title. He isn't an Earl or a Viscount, or anything like that."

"But his father is the Duke of Cannington. It's true that he won't be a Duke himself, as he has three older brothers, who aren't likely to die unfortunately, except for one who's in the army."

"Mama!" said Rona, scandalised.

"Well, we must be realistic."

"I am being realistic. I see nothing in him to like."

"But you would be part of a Ducal family, and invited to Cannington Towers every Christmas. They say royalty sometimes goes there."

"Mama, when I marry I want it to be a man that I love. I really don't care where we go for Christmas."

"Love is something which comes unexpectedly, but inevitably," Mama said. "And, darling, I want you to marry someone who will love you, take care of you and as your father said, young men with titles are few and far between."

"Then I'll marry a man without a title."

"Oh don't say that," said Mama with a little gasp.

"Papa would be so angry. He's set his heart on this marriage."

"What about my heart, Mama? Doesn't that count at all?"

"But my dear child, love follows marriage for a respectable girl. Of course you will love your husband. That is a wife's duty. Now, be a good girl, and come back with me."

She had a feeling that a net was tightening around her. If she went back now she would be lost.

"No, Mama. I cannot return with you. I have promised a dance to – to – "

"To me," said Harlequin from the shadows. He bowed to Mrs. Trafford. "Your servant ma'am."

Before either of the ladies could reply he had seized Rona's hand and drawn her well away.

"Thank goodness you were there," she said. "But how?"

"Harlequin is everywhere, and sees everything. I knew you would be needing me."

"Oh, you were right," she said bitterly. "You were right about everything. How could I be so blind?"

"We are all blind when we are betrayed by those we trust," he said, and for once he was not laughing. "You trusted your parents so you never thought they would pressure you like this. But now you'll be on your guard."

He paused to take two glasses of champagne from a footman, and continued walking beside her until they were well away from the house and were walking deep into the garden, through the fairy lights, and beyond, into the darkness.