He’d been tutored by her Uncle Harry and other devious charlatans who’d helped him hone his flair for deception. He was particularly adept at charming young ladies and convincing them to give him boons they should never relinquish.
If he’d set his sights on Penelope Pendleton, it could never be for an honorable purpose, and the gullible girl would be harmed in the end.
Usually, Libby ignored his schemes and pretended they weren’t happening, but she had a special affection for Lady Penny. She wouldn’t stand idly by and permit Simon to coerce Penny into a predicament she’d always regret.
“Leave Lady Penny alone,” Libby scolded.
“I don’t want to.” He grinned his lazy grin, the one that made every female who saw it fall in love.
“If you can’t promise to behave, we’ll pack up and depart tomorrow. At dawn.”
“You can depart with your tail between your legs. I’d like to tarry for a bit. I can join you later after I’m finished here.”
“I could speak to her father about you. He could run you off without much effort.”
Simon scoffed. “You won’t speak to him about me. Don’t act as if you’ve suddenly developed a conscience.”
He was correct that she wouldn’t tattle. It was a trait hammered into them by Uncle Harry. There had constantly been a lot on the line with Harry, and at an early age, they’d learned to never trust outsiders and to keep their mouths shut.
“I like it at Roland,” she said instead, “and I refuse to have my visit wrecked because you can’t control your worst impulses. If you continue on with her, I can guarantee it will blow up into a big ruckus.”
“Maybe I like Lady Penny,” he ludicrously stated. “Maybe I’m absolutely enchanted.”
It was Libby’s turn to scoff. “I know you too well. If you’re flirting with her, you have an ulterior motive.”
“Perhaps I’m doing it for you, so she’ll reject Lord Barrett. Is that so hard to believe?”
Libby oozed sarcasm. “For me? Really?”
“Yes. If she spurns him, her rebuff will sour him on matrimony for a while. He’ll be free and available for romance. You could step into the void created by her snubbing him.”
“Would you get it through your thick head? He only wants one thing from me, and he can’t have it.”
“What are you saving yourself for?” he asked. “Marriage? Why would you? It’s not as if you have a dozen beaux eager to wed you. Why not sell that precious chastity of yours to Lord Barrett? I could negotiate a good agreement. You could walk away financially set for life.”
“Please be silent. With every word you utter, I’m more certain we should flee Roland immediately.”
His smile was very sly. “I already told you: If you slink off, I won’t be accompanying you. I’m having a grand time, and I’m positive Lady Penny, our beautiful hostess, would be devastated if I vanished.”
Libby grumbled with frustration and spurred her horse into a gallop, abruptly deciding she should have ridden out with a groom rather than him. He could be so annoying, and like Harry, he was always sure the cards would fall in his favor so there would be no downside to his mischief.
Since he rarely suffered any consequences, it was difficult to persuade him that she was right and he was wrong. She’d had enough of his arrogant posturing, and she didn’t have the mental energy to spar with him. She was exasperated over her tryst with Luke the prior evening, disgusted that he’d brazenly blustered into her room, disgusted she’d been too weak to kick him out.
She’d let him needle and cajole about their affair until she’d promised she wouldn’t sneak away, and wasn’t that the most dangerous conclusion she could have engineered?
She approached a gate, and normally, she would have raced on by, but it was obviously a portal to a large estate. There was a fancy sign marking the entrance, the name, BARRETT, carved into the stone. She reined in, and Simon reined in too.
“I didn’t realize Barrett was so close to Roland,” he said.
“Lord Barrett mentioned it was. Their boundaries adjoin.”
“Ooh, Lord Barrett chatted about all that, did he? You two definitely sound like chums.” He nodded down the lane. “Let’s meander down and catch a glimpse of the manor.”
“Let’s not. What if Lord Barrett saw us? Or what if a servant observed us and told him we’d stopped by? I have no desire to explain why I was spying.”
“Come on! I’m determined that you understand how rich he is.”
“I understand. I don’t need his wealth thrown in my face.”
“Yes, you do. You don’t seem to grasp the benefits you could amass from an association with him.”
“I grasp them. I’m just not interested in glomming onto any of them.”
“Coward!” he taunted, recognizing it was the best way to coerce her.
She wasn’t afraid of anything and never had been.
He yanked on his reins and trotted through the gate, and she followed him, being forced to admit that she was inordinately curious about Barrett. She couldn’t deny it.
They traveled for some distance in orchards that didn’t look all that healthy to her. She wasn’t a country girl and didn’t know any details about farming, but the trees hadn’t been trimmed, and many of them appeared to be ill, with no leaves or fruit, as if they were on their last legs.
She recalled Luke’s comments about his elder brother who’d died, how he’d neglected the property so it was in bad shape, and here were visible indications of it. It made her feel sorry for him, made her comprehend why he’d be anxious to marry Penny Pendleton for her dowry. The money would repair what his brother had ruined.
Once the house was up ahead, they stopped
