The Notorious Lord

to complain about. That, he thought a little grimly, was nothing to the effect that she was having on him these days. He watched the sway of her gown as she moved around the table, sizing up the position of the balls. She paused, lining up a shot. Cory, realising that she was about to bend over the table right in front of him, pulled his thoughts away from what that would look like and tried to remember why he had come to see her in the first place.

‘Ah…Rachel…’

‘Yes, Cory?’ Rachel straightened up again, her eyes wide and innocent as she turned to look at him.

‘Your parents asked me to tell you that they have not quite finished work on the long barrow and will be in to supper in a short while-’

Rachel gave an exaggerated sigh. She checked the clock on the wall. ‘It is past nine! Soon they will not be able to see their spades in front of their noses.’

‘Have you taken supper yourself?’ Cory asked.

‘Yes, of course.’ Rachel frowned. ‘It is bad for the digestion to eat late at night.’

‘And you had no engagements for this evening?’

‘No.’ Rachel turned back to the table and potted a ball with complete accuracy. ‘Mama had indicated that she wished to attend the musicale at Lady Benedict’s. I will send a message over that we shall not be present after all.’

‘I will let them know on my way back to Kestrel Court, if you wish,’ Cory offered.

Rachel smiled at him gratefully. ‘Oh, would you?’ She rested her cue on the wooden floor. ‘That will save me trying to find Tom Gough when he is probably still out in the field with Papa.’

Cory nodded. ‘You do not wish to go to the Benedicts on your own?’

‘No, thank you.’ Rachel turned away. ‘I am no musician, as well you know, Cory. I fear that listening to music bores me. I shall go to the library and study Maskelyne’s maps.’

‘Have you had any success so far?’ Cory asked.

‘Not really.’ Rachel sighed. ‘I took the opportunity this morning of calling at the Priory and borrowing some of the parish records. There are some directions and measurements that I wish to check. It is all very slow.’

‘Parish records,’ Cory said, shaking his head. ‘How your long evenings must fly past, Rachel!’

‘I cannot see that it is any more tedious than unearthing long-dead bones,’ Rachel said, with spirit. ‘We each have our interests.’

‘Very true.’

‘And if it becomes too dry then I shall read The Enchantress instead.’

Cory leaned against the edge of the billiard table. If he could keep her talking on innocuous topics, then so much the better. It would distract his mind from other, far less innocent occupations-occupations such as kissing, which he had promised himself that he would not indulge in with Rachel-not yet.

‘How does the story progress?’ he asked.

‘Oh, it is quite lively.’ Rachel retrieved the balls from the pockets and placed them neatly in the triangle before lining up to break. ‘Sir Philip is currently exhibiting the usual contrary male behaviour-he has met a charming girl, but refuses to fall in love with her. It is Lady Sally’s contention that he will fall in love with quite the most unsuitable choice.’

Cory laughed. ‘Lady Sally does not appear to have a high opinion of our sex.’

‘No.’ Rachel put her head on one side thoughtfully. ‘She likes male company, but I do not believe she has a high regard for male intelligence!’

‘And you, Rae,’ Cory said, smiling, ‘how do you rate the male of the species?’

He observed with interest the colour that this brought into Rachel’s face.

‘I have the highest regard for the intelligence of individuals,’ she said sedately, ‘but I fear that it is a masculine trait to have a rather inflated opinion of one’s own worth.’

Cory gave a crack of laughter. ‘You never did care for pomposity, did you, Rae?’

‘No, I detest it.’ Her gaze brushed his face and to Cory it felt like a physical touch. ‘But I could never accuse you of it, Cory.’

Cory felt ridiculously as though she had given him some valuable prize. ‘Thank you, Rae.’

‘You have many other faults, of course,’ Rachel said, deliberately spoiling the effect, ‘but self-importance is not one of them.’

She put out a hand and touched the sleeve of his Volunteer uniform. ‘This is very fine. Have you been at drill with the Suffolk rifles again?’

‘I have.’

‘Then you can give me a game,’ Rachel said, gesturing towards the table. ‘Your aim should be in.’

Cory picked one of the cues from the rack on the wall. Rachel potted two balls in quick succession and he watched her as she moved around the table. She sized up the state of play quickly and made swift decisions about which ball to pot. Cory, on the other hand, found it difficult to focus on the state of play, preferring to watch Rachel herself. He knew that his concentration was shot to pieces before he even started.

Rachel took on a risky pot and just missed the pocket.

Cory approached the table to take his shot. Rachel came and leaned on the edge of the table beside him. Cory gritted his teeth. He tried to block out her presence and ignore the scent of her perfume, a scent that seemed insidiously to wrap itself around his senses. She smelled clean and fresh and innocent. It was the scent of lavender and lily of the valley. When the hell had he started to find the smell of lavender attractive?

He missed his shot.

‘Hmm.’ Rachel’s quizzical hazel gaze was on his face. ‘It is to be hoped that the security of the nation does not rest entirely with you, Cory.’ She potted two more balls with quick efficiency, brushing against him as she tried to get the optimum angle.

Cory watched the sway of her hips and tried to remember that his life depended on breathing at regular intervals. To distract himself as much as her, he said, ‘So, did you enjoy your conversation with Richard Kestrel today, Rae? I seem to recall that you were quite taken with him.’

An unexpected dimple dented Rachel’s cheek as she smiled. ‘I think Lord Richard is absolutely charming.’

‘Hmm,’ Cory said, feeling a certain ironic amusement that the answer to his question was the opposite of the one he wanted. ‘Do you think that he might be the sort of husband you are seeking?’

Rachel gave a peal of laughter. ‘Certainly not! Lord Richard is almost the last person that I would wish to marry, even were he to be in the market for a wife. He is far too…’ she paused, wrinkling her brow ‘…far too costly for me.’

‘Costly?’ Cory raised his brows.

‘Yes.’ Rachel straightened up and paused in her decimation of the billiard table. ‘You remember the bit in Shakespeare-Much Ado About Nothing, I believe-when the Prince asks Beatrice if she would consider marrying him and she says that she would need two of him, one for best and one for everyday use? I feel like that about Lord Richard Kestrel. He is far too dangerous for me to tangle with in any romantic sense.’

Cory hesitated. ‘Do you feel like that about me, Rae?’

Rachel looked at him for a moment. He allowed his gaze to travel over her, from her kid slippers to her neatly pinned Grecian knot, finishing at her face, which was now ever so slightly flushed. She dropped her gaze.

‘The question does not arise,’ she said, her voice slightly muffled as she turned back to the billiard table. ‘I might feel like that if I was not such an old friend of yours. I know you too well to see you as other ladies do.’

She took the shot; Cory saw her hand tremble very slightly on the cue. Even so, she put the ball away.

He followed her round the table as she prepared for her next move. He could tell that she was ruffled now, for she did not have sufficient experience to hide it. The thought roused tenderness and ruthlessness in him in equal measure. What would it be like to exploit the attraction that he knew Rachel felt for him, an attraction that she would not admit, even to herself? The idea was such a potent one that he almost lost all his good intentions towards her and kissed her there and then.

Looking at her, he could tell that Rachel had read something of his thoughts; her troubled hazel gaze had flashed one look at his expression and then away.

‘You seemed to appreciate the company of Mrs Stratton,’ she said, a little breathlessly. ‘You were enjoying