Madeline caught his gaze. Was he implying she was a local feature, moreover one of sufficient attraction to induce him to remain in Cornwall? Her eyes started to narrow.
Gervase turned to Courtland. “You’ll have to excuse us. Miss Gascoigne was about to leave.” He offered her his arm. “Come. I’ll ride with you to the lane.”
Madeline struggled not to glare. But here was a conundrum: She didn’t wish to encourage Gervase-to in any way let him believe she approved of such arrogantly protective behavior-yet her instincts had already decided she didn’t wish to dally with Courtland.
She compromised, letting her eyes speakingly flare at Gervase as she put her hand on his arm, then she turned to Courtland with a dismissive smile. “I hope you enjoy your time in the district, sir.”
Courtland bowed. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Gascoigne.” Straightening, he smiled into her eyes. “No doubt we’ll meet again.”
She made no reply, just waited while he and Gervase exchanged curt farewells, then allowed Gervase to steer her toward the house.
They paused on the way to thank their hostess, the vicar’s sister Miss Maple, then continued on. Madeline glanced at the group of London ladies and gentlemen as they passed. Laughing and joking rather too loudly, they didn’t quite fit the tenor of the afternoon.
“I’m curious about Lady Hardesty,” she murmured, “but not curious enough to bother tangling with them all.”
“Do you know which one she is?” Gervase asked.
Madeline shook her head. “Dark-haired, that’s all I’ve heard.” There were three dark-haired ladies in the group.
Once they were away from the milling guests, she glanced at Gervase, intending to make her disapproval of his too-protective stance clear, only to see him eyeing-narrowly-something. She followed his gaze to three raffish gentlemen clearly hailing from Lady Hardesty’s party. The trio were standing to one side, openly eyeing anything in skirts. Their eyes turned her way; their gazes met Gervase’s.
A second passed as over her head some elemental male exchange took place, then the trio shifted almost nervously and all three looked away.
Looking ahead, Madeline canvassed her options. She knew how pigheaded her father used to get, and even Harry occasionally showed signs of that particular male affliction. Of course, both her father and Harry held some claim to the right to protect her, something Gervase didn’t.
Regardless, she knew how fruitless it was to argue with a male in the grip of protective delusion; that Gervase didn’t have any right to behave so was unlikely to make him more receptive to her protest.
Indeed, quite possibly less, for he’d know himself in the wrong and would therefore argue all the harder.
From her point of view, little would be gained by airing the issue if all that happened was that he dug in his heels and growled; it might serve her better to pretend she found his irritating behavior so ludicrous as to be beneath her notice.
She liked that idea. She was smiling to herself when they reached the narrow path that ran through the shrubbery to the stable courtyard. The passage was narrow; Gervase stood back to let her go ahead.
Defiantly lifting her chin, she stepped forward.
His hand fleetingly brushed the back of her waist.
She swallowed a gasp as sensation flooded her, searing skin, tightening nerves. She stumbled-
Hard hands grasped her waist, steadying her.
Against a large, hard, hot male body.
Her lungs seized; