To Drake’s way of thinking, the man had no more business being in London than he did in turning the heads of the two most desirable creatures in town. And as he watched him now in the crowded salon, making love to Lucy with his smile and his eyes, Drake smirked a little. When he returned to London, he’d have a full account of the man from Mr. Garfield. He’d be pleased to expose him to the ton. Just thinking about that happy occasion prompted Drake to smile and move to interrupt an intimate discussion between Lucy and the scoundrel.
He bowed deeply before Lucy. “Miss Lucy, you are as radiant as ever.”
She smiled in that superior way she had, lifting her chin. “Good evening, Mr. Lockhart. I wasn’t aware you had arrived.”
Little liar. He’d seen her up on the first-floor balustrade, leaning over to have a peek when he and Nigel had arrived. “Then I was remiss in not sending word to you straightaway.”
That earned him a cold look, which told Drake she knew about his note to Anna. Sisters! They were not to be trusted in the least. “I shouldn’t like to interrupt,” Drake said, sparing Ardencaple no more than a glance, “but I was having a look at the globe in the corner, and I found that I could not locate exactly where your lady mother’s family hails from. I wondered if you might be kind enough to assist me.”
Lucy’s gaze narrowed. “Is it so very hard to find England on the globe, sir?”
Ooh, she was angry with him, and Drake could not help his smile—he’d very much enjoy bringing her round to adoring him again. “I’m afraid I’m entirely unaccustomed to viewing the world on a globe.”
The Scotsman snorted into his drink.
Lucy sighed with great tedium and glanced at the Scottish bastard. “Would you please excuse me, my lord? I shall endeavor to point out Great Britain to Mr. Lockhart.”
“By all means,” he said with a smile, and Lucy smiled back at him with every feminine inch of herself.
Drake took her by the elbow and steered her clear of the bastard. “Come now, Miss Lucy,” he admonished her. “Would you give all your attention to a foreigner?”
“He’s hardly a foreigner, sir, and I can’t possibly understand what difference it makes, given that your attention recently has been directed elsewhere.”
“Directed elsewhere? Is that the thanks I am to have for courting you all Season?”
“Courting me? How odd that I should think you’ve been courting my sister! But what can I think, what with all the private notes of affection hurled her way?”
“There now, sweetheart,” he said soothingly as they reached the globe. “I fully expected you’d be pleased when she came crying to you with the news that I’ve determined my heart’s inclinations lie elsewhere—but not with her.”
His insinuation had the desired affect; Lucy came to a sudden halt and peered up at him.
“Didn’t she tell you?” he asked, acting terribly surprised.
“No… she said she was to impress your good qualities on me, but I didn’t believe her. I thought you’d written something rather provocative, just for her.”
“My sweet little bird, you assumed to know the bent of my devotion instead of hearing it from mine own lips? Have I been untruthful or unfaithful to my word?”
She thought about that for a moment, then shook her head.
“You know how I feel about you… why should I ever want to jeopardize your good opinion of me?”
Lucy smiled a little then and impudently tossed her head. “I really wouldn’t know,” she said with mock disdain, and put her hands on the globe. “No more than I would know why you can’t seem to find Great Britain, Mr. Lockhart. It is quite plainly here.”
Drake looked up; she was smiling warmly. He returned that smile and carefully leaned over her shoulder to have a look at Great Britain.
Anna’s intolerable day bled into an intolerable night, particularly given Grif’s attention to Lucy. When he’d arrived at the gathering before the supper was served—a little later than most, she noticed—he’d gone to Lucy’s side immediately, smiling gorgeously, his eyes crinkling in the corners. He was doing his part quite well, Anna thought petulantly. Yet she didn’t think it necessary that his smile be that bright.
That smile… she desperately wanted it for herself, and the brighter it shone for Lucy, the harder her heart wrenched. She couldn’t bear to see that smile shining on anyone but her, really, and turned away from him, made her presence known to Mr. Northam.
It seemed forever before they were called to supper, and fortunately, Anna was seated next to Mr. Bradenton, who was quite interested in the hunting dogs she trained, as well as, she sensed, her. She should have been thrilled with the attention of one of the ton’s most eligible bachelors, but she wasn’t. She was perturbed that Mr. Bradenton was seated at the opposite end of the table from Grif, so that in the course of supper she had little opportunity to see Grif at all, for Mr. Bradenton kept her quite engaged.
But she could hear his deep, lilting voice and laugh, and it scored her, over and over again.