Mr. Malcolm's List, page 15
“I am sure you do not,” Malcolm said, still in that sarcastic tone. “You are just biding your time, aren’t you? You are just waiting until you can jilt me so you can announce your real engagement to Henry.”
“My engagement to Henry?” Selina started to laugh. “Malcolm, we’ve been through all this already. Henry no longer has any interest in me other than that of a friend. I am actually beginning to believe he is forming an attachment to Julia after all, poor man.”
“Julia just told me—” Malcolm began, only to realize that the other inhabitants of the drawing room were paying much more attention to his and Selina’s conversation than they were to their own pursuits. A whist game that had begun between Cassie, Lady Kilbourne, Mr. and Mrs. Dalton had apparently ceased altogether, and even Mrs. Thistlewaite had looked up from her needlework.
“Excuse us for a moment,” Malcolm said, pulling Selina through the French doors that Julia and Henry had exited a few minutes earlier. Once on the terrace they were confronted with the sight of Julia and Henry locked in a passionate embrace, barely ten feet away.
“You were saying?” Selina asked Malcolm softly, so as not to disturb the kissing couple.
Malcolm shook his head in disbelief. “I will never believe another word out of that woman’s mouth. I wonder if Henry knows what he’s getting into.”
Selina glanced back at the couple. “He does not appear to mind.”
She started to return to the drawing room when Malcolm stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Wait,” he whispered. “Why don’t we take a walk in the gardens? They appear to have had quite an effect on our friends here.”
“Thank you for the offer, but you forget that we are not truly engaged. And you must have a care for your reputation,” Selina said, wriggling out of his grasp and returning through the French doors into the drawing room. But Malcolm was relieved to see that she was smiling.
“No, I have not forgotten we are not truly engaged. That’s what I was proposing to remedy,” Malcolm said aloud, still facing the doors. He turned back toward Julia and Henry, determined to interrupt their rendezvous. It was unfair of them to be so cozily entwined while he was out there all alone. He walked closer to them, clearing his throat loudly.
Julia and Henry did not spring apart guiltily, as occurs in all the best novels, but they did separate long enough to notice Malcolm standing there, glaring at them. Malcolm hoped Julia was blushing, but it was impossible to tell by moonlight.
“Jeremy, old chap,” Henry said. “I noticed that you and Selina had come onto the terrace but I was hoping you’d get the hint and leave.”
“Henry, I must warn you that the woman you are embracing is a lying, deceiving hussy,” Malcolm said, slowly and clearly.
Julia gasped, and looked to Henry to come to her defense. “I know all that, my friend,” he said, “but I thank you for the warning just the same.”
Julia began struggling to get out of Henry’s embrace. “Why, you, you dastardly knave, you scoundrel, you—”
“Hush,” Henry said, ignoring Julia’s efforts to free herself. “You didn’t allow me to finish. I was going to tell him I plan on devoting my life to keeping those nasty habits of yours in check.”
Malcolm could not see how that statement could possibly be construed as a compliment, but it seemed to have the appropriate effect, for Julia was no longer attempting to leave Henry’s embrace. “You do?” she asked.
“I do, indeed,” Henry said. “In fact, I positively look forward to it.” As it was obvious he was about to initiate another kiss, Malcolm gave up on attempting to reason with his friend and returned to the drawing room.
Selina retired to her chamber directly after leaving Malcolm on the terrace, more cheerful than she’d been in days. She was happy for her friend Julia, of course, but most of all she was happy that Malcolm was jealous. She doubted he would have been so angry if he was not a little in love with her. For the first time since that dreadful masquerade ball she allowed herself to become optimistic about her future. She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, saying aloud, ‘Mrs. Selina Malcolm, Mrs. Jeremy Malcolm’ and laughing over how silly she was being. She shivered at the thought of receiving more kisses from Malcolm, and thought she might have enjoyed some that very evening if she hadn’t refused his offer to walk in the gardens. Her imaginings took her to the altar and beyond, but none of her thoughts were of Malcolm’s estate or his riches. No, it was the gentleman himself she dreamed about, and if some of those dreams brought a flush to her cheek and a fluttering to her stomach, who could fault her for dreaming?
