“He thought it was inappropriate given their engagement. Unfortunately, Martin tends to be a bit stuffy. Just between you and me, I think he is all wrong for Abby, but I haven’t been able to get her to admit it. I was so hoping...”
“Hoping what?” he asked warily.
“Nothing, dear. I’m sure whatever happens will be for the best. Let me talk to Mr. Dennison and the family and we’ll let you know later this evening if one of us will be flying down. In the meantime, you give her a kiss from me and one from her daddy and tell her she is to get well at once.”
He grinned at Mrs. Dennison’s firm tone that implied such an order would be promptly followed by the dutiful Abigail. Apparently she had no idea exactly how willful her daughter had become. He wondered if she would be as taken aback by that as he had been.
“I’ll tell her,” he promised. “I’ll speak with you later on, then.”
“Riley?”
“Yes?”
“Take care of yourself, too. Don’t go blaming yourself for this. Abby wanted this trip more than anything.”
He smiled. “Thank you for saying that.”
“I’m not just saying it, young man. It’s the truth. From the day she got her very first postcard from you years ago, she wanted nothing more than to share one of your grand adventures. She called them quests.”
“Obviously she spent too much time reading about King Arthur and Lancelot. That must be how she got all those idiotic notions. What I’ve been doing is not nearly so romantic.”
“You’d never be able to convince her of that. You’ve given her the opportunity to do what she’s always wanted, and we’re all grateful for it. She’s been doing what’s right for the rest of us for far too long. It’s about time she had some pleasure of her own.”
“But because of me...”
“Because of you, for the past few weeks she’s been happier than I can recall in a very long time. She loved planning for the trip. She could hardly wait to get on the plane. You’ve given her a great gift.”
She hung up before he could contradict her, before he could confess how miserable he was that he had spoiled Abby’s happiness by threatening to ship her home again. He didn’t deserve her comfort.
As he slowly replaced the phone’s receiver, he thought of everything Mrs. Dennison had said. The most surprising of all had been her comments about Martin.
He gazed down at this woman he’d known for most of his life and wondered if he really knew her at all. “So,” he said softly, “you defied your fianc;aae to take this trip with me. I wonder why, Abby?”
* * *
“Why, Lady Abigail?” Riley Walker murmured, looking very nearly as bemused as Abby felt. “Why would you allow such a thing? You cannot convince me that you encourage such attention as a matter of habit. You have every appearance of being a true lady.”
“Appearances can be deceiving. Isn’t that so?”
He scoffed at that. “Tell me why you would permit such a kiss. Why would you like to appear less than innocent?”
“I can’t explain, I’m sure,” she replied, wishing he would simply kiss her again and forget all of these troublesome questions.
The deliberate attempt to ruin her own reputation had clearly backfired. There was no sign of an irate Earl of Drake. Rather there was simply Abby and her suddenly tumultuous emotions having to face the clearly stunned Earl of Wilton, who—if she’d understood the intent of his question—appeared to be questioning her morals. She couldn’t imagine why he was looking so distraught. Surely it wasn’t his very first passionate kiss.
She, however, had only dreamed of being kissed like that. And as vivid and richly imaginative as those dreams had been, they had not even come close to the reality. She was quite prepared to experiment again, just to determine if this one time had been a rare, never-to-be-repeated occurrence. She regarded the Earl of Wilton hopefully.
He, to her chagrin, backed away a step, almost as if she were wielding a hot poker. “You are a most unusual woman, Lady Abigail. I could have sworn you to be as innocent as a babe, but your reaction gives me cause to wonder.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. Her gaze narrowed. “What is it you are suggesting, my lord?”
“There are those who, for their own amusement, might like to see me entrapped by a lady’s wiles. There could be wagers placed in the betting halls even as we speak. Could it be that they have used you as the enticement?”
Abby was shocked speechless. “You cannot possibly... How dare you, my lord!”
“Oh, I dare quite a lot,” he said in a low, seductive purr that made her blood run hot. “Perhaps you would care to see just how far I am willing to carry this nonsense.”
He reached for her far less gently than before and pulled her into an embrace that shocked her with its intimacy. “My lord,” she protested just before his lips closed over hers once more and stole her breath and her reason.
She was just discovering that the first kiss had been no fluke, that in fact it had been mild mannered compared to this one, when the Earl of Drake finally, belatedly, made his entrance. Though she knew any continuation of this folly wasn’t wise, she found she regretted the interruption more than she could say.
“Lady Abigail!” The earl’s cry was the sound of a shocked, wounded animal. “What disgrace is this? And you, Wilton, have you no sense of decency? No sense of shame? Do you think nothing of destroying a fine lady’s reputation, or is it only your own pleasure that counts for anything?”
Abby felt heat climbing into her cheeks under her fianc;aae’s disapproving glare, even though his reaction was precisely what she had counted on. “I am dreadfully sorry, my lord,”
