Patricia Veryan - [Sanguinet Saga 10] - Lanterns Read Online Free PDF

admiring the becoming flush on her cheeks,
and the sparkle in the clear green eyes. "It is I who should thank you,
ma'am. Shall we rest the hacks for a space?" He led the way through the
open five-barred gate and towards the haystacks and, dismounting,
lifted Marietta from the saddle. She sat on a hay bale while he
loosened saddle girths and straps and secured the reins to a fence post.
    Returning to throw himself down beside her, he said, "You're a
fine rider, ma'am. But I hope you never venture such speed in Hyde
Park."
    "I would be in deep disgrace, no? Oh, how lovely it is. Look
at those great woods over there. Where are we, sir? Are we liable to
have someone's keepers after us with pitchforks?"
    He chuckled. "Never fear, I'll defend you. That is the
Ashdown Forest. And I believe this is one of several farms owned by a
friend of your father—a Mr. Innes Williard—so I doubt we're in great
danger of being taken for trespass."
    Marietta's smile faded.
    Quick to notice, he said, "Am I mistaken? Do they not cry
friends? Oh, egad, one can never trust the word of a gossip!"
    "I did not say they are not friends. Though I cannot think why
people should gossip about such a matter."
    "When a gentleman has a sister who is a handsome and wealthy
widow, people will always find cause for gossip, ma'am."
    "Thank you, sir," said Marietta demurely. "I'll own my aunt is
handsome, but I'd not thought her name was being bandied about."
    Coville gave a shout of laughter, saw the faint pucker of her
brows, and choked back his hilarity. "Oh, forgive me, I pray. I feel
sure your aunt has—er, her share of admirers. But I must confess I
referred to Mrs. Isolde Maitland. I was told she has publicly expressed
her admiration for a certain… neighbour."
    Marietta's lips tightened. 'Or for any man who will bring her
the title she covets,' she thought, and said coolly, "My father, in
fact."
    Leaning on one elbow and looking up at her, his eyes still
dancing with laughter, he said teasingly, "Aha! And you do not care for
the lady."
    "I said no such thing!"
    "You got all starched up and said it silently. Do you not wish
to see Sir Lionel remarry?"
    "No! I mean— Oh, it is not that at all!"
    "Then it is that the widow is lovely, but a fortune hunter.
Or—a shrew, perhaps?"
    "If the lady were a fortune hunter, Mr. Coville, I think she
would not choose my father to admire." Irritated, Marietta took up her
riding crop. "Could we start back now? I must—"
    "Whoops," he said teasingly. "I am desolate! I have made you
cross with my nonsense. I shall win back into your good graces by
offering my services."
    She stared at him.
    "No, I mean it, Miss Marietta. You will need help. A lady who
is lovely and determined and clever can be very dangerous, you know."
    "I don't," she said tartly. "But I suspect you have had
experience along those lines, sir."
    Unabashed, he nodded. "Oh, yes, indeed. Sufficient that I can
be a powerful ally." He leaned closer and said in a sinister
half-whisper, "I shall give you some hints that will enable you to
quite defeat the widow's machinations. Unless, of course," he added
irrepressibly, "your sire has a raging passion for the lady."
    The picture of her shy and gentle father nourishing a raging
passion, wrung a spurt of laughter from Marietta.
    Coville gave an exclamation of relief. "I think I am forgiven!"
    "And I think you are very naughty!" She tried to look stern.
"And have made me speak of something I should not."
    "You are much too kind and sweetly natured to be anything
but delicious. And I am yearning to change
the subject to one
that really interests me. Tell me about the most lovely and fascinating
lady I have ever met. Your likes, dislikes, friends, foes, where you
grew up, whether you enjoy country life or miss Town, if there are
other Warringtons in the neighbourhood, what you think of Lanterns,
who—"
    "Mercy!" she cried, amused and touched, but throwing up her
hands. "How can I answer so many questions?"
    "Then