After some time spent that way, she heard a knock on the door and Julia joined her, to give her all the details of her own courtship and engagement. The two girls were up until the wee hours of the morning, whispering and talking and giggling, and entering into arguments over which of their beaux was the worthier.
Selina was still in a good mood when she awoke the next morning, and quickly changed into her dark green habit in order to go riding with Malcolm. She joined the others in the breakfast-room, and pretended not to notice when most of her fellow diners watched she and Malcolm like they were animals in a menagerie.
Later, while she and Malcolm were riding, she asked him if he’d told anyone about their false betrothal.
“Only my mother,” he said. “Why? Did you tell anyone?”
“I only told Julia. But I felt at breakfast like some of the others might know as well.”
“Oh, really, what gave you that impression?” Malcolm asked, although he had formed the same opinion himself.
“The way they were observing us,” Selina said, and shrugged. “Oh, well, it is probably my imagination.”
“I am sure it is,” Malcolm said, worried lest she refuse to carry on the pretense and leave before the three days were up. He introduced her to everyone he saw that morning as “Miss Selina Dalton, my intended wife.” When he even stopped a passing farmer to introduce her, Selina protested.
“Malcolm, I am sure that man does not care that I am your fiancé. He is not one of your tenants. I do not think he is even from this county,” she said, once the farmer had driven on.
“That is true. I thought I recognized him, but it’s obvious I mistook him for someone else.”
Selina just smiled and shook her head. She was not going to protest too much. She had to admit she liked the way it sounded when Malcolm performed the introductions. Almost as if he were proud that she was his future wife, real or imagined.
Malcolm was proud of Selina. She was so beautiful, so kind, so much the lady, that he was very pleased to be able to tell people she was his affianced bride. And he was determined to ensure the match was as real in her mind as it was in his. Half of the three days were already gone, so he hadn’t much time to lose. When he reached up to help her from her horse, he almost told her of his feelings then. She was looking down at him, a sweet smile on her face. His hands were around her tiny waist, and he had an overwhelming desire to pull her into his arms, a desire that he thought he saw reflected in her eyes. He was about to act on that desire, when a groom suddenly appeared and he was forced to release her. She seemed as disappointed at the interruption as he. He had no other choice but to escort her into the house.
Malcolm was correct in thinking that Selina was disappointed at the interruption. She had thought herself close to being kissed very soundly, and was irritated that they were always interrupted at the most inopportune moments. She returned to her chamber to change into an afternoon gown, and stood in front of the closet for quite some time, trying to decide which gown would incite Malcolm to declare his undying love for her.
Selina was still standing in front of the closet, dressed in her riding habit, when she heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” she called absently, still staring into the closet. She thought it was probably Mary, come to help her dress. She did not even turn around, and so was taken completely by surprise when Cassie said, “Selina, you must come with me at once.”
“What?” she said, turning to look at him. He appeared extremely agitated; he was nearly wringing his hands in worry. “Is something the matter?”
“It most certainly is. I haven’t got time to tell you all the details; we must go down to the stables at once.” He put his hand under her elbow and began leading her out of the room and down the stairs. Cassie was considerably taller than Selina, and she was hampered by the long skirts of her habit, so she was distracted from questioning him too intently. She was focused instead on trying to keep from tripping on her skirt and breaking her neck.
“Cassie, could you stop pushing me? I am about to tumble headlong down the stairs,” Selina said in exasperation.
“We must hurry,” he replied, leading her through the front entry hall and down the steps. A curricle was standing in front of the hall with a groom holding the horses.
“Why must we hurry? You have not told me what is wrong. Is one of the horses ill?” Selina knew Cassie was generally more concerned about horses than people, although what he thought she could do to help she couldn’t fathom.
“No, it’s much worse than that. Julia’s run off.”
“What do you mean ‘run off’? Where would she go?”
“I don’t know. It’s probably some scheme of hers. But if we don’t get her back soon, she’s going to ruin her chances with Ossory. He doesn’t think too highly of her scheming.” As Cassie was talking he was urging Selina into a curricle. She had no desire to go anywhere, particularly not on some wild goose chase searching for Julia, but her protests went unheeded, and before she realized it Cassie was leading his horses down the drive and onto the main road.
“If you don’t know where Julia is, where are we going?”
“To an inn in Tunbridge Wells. She mentioned it last night. I think that’s probably where she’s gone.”
“But why? She spoke to me last night and she said nothing of going anywhere. Why would she go off by herself and risk ruining her reputation when she’s so close to becoming engaged to Mr. Ossory?”
“Why are you asking so many questions?” Cassie said, looking sulky. “I told you I don’t know. I’ve never been able to figure out what Julia’s thinking. I just know she’s always thinking up stupid schemes to make my life difficult.”
Selina had to acknowledge this was true, but she thought it strange that Julia hadn’t intimated anything of the sort in their conversation last night. But Cassie was evidently not in the mood to talk so she stopped questioning him. She did notice however, that he had not taken the road to Tunbridge Wells. He was going in the direction of London.
“Cassie, you’re going the wrong way,” she told him.
“Eh? No, I don’t think so. Why don’t you look at the pretty flowers?”
“You are definitely going the wrong way. This road goes to London. You should have turned back there for Tunbridge Wells. I saw the sign.”
“I know where I’m going. By Jove, look at the pretty rose bush,” he said, pointing at a rhododendron.
Selina was frustrated beyond belief. She could not imagine why she’d let this yahoo ever talk her into going anywhere with him. She reached over and grabbed his hands that held the reins and pulled as hard as she could.
“Selina!” Cassie yelled at her, as the horses reared back in confusion. “Are you trying to kill us? Don’t do that.” Selina knew this was her only chance to escape. The ground looked awfully far away, but so was London, and she had no intention of spending hours on a journey there with Cassie. So before the horses had a chance to resume their previous speed, she stood up in the curricle, preparing to jump.
“Hey, what’s that you’re doing?” Cassie shouted, pulling the horses to a halt with one hand and grabbing the back of Selina’s dress with another. She was extremely relieved she hadn’t had to jump while they were moving. Now that she was standing up, the ground looked even further away.
“I have no intention of going with you to London, Cassie. So please explain to me right now what all of this is about.”
Cassie sighed, running a hand through his already thoroughly disheveled hair. “Women!” he said disgustedly. “You can never just do as you’re told.”
“From what I recall you haven’t told me anything,” Selina said, resuming her seat.
“It’s for your own good, don’t you see? I left a note. The others think we’re eloping. I told them that since Malcolm wasn’t prepared to do the honorable thing, I was going to.”
“You did what?” Selina asked in disbelief. “Why?”
“Julia told me the engagement was just a farce. I thought Malcolm needed some help coming to the sticking point. Now that he knows Ossory is interested in Julia, you needed someone else to make him jealous. I was happy to oblige.”
“Did Julia and Henry know about this, or was it your idea entirely?”
“It was entirely my own idea,” Cassie said, looking smug.
“Well, while I appreciate your concern, I hardly think abducting me in the middle of the afternoon will induce Malcolm to propose. He’ll probably just think it’s another attempt to deceive him, which will have the effect of making him distrust me again.”
“Dash it, I never thought of that.”
“Yes, well, there’s no harm done. Why don’t we just turn around and go back,” Selina said.
Cassie looked a little disappointed at the suggestion. He had thought participating in an elopement, even a false one, was a dashing thing to do. He had no desire to return meekly to Hadley Hall and spend the afternoon sitting in the saloon taking tea. He was a man of action.
