106. Love's Dream in Peril Read Online Free PDF

young man before let alone a member of the aristocracy and she was finding it difficult to overcome her shyness.
    Lord Ranulph was so handsome with his black hair, his strong lean face and his smouldering dark eyes.
    There was no mistaking his ancestry, she thought, as he looked at her like a proud thoroughbred that had just found itself in the company of a moorland pony.
    ‘I must not allow my lack of confidence to get the better of me,’ she mused. ‘And, since his Lordship seems to have nothing to say, it’s up to me to break the silence!’
    “Lord Ranulph, would you care for another cup of tea?” she asked.
    “Thank you, Miss –?”
    He frowned, as if he had no idea how he had found himself sitting opposite her.
    “Hartley. Miss Hartley, sir.”
    Jane was so nervous that her right hand shook as she lifted the heavy teapot and she had to hold it steady with her left hand.
    Lord Ranulph did not drink his tea. He cleared his throat and glanced over his shoulder, as if he was trying to catch a glimpse of Digby and Adella in the street outside.
    “These are very good,” Jane offered him the plate of strawberry tarts.
    Lord Ranulph stared at the tarts as if he had never seen such objects before and she suddenly realised that it was very possible that he might be feeling just as ill at ease in her company as she felt in his.
    She put the plate back on the table as he murmured,
    “I have no appetite.”
    He looked at the tablecloth and Jane felt greatly relieved that he had said something at last. And now he was saying more,
    “You will now be returning to your family home, I would suppose. Where might that be?”
    What should she say? Jane felt her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment.
    “I have – no family.”
    “How is that?”
    “My parents – passed away many years ago.”
    His Lordship frowned, as if he thought that she had been very careless to lose both her parents.
    “Have you no brothers or sisters, uncles or aunts?”
    Jane shook her head.
    “That is very unfortunate,” Lord Ranulph sighed.
    He stared out at the street again and seemed to have forgotten all about her, for he asked her no more questions about her family.
    Jane realised that he must be watching out for his friend Digby and for Adella, who must still be walking in the Botanical Gardens.
    “I am sure they will return soon,” she piped up.
    “They had better,” Lord Ranulph muttered, looking distinctly annoyed.
    Jane felt a pang of anxiety.
    “Is something wrong?” she asked him.
    “Oh, it’s nothing. I am just angry with that rascal Digby.”
    Jane’s anxiety grew. A rascal? And just why was he speaking like this about the dashing young man who had snatched Adella away?
    “What do you mean, sir?” she asked, feeling her cheeks growing warmer. “I thought that your friend was a gentleman of excellent character. Otherwise I should never have allowed Adella to go for a walk with him.”
    Lord Ranulph gave a short laugh.
    “Did you not notice what happened? I was about to invite Adella to walk with me – when he butted in and stole her from under my nose. And all so that he could win our wager.”
    “I don’t understand. What are you saying?”
    Lord Ranulph’s sighed.
    “We had a bet as to which of us might win her company for a stroll in the Gardens. You must have seen how he allowed me no chance to speak to her, but leapt right in before I could utter a word?”
    “A bet?”
    Jane felt angry now. The two gentlemen had just been trifling with them, playing with them for the sake of a wager!
    Adella had no idea of Digby’s motive for taking her to the Botanical Gardens. She would be very upset if she knew the truth!
    And what else might a man, who behaved like this, making a bet about a respectable young girl, be capable of?
    Jane rose to her feet.
    “I must go and find Adella.”
    Lord Ranulph rose from his chair too.
    “Miss Hartley – ”
    “I should never have let her go off with him.”
    Jane pressed the back