“Please wait,” Sebastian entreated her, but she hurried on.
He could have reached out and restrained her but that seemed wrong somehow. Instead, he strode past her and ducked around the final trellis to block her path.
She gave a start when he suddenly appeared in front of her, coming to an abrupt halt.
“Please excuse me,” he begged. “I never meant to imply you would put your own interests ahead of your friend’s. On the contrary, I admire your wish to see Miss Leonard happy even if it means an unwelcome change for you.”
“Think no more of it, sir.” Rebecca’s gaze darted as if seeking a way around him. “You could not know I had such strong feelings on the subject.”
“I share your desire for security and stability,” Sebastian admitted. “Though having a fixed home, no matter how grand, does not always ensure those blessings.”
What on earth had made him say that? It was a subject he had never broached with anyone—not even his brother.
When Rebecca cast him a questioning glance, he feared he might be tempted to say more. Before she could draw him out, he stepped back to let her pass. “The clouds are gathering. I expect you and Miss Leonard will want to be on your way before it starts to rain.”
Even as he suggested her departure, Sebastian was torn between a need to maintain his privacy and a compelling urge to remain in Rebecca’s company.
For a moment she seemed poised to question him, then appeared to reconsider. “You are right, Lord Benedict. It is time we returned to Rose Grange.”
They walked side by side in uneasy silence for several moments before she spoke again. “I fear our debate has not persuaded either of us to alter our opinions. If anything, mine are more deeply entrenched than ever.”
Sebastian could not deny that. Yet the prospect of further discussion and further meetings with Rebecca Beaton appealed to him. “Never fear. This debate of ours is far from over.”
“Thank goodness that’s over!” As the carriage drove away from Stanhope Court, Hermione sank back in her seat with a dramatic flourish. “I have never been so thoroughly cowed in all my life. I find it hard to believe Claude and Lord Benedict are even half brothers, they are so little alike.”
“Half brothers?” Rebecca mused. “I had no idea. There is a resemblance in looks between them, though very little in character.”
Claude Stanhope was a boyishly handsome young man with most engaging manners, yet Rebecca could not deny she found Sebastian even more attractive on both counts. In spite of his unaccountable prejudice against Hermione, he was a fine man who cared about his brother and his country and who treated her as his equal.
“So tell me,” urged Hermione in the tone of a gleeful conspirator, “do you still deny you can charm Lord Benedict? If he liked me even half as well as he likes you, I should not have a moment’s worry about him turning Claude against me.”
“I’m certain he would never do that.” Rebecca sprang to Sebastian’s defense. Then she recalled how he had tried to enlist her to break up the match. “I am even more certain he thinks nothing of me except as your companion.”
Rebecca cringed to recall how easily she had deluded herself into hoping otherwise. What could have possessed her to imagine Viscount Benedict had been about to propose to her? Fortunately the notion had been so far from his true intentions that he’d had no idea of her foolish false hopes. If he ever guessed, she would be thoroughly mortified.
Now she knew the truth. He had only cultivated her acquaintance as a means of ending his brother’s engagement. She could not bring herself to tell Hermione. The poor girl was intimidated enough by the viscount already. If, as Rebecca hoped, the marriage went ahead, she did not want the knowledge of Sebastian’s machinations to create animosity between him and his sister-in-law.
Hermione shook her head with a doubtful frown. “If his lordship only thought of you in connection to me, he should loathe you. Surely you do not think he feels that way?”
“Hardly.” Rebecca turned to gaze out the carriage window at the green hills and hedgerows. They reminded her of the enchanting tiered gardens at Stanhope Court. “His lordship was most courteous.”
Though she knew part of it might have been a calculated bid to gain her assistance, she sensed Sebastian genuinely liked her. What was more, he seemed to value those aspects of her character that others might consider flaws.
Hermione chuckled to herself as if at some secret jest. “It is clear your opinion of him has not altered for the worse. To hear the two of you talk, one would think you were old friends.”
Rebecca could not dispute that observation, though she knew Hermione did not understand, or entirely approve of her liking for Lord Benedict. She had never felt so much at ease with anyone she’d known such a short time. Usually it took a while for her to warm to new acquaintances and begin to trust them. Yet, on only their third meeting, she had confided some of her most private feelings to Sebastian, not to mention agreeing to the familiarity of first names. Part of her regretted being so unguarded, but another part welcomed such unaccustomed closeness.
“Did you have any opportunity to recommend me to his lordship?” Hermione’s question jarred Rebecca from her musing. “Or were you too busy enjoying his gardens and his company?”
“The gardens are marvelous aren’t they?” Rebecca hoped she might have the opportunity to see them again, though she doubted she would enjoy them quite so much without the stimulation of Sebastian’s company. “Lord Benedict and I talked a little about you and his brother. Though our opinions on your suitability for one another are entirely opposite, that did not prevent us from having a polite exchange of views. I believe he hopes to change my mind as I hope to change his.”
Hermione straightened abruptly and leaned toward Rebecca. “You won’t let him do that, will you? I don’t know what I should do if I lost your support.”
“Never fear.” Rebecca cast her dear young friend a reassuring smile. “Though I may seem quiet and placid, I am stubborn in clinging to my beliefs. It will take much more formidable persuasion to budge me than Lord Benedict can bring to bear.”
“It is not his formidable persuasion that worries me,” Hermione replied. “I am afraid he may charm you over to his way of thinking.”
Rebecca had to admit, at least to herself, that was the more likely possibility.
Chapter Five
“COME ALONG NOW,” Sebastian chivied his brother a few days after the ladies had visited Stanhope Court. “You don’t want to be late, do you? If you’re so much in love, you should be anxious to see your sweetheart again.”