She paused on the landing, however, when Catherine came forward from the back of the house. Her brother James and Lord Bardham were with her.
Hope suppressed a groan.
“There are maps in here,” Catherine said, going into the study. “But the area is huge. How could anyone know—”
Her words faded as she went further. Her brother followed her. But Bardham looked upward before he entered—and caught sight of her on the stairs. Closing the door, he stood and waited.
Sighing, she continued down.
“Lady Hope.”
“Lord Bardham.” Her maid trailed down the stairs after her, bringing her bonnet and gloves. Hope took them. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going out.”
He stepped closer and the maid fled.
“I am willing to overlook the insult you paid me at the Loxtons’.” His breath smelled sour. “Why don’t we start over again?”
She raised her chin. “Because I will not forgive your ungentlemanly behavior that night, nor the harm you meant to do me.”
“So fine you find the moral high ground, my lady.” He reached out and grabbed her wrist. “I know your secret. I have need of that money.”
“Oh, I’ve a good idea of your secret too, sir.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Two of the partners in your father’s canal venture are known swindlers.” She nodded toward the study. “Why maps? Looking for details to use to cheat people of their money? Or are you looking for a place to hide after the scheme fails and everyone loses their investment? Everyone but you, that is?”
The purple hue of fury swept over his already reddened features. His grip tightened.
A knock sounded on the door. A footman emerged to answer it.
She snatched her hand away. Lord Tensford stepped into the hall.
“Him? You’re going out with him?” Bardham ground his teeth. “Why?”
She raked him with a scornful look. “Because he is a gentleman. And you, sir, are not.”
“Good afternoon, Lord Tensford,” she called, moving toward him.
“Good afternoon, Lady Hope.” He bowed. Rising, he fixed Bardham with a warning look, then turned to her without acknowledging him. “Thank you for agreeing to take a drive with me,” he said wryly.
She laughed and pulled on her gloves. “Thank you, my lord. Shall we go?”
She went out on his arm without looking back.
“Oh, my,” she said, as they stepped out. “What a dashing rig.”
He grinned. “My wallet may be thin, but I am rich in my friends. Sterne lent me his curricle.”
He helped her up. “You are indeed wealthy in your friends,” she said as he climbed in and took the reins up with skill. “But only because you are rich in character, sir.” She stiffened her spine as they eased out into traffic. “Before we reach the park, I wish to say something.”
His mouth twisted. “My hands are full. I doubt I could stop you.”
“I want you to know I think you a fine gentleman and I enjoy your friendship. It pains me to see you worry. I think you deserve everything good.” She paused. “I offer my apology for the . . . incident at the end of our last adventure. I have no wish to make you uncomfortable in my company.”
His gaze slid sideways. “That was a very fine speech.”
“I meant it.”
“It was a fine kiss, too. I greatly enjoyed it.”
“As did I.”
“Too much,” he said with a sigh, then a great frown. “I don’t wish for either of us to be hurt.”
“No. Nor do I.”
“It’s between us . . . the potential, for hurt.”
“Yes.” He meant heartbreak. But there was also potential for so much more. She was gambling on the more.
“Then let us remain friends.”
“Friends,” she agreed. For now. “As a friend, can I ask you to accompany me to tea after the park? I have someplace special in mind.” She tossed him an arch look. “It’s the next step in my campaign.”
“I should be glad to. If you still mean to find a young lady who would have me, I will tell you, I am in need of alternatives.”
She’d heard his mother had brought a young lady to Town with her. “I think I can provide you with at least one palatable choice.” She crossed her fingers under a fold of her skirt.
He sighed. “It’s find an acceptable girl or learn all I can about timber and milling, for I have no taste for my mother’s plans.”
“Milling?” she asked.
He explained about his idea, and his reluctance to destroy Greystone’s old forests.
She shook her head, impressed. “You do not flinch from hard choices, Lord Tensford. I admire how you handle your difficulties with grace and ingenuity.”
He shrugged. “It’s only necessity—and while you have not shared all of the facts about your parents and your mother’s illness, still, I think you must not be a stranger to stepping in and doing what must be done.”
She flushed a little. It was both uncomfortable and strangely wonderful to be seen. To know that someone had looked past her light comments and noticed the painful truth behind them.
They spoke of other things, then, but not in depth, for they’d reached Hyde Park, where the entire fashionable world appeared to be out on the strut. Time and again, they were stopped for a greeting, a compliment or an invitation.
“You seem to be well on your way to being accepted back into the ton, my lord.”
“Yes, well, the curiosity seekers are due to Lady X. But the cautiously friendly folk are due to you.” He was not wearing his stark and impassive look
