The Master of Stonegrave Hall

When she stood before him he took a step towards her and before she knew what he was about to do, he put a strangely gentle finger under her chin, tilting her face so that he could see it better. He looked at it hard, seeming to scrutinise every detail, probing her eyes with his own, searching—for what? she wondered. He nodded slightly, as if he had found what he was looking for. Victoria pulled away from his hand, almost tripping in her eagerness to get free, suddenly aware of the intimacy of the moment, the nearness of his searching eyes, the touch of his hand on her skin, his strong chin, the lovely deep blue of his eyes and the warmth of his breath on her face. She moved further away from him, her cheeks touched with colour.

‘Do you always subject people to such close scrutiny when you meet them, Lord Rockford?’ she asked directly. ‘I am not used to being looked at like that and find it extremely unsettling. Is there something wrong with my face that makes you examine it so thoroughly?’

A faint smile tugged at his lips. ‘I assure you, Miss Lewis, there is nothing wrong with your face.’

‘That’s all right, then.’

Laurence saw no trace of the girl he had met on the moors earlier. This young woman was the personification of elegance, refinement and grace. Her loveliness was at once wild and delicate. As fine as sculptured porcelain, her face expressed a frank, lively mind and a mercurial nature, full of caprice—the sort of girl who would play her way or not at all. But as he gazed at her he was most keenly aware of her innocence. He felt the touch of her eyes, felt the hunter within him rise in response to that artless glance. Though her wide amber eyes hinted at an untapped wantonness, he could sense the youthful freshness of her spirit, a tangible force that simultaneously made him want to cast her away from him or bare his soul.

He would do neither, but he did nothing to stem the rakish twist of his lips. ‘Don’t disappoint me, Miss Lewis, by acting sensibly now,’ he said, his eyes agleam with a very personal challenge.

Victoria stiffened at his silken taunting, but could hardly take offence after her unacceptable behaviour earlier.

‘Don’t be nervous. You’re not afraid of me, are you? Where is the girl whose pluck to stand up to my companion earlier won my admiration?’

Victoria mentally took a deep breath to barricade herself against the nervous jitters.

Laurence gestured to a chair by the hearth, indicating that she be seated. She did so, her every movement graceful and ladylike, even the way she crossed her ankles and tucked her dainty feet under the chair. Looking down at her, he searched the delicate features, yearning to see some evidence of the fire he had seen in the girl earlier.

‘That’s quite a temper you have, Miss Lewis. Miss Ellingham was still seething when I left her.’

Victoria dropped her gaze, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment, wishing he’d do her a favour and just forget that excruciating incident, but she seriously doubted he would. When she looked up she found her gaze ensnared by the glittering sheen of his blue eyes.

‘I would appreciate not being reminded of the incident, sir. You must think I’m the most ill-behaved female alive,’ she murmured dejectedly.

‘No, but I think you are undeniably the bravest one.’

Victoria was surprised. ‘You do? Why is that, pray?’

‘Because you aren’t afraid of Miss Ellingham.’

‘That’s because I was too angry to think straight.’ Her confidence began to return on being able to speak freely. ‘Perhaps if I were to meet her in different circumstances, it would be a different matter.’

‘Ah, but you didn’t show fear, you see, and that is not a bad thing, because once Miss Ellingham realises another female is frightened of her, she uses that knowledge against her.’

Victoria’s lips twitched with amusement. ‘Really? You make her sound like an ogre. But you must consider I was returning home to see my mother after a considerable absence. Looking my best, I wanted to surprise her.’ Standing up, she looked down and spread her arms out in a gesture to indicate her soiled skirts and sighed with dismay. ‘As you see, my carefully arranged elegance has turned into the dishevelled disarray of any village girl let loose on the moor for the day. You saw what happened, so I will not go into it again—only to say that your companion lacked the manners of a lady. I will not be browbeaten.’

‘So, it is a matter of pride as well,’ Laurence observed.

‘I suppose it is my greatest sin,’ she confessed.

‘Mine, too,’ he said with a slight smile. ‘It breeds stubbornness. But it also gives us the will to endure adversity. Did you enjoy being at the Academy?’

