His nostrils flared and his firm jaw clenched into even grimmer severity. Yet his whole aspect radiated more injury than anger.
Though Rebecca tried to resist, his response stirred her to the very core. She pressed her lips together, reluctant to speak, for fear she would relent out of sympathy for him, rather than because it was the right thing to do.
Sebastian must have taken that look as a sign she had hardened her heart against him. “I swear I would never do any of the things you have suggested! I admit that before the knot is tied, I will do everything in my power to prevent it. But if my brother does wed Miss Leonard, I will do my utmost to insure their marriage is a success. You do believe me, don’t you?”
Rebecca longed to give him the assurance he seemed to crave, but could she? If only her mother’s family had taken the approach Sebastian vowed he would, how differently her life might have turned out. Instead, they’d borne a grudge that persisted even beyond the grave.
“I am certain you are capable of magnanimous behavior if you set your mind to it.” Her fingertips tingled with the yearning to reach up and give his cheek a reassuring caress, but she did not dare take such a liberty. “But I also know it is not as easy as you imagine to put aside the past and behave contrary to your previous inclinations.”
He leaned closer to her. Did he intend to whisper a secret in her ear? Rebecca knew what she wished he would do. Her lips ached with longing for one kiss from him, however meaningless, however fleeting.
The sound of approaching voices broke upon the shimmering intensity of that moment like a splash of cold water. With a guilty start, they both jumped back, leaving a discreet distance between them that gaped like an unbridgeable chasm.
An instant later, Hermione and her fiancé breezed in.
“How is the sketch coming?” Claude Stanhope strode toward Rebecca’s easel. “Done, I presume, if Miss Beaton is no longer working on it.”
“I still have some finishing touches to add.” Rebecca flew to intercept him. What if her sketch somehow betrayed her feelings for Sebastian? “But I can complete those later, without needing Lord Benedict on hand to pose.”
She was grateful the younger couple had interrupted before any greater intimacy developed between her and Sebastian. Yet in the wake of her relief came a chilling ripple of regret that spread in ever-widening circles through the still, deep waters of her heart.
Another minute and he would have kissed Rebecca.
That certainty haunted Sebastian over the next several days, making him avoid Avoncross like the plague, even though it meant letting his brother call on Miss Leonard, unaccompanied.
What troubled him, as much as his unmanageable feelings for Rebecca, was the fear that she believed him capable of trying to wreck Claude’s marriage, if he wed Miss Leonard. Sebastian would rather Rebecca’s sketch of him had turned into a grotesque caricature than fall short of her best judgment of him.
He hated to admit how much her opinion of him had come to matter. Her reluctant suspicions and gentle reproaches stung him worse than he’d been hurt in a long while. Sebastian had vowed he would never again allow a woman that kind of power over him. How had Rebecca Beaton breached all his defenses to strike so deep?
“There you are.” Claude strode into the library of Stanhope Court, where Sebastian had been pretending to read for the past two hours. “Miss Leonard and Miss Beaton send their regards and hope you are not indisposed. I assured them you are in the pink of health though rather vexed in spirit.”
“Indeed.” Sebastian scowled at his brother’s heartless levity.
“Oh yes.” Claude grinned as if he found Sebastian’s scowl more amusing than intimidating. “That is why I have brought something to show you. I hope it will improve your mood.”
From behind his back, he produced a large sheet of rolled paper, tied with a string. Undoing the latter, he let the paper unfurl to reveal Rebecca’s completed sketch of Hermione Leonard.
“Lovely isn’t it?” Clause beamed as if he’d drawn the picture himself. “Even you must admit that, Sebastian.”
“I have never questioned the lady’s good looks,” Sebastian snapped. “Nor am I surprised to find Miss Beaton has produced a flattering likeness of her.”
The sketch was more than that, he grudgingly admitted to himself. Rebecca had brought out a soft glow of sweetness in Hermione Leonard’s dark eyes. The depiction of her lips suggested patience and generosity. Sebastian felt as if he were looking at an entirely different woman. He could not help wondering which of them saw his brother’s fiancée more clearly.
“Miss Beaton now, is it?” Claude’s eyes danced with impudence. “No longer Rebecca? I thought the two of you would be on more familiar terms after the other day, not less.”
Sebastian bolstered his scowl with a frosty glare. Together, they did a better job of cowing his brother.
Claude ducked his head and began to roll the paper back up with infinite care. “I mean to take this to London tomorrow to have it framed properly. Miss Beaton has finished yours, too, whenever you choose to collect it. I would have brought it with me but I did not want to deprive you of an excuse to call on the lady.”
“I do not need an excuse to call on Miss Beaton.” Sebastian dropped his heavy book to the floor and surged up from his chair. “Nor do I want one. I am amazed you can tear yourself away from Miss Leonard long enough to go to London. Are you growing tired of her at last?”
“Not in the least.” Claude did not look up as he retied the rolled-up sketch. “Hermione and her father are going to pay a short visit to an aunt of hers. I thought I might as well go to London as mope around here until she returns.”
“Whereabouts is this aunt located?” Sebastian demanded. “I suppose Miss Beaton will accompany them.”
He tried to sound barely interested, though that was far from true. Even while he had gone out of his way to avoid Rebecca of late, there had been something comforting about the knowledge that she was not far away if he chose to call on her.
Claude shook his head. “There wasn’t room to take both Hermione’s maid and Miss Beaton, so she has stayed behind at Rose Grange. I believe she means to use the time to make inquiries about a new position. Do we know anyone who might need a governess? Lord and Lady Rayleigh have daughters, don’t they?”
“A pack of young hoydens.” Sebastian shuddered. “They need a wild animal tamer more than a governess.”
He had no doubt Rebecca would be equal to the challenge of civilizing the Rayleigh girls if she put her mind to it. But it grieved him to think what an uphill battle it would be for her. Not to mention the Rayleighs’ estate was off in the northern wilds of Cumberland. It would be quite a change from the Cotswolds, especially for Rebecca, who cherished familiarity.
“A companion, then?” suggested Claude. “Perhaps to the Dowager Lady Stevenage?”