An Accidental Affair by Heather Boyd Page B

her smile returned so quickly. “He’ll be at his club.”
    “Good. There is much to do. The first of which is to send a note to Laurie letting him know my worst fears have come to pass and to arrange a meeting. And the second, helping you, must be undertaken at the same time. So, who among the gentlemen I mentioned takes your fancy? Lord Wade? Although his ears are too large to take seriously. We cannot allow you to be banished to Hinkley’s dull confines. You’ve barely left my side all season, despite my attempts to disappear long enough so a gentleman might be inappropriate with your person.” Her niece giggled. “We need to discover where those you favor will be on any given night before it is too late.”
    Arabella shook her head furiously. “Enough of this. You cannot tell anyone of your father’s plans. There has been no announcement yet.”
    Cecily’s face grew serious at last. “I am sorry about losing your home in Wiltshire. I fear Papa used my coming out to bring you back under his roof. He can certainly bear the expense of Winslette’s upkeep. He just doesn’t want you so far away from his control. What about Rothwell? I really think he shouldn’t be dismissed as too much a rogue. By all accounts he’s a dab hand when it comes to the bedroom, and that must be a consideration at your time of life. I’ve just never heard of him being interested in marrying anyone, so convincing him to offer for you might require some careful planning.”
    Arabella quickly covered her niece’s mouth with her hand, furious that the girl just wasn’t listening. “Do not say such things out loud.”
    Cecily broke free and merely laughed at Arabella’s embarrassment. “My dear aunt, you are too precious. You were married for seven years and still sound as prim as those silly girls who came out with me. I cannot wait to be a wife with all it entails. Why do you blush when a man pays you attention? I swear, if I didn’t think it impossible, I would believe you a virgin.”
    Cecily left her then and in doing so missed the fiery blush that washed over Arabella’s face. She was a virgin—although she’d been married for enough years to make that fact ridiculous. When she’d taken her vows, she’d meant every word. She’d hoped Farnsworth might have grown kinder, at least somewhat fond of her, but he’d passed away and she was the same as the day she married. There was nothing she could do to change that fact now. Farnsworth would pack her off to the country as soon as Cecily was wed, and her hopes for the season were impossible. Whatever plans Cecily was making would be in vain. She had no one to turn to but friends and they were all in the country.
    Cecily retrieved a sealed square of paper from the depths of a drawer and then rang for a servant while Arabella looked on grimly. As the girl handed the note over to the maid they shared, she pressed a shilling into her hand. “It’s time, Hill.”
    The maid bobbed a curtsey, bounced on the balls of her feet somewhat excitedly, and then left as if the devil was chasing her. Arabella rubbed her brow. Was there any use in trying to rein the girl in and get her to think of making the best of her future? But she was just as stubborn as her father. Standing between the two was such a strain.
    When Cecily pulled a worn portmanteau from beneath the bed, alarm bells rang in Arabella’s mind. “What are you doing?”
    Cecily sized her up and Arabella broke out in a cold sweat.
    Her niece smiled sweetly. “The only thing I can. I’m eloping with Laurie.”
     

 
    CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Family was the curse of Merrick’s existence. He studied the two men seated opposite him and did his best to control his irritation at finding them in his home. The arrival of his Ford cousins always heralded trouble. Holland might have managed to send this pair away if he had not been already off on an errand.
    And the pair had interrupted his pleasant fantasy of making love to Arabella in