‘Yes, very much—although until today I would have said they had done a very good job on me, filing down my rough edges. Yet when I encountered your companion, I realised it was all wishful thinking on my part.’

‘I wouldn’t say that. You were provoked by her horse toppling you into the ditch—either that or you bewitched the beast.’

‘I did no such thing and nor was Miss Ellingham’s horse to blame. The reins were in her hands. She was in control and, in my opinion, she was riding in an irresponsible manner. Through her thoughtlessness I could have been badly hurt.’

‘You may be right. Miss Ellingham is somewhat reckless when on horseback. So, I think you were justified in anything you said. I am sorry it happened, but relieved that there was no real damage done.’

‘Thank you. It is most kind of you to say so. I’m sorry it happened, too—but not for what I said to her. Miss Ellingham was arrogant and very impolite.’

Laurence chuckled softly, finding it a refreshing change to find someone who was prepared to stand up to the formidable Clara Ellingham. ‘Forbearance, patience and understanding never were on the list of Miss Ellingham’s strong points.’

‘I am sorry if I appeared rude. I really must learn to control my temper.’

Laurence thought for a moment. So many young ladies were turned out by their mothers and governesses to a pattern—you couldn’t tell one from the other. But Miss Lewis was of a turn of character that he doubted would ever conform to type.

‘So, Miss Lewis, you have left the Academy for good.’

‘As to that I cannot say for certain. I actually finished my education last year, but knowing my heart was set on teaching, Miss Carver, who is the head of the Academy, suggested I stayed on.’

‘Is that what you want to do? Teach—like your father before you?’

‘Yes. He instilled in me the importance of education, that it is only through learning that you will get that which will make you get on in the world. He taught me in my early years and was very proud of my success in class and that I inherited his interest in mathematics.’

‘And you are not concerned that with all this learning you are in danger of being accused of being a bluestocking?’

‘Not at all. I am not ignorant of the meaning and would not be insulted of being named as such. I have enjoyed my time at the Academy, but unlike some of the pupils, who come from wealthy families and will marry gentlemen who will be delighted to marry a clever woman, as an independent woman who will have to make her own way in the world, education is important and necessary to my future.’

‘Your father would have been proud of you.’

‘I would like to think so.’ Victoria wondered what Lord Rockford would say if she were to tell him that her father’s dedication to his profession and to making sure his only child would be able to take care of herself when the time came, was due to his wife’s impassiveness and lack of involvement in both their lives, caused by her clear devotion to his own mother, her previous employer.

‘I have always had the idea of following in my father’s footsteps,’ she went on. ‘Not, of course, to go to university because ladies are not admitted, but staying on at the Academy would fit me out to be a teacher. I have my future to consider and there are few occupations appropriate for young women.’

‘I suppose a position as a governess may offer intelligent young ladies a roof over their heads.’

‘Exactly, and many gracious families prefer to employ a resident governess for the education of their daughters and younger sons than send them away to school.’

‘I suppose it is an occupation which will keep you occupied from morn till night without a moment to be spared for frivolous pastimes with which some ladies fill their days.’

‘I do not spend my days light-mindedly, sir, though I do leave myself time to do as I please.’

‘Indeed? The picture I have of you is that you do not employ yourself with useless activities.’

Victoria bristled. Was he implying that he found her uninteresting and plain? ‘We have only just met, sir. I cannot imagine that you have any picture of me in your mind. In fact, I fail to see how you have had the time to form any picture at all.’

‘I recognise an intelligent female when I see one, Miss Lewis, and I can only extend my sincerest admiration when I do.’

‘You do?’ Victoria wasn’t convinced.

‘Indeed. My mother involved herself in improving the education of young ladies—and other charitable works. She was quite the saint, in fact.’

‘I am no saint, sir. Far from it.’ The mere thought of it brought a smile to her lips.

The unexpectedness of it sent a jolt through Laurence that stole his breath and robbed him momentarily of his common sense. He, Laurence Rockford, who had stared down thieves and cut-throats on the meanest streets from Europe to America, who snapped his fingers at death, found himself mesmerised and weakened in the presence of this pretty girl. How utterly absurd!