Selina, sensing his disappointment, said, “Perhaps you could teach me to drive your curricle on the way home.”
Cassie perked up a little at her remark. He could envision himself riding up the drive to Hadley Hall, his arms masterfully around Selina as she held the reins. Malcolm would have to sit up and take notice then. “All right. You need to learn. Or else you’re going to end up killing someone. The first lesson is never to yank the reins out of someone else’s hands,” he told Selina, while wracking his brain to figure out a way to guarantee Malcolm would see them together.
Seventeen
Cassie could not believe his good fortune. As luck would have it, Malcolm exited the house just as he and Selina started up the drive. Selina had progressed to the point in their lessons where she was fully able to hold the reins without Cassie’s help, but when he saw Malcolm off in the distance Cassie immediately threw his arms around Selina in a tight embrace, placing his hands on hers.
Selina was startled by this sudden move on Cassie’s part. She twisted her body, trying to put distance between herself and Cassie. “What are you doing?” she asked him, turning her head to look at him.
“Never mind,” Cassie said, who was peering in Malcolm’s direction trying to see his reaction. “Just keep driving.”
“I can’t drive when you’re on top of me like this. You’re pulling the horses in the wrong direction. Cassie!” she yelled, as she looked forward and realized they were headed directly for the lake.
Cassie turned at Selina’s scream and pulled hard on the reins. He was able to turn the horses at the last moment so they did not enter the water, but the curricle wheel sunk into the damp ground at the edge of the lake and tipped sideways and Selina and Cassie were tossed into the murky water.
The water was shallow and they were not traveling very fast so Selina was not hurt, but she was shocked to be suddenly capsized into the lake. It was muddy where she landed and she was bogged down even further by her long skirt. She attempted to stand up and tripped and fell down backwards, landing on her bottom. Cassie was a foot or so away, and she realized it was his leg she’d tripped over. He hadn’t attempted to move; apparently he had still not recovered from the shock of finding himself in the lake. Before she could make a second attempt to get up, Malcolm appeared on the scene.
He observed them in silence for a moment, his expression serious. “Is this some sort of bizarre mating ritual with you, Selina?” Malcolm asked.
“That is not funny in the least,” Selina replied, struggling to get up.
“I was not attempting to be funny. I am not at all in the mood for jokes, having discovered the woman I am engaged to ran off with another man.”
Selina ceased her struggling, looking at Malcolm in disbelief. “You cannot believe I would actually elope with Cassie?”
Cassie took umbrage at her tone. “There’s no need to be insulting. Plenty of young ladies would jump at the chance,” he muttered, but was ignored by both Selina and Malcolm.
“I must admit I thought it farfetched at first, but then to see you drive up practically in his arms, well, what was I to think?”
“Exactly,” Cassie offered, grinning at the success of his plot, and he was again ignored.
“That your addlepated friend had abducted me and was intent on dumping me into the lake,” Selina said.
“That last bit wasn’t part of the plan, actually,” Cassie said.
“Oh, please be quiet, both of you, and somebody help me out of this lake.”
Malcolm was instantly remorseful. He hadn’t really believed Selina had eloped with Cassie, the idea was laughable, of course, but he couldn’t help feeling pangs of jealousy when he saw his woman in the arms of another man. He knew he was acting positively primeval but he couldn’t seem to help himself. If Selina didn’t consent to marry him soon he was sure to start grunting and pulling her around by the hair, while beating any man who looked in her direction.
He stepped as close as he could to the water, reaching out a hand to Selina. He was so busy berating himself for his lack of chivalry that he completely missed her wicked smile and the mischievous gleam that lit her eyes before she pulled him in.
Malcolm was shocked to find himself on his hands and knees in the cold water, with Selina’s laughing face just inches from his own. “Why you little vixen!” he said, reaching for her with his muddy hands.
