She’d made it to the second floor’s landing and was nearly halfway down the hall to her bedchamber door when another door opened, and Sir Reginald emerged. Frances froze, hoping he might not see her and continue on past, but apparently, luck was not on her side at the moment. Instead, Sir Reginald made a grand show, stopping, and bowing, and doffing his hat.
“There you are, Miss Wharton. You look as lovely as ever,” he boomed.
Frances wondered if her lips looked swollen from kissing Lucas and if a love bite was, in fact, visible on her neck. She started to giggle.
“Are you quite all right, Miss Wharton?” Sir Reginald looked genuinely worried for her.
“Oh, yes, I’m…fine…quite…fine,” she said, in between giggles. She pressed her fingertips to her lips to keep from laughing more. It was just so comical to see Sir Reginald after what she’d just done in the library with Lucas.
“Are you going to the picnic lunch with the other ladies?” Sir Reginald asked, thankfully willing to change the subject.
“Oh, er, yes, I believe I am,” she replied. She pinched the inside of her arm to stop laughing.
“Very well,” the knight bowed again, “then I shall see you at dinner this evening?”
Frances wanted to say, “I hope not.” Instead, the thought just made her giggle more. “Yes, dinner,” she replied noncommittally.
“I do hope we’re able to go for a ride,” he said. “Perhaps tomorrow afternoon?”
Frances was just about to open her mouth to say she was otherwise occupied tomorrow afternoon when Sir Reginald snapped his fingers. “Wait. No. Not tomorrow. I’m meeting with Lord Kendall tomorrow afternoon.”
Frances stopped laughing. She narrowed her eyes on Sir Reginald. “Kendall? Did you say Lord Kendall?”
“Yes, the Earl of Kendall. Do you know him?” Sir Reginald asked as he plucked at his ornate cuff.
Blood pounded in Frances’s temple. “I’ve never met him. I wasn’t aware he was at this party.”
“Oh, he hasn’t been,” Sir Reginald replied. “He’s only coming for a day or two. He’s fast friends with Clayton, don’t you know?”
“Yes, I’d heard as much.” Frances forced herself to breathe properly, while a hundred thoughts flew through her mind. Lord Kendall—the Lord Kendall—would be here? At this house party?
“From what I understand he’s arriving any moment now,” Sir Reginald added.
“Is that so?” A slow smile spread across Frances’s face. If that blackguard the Earl of Kendall was coming here, she intended to give the man a piece of her mind. “What time are you meeting him?”
Chapter Fifteen
Now that he was at the house party as the Earl of Kendall, Lucas had been given a bedchamber on the second floor with most of the other guests. Bell met him there that afternoon to serve as his valet. As Bell helped him change from the Clayton livery into his buckskin breeches and emerald-green coat, Lucas couldn’t help but replay the entire conversation earlier with Frances in his head. She’d been so knowledgeable and discerning when she spoke about the Employment Bill.
Clearly, she’d formed her own steadfast opinion on the matter and Lucas was both duly impressed and utterly frustrated. There was little chance she would change her mind. In fact, many of her points had made Lucas question his own logic. He’d been so dedicated to ensuring the bill passed because of his promise to his brother. He knew all the talking points, had repeated them at length to his compatriots in the House of Lords, and he’d believed them, by God. Every word of them. Only when Frances had asked him if he could see how such a bill did nothing for his own good, guilt had weighed on him. He’d had to remind himself that he was playacting. But playacting would be a poor excuse if he ended up hurting Frances because of it.
And while he was thinking about guilt, that particular emotion had doubled and then tripled within him after the kisses they’d shared. The first time he’d kissed her, his guilt had been minimal. It wasn’t the most noble thing to do, to kiss a woman who didn’t know who you truly were. But he’d quickly dismissed that doubt when she’d responded so enthusiastically. The second time they’d kissed, he’d gone a bit farther, risked a bit more, and it had been pure bliss, until she’d announced that she detested the Earl of Kendall. That had made it all too clear that he was nothing more than a liar.
This charade may have begun as a lark, but it was turning into something all too serious. His lies were multiplying. It made it worse that in the middle of lying to her about who he was and what he stood for, he’d gone and kissed her. Such bad form.
He had absolutely no excuse for his behavior. He had no right to speak to her, let alone kiss her. She hated him. Well, she hated Lord Kendall, who he really was. She didn’t know her friend Lucas, the footman, was the same man she detested.
How would he ever explain himself to her? How could he? She’d been busy pouring out her heart to him and he’d been her sworn enemy all along. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know he’d been her sworn enemy. He knew it now and he was still not telling the truth. He had to figure out a way to make this right. At the very least he had no right to kiss her and he would not do it again.
“How do you stand the guilt?” he asked Bell, who was currently helping him into his right boot. Bell was serving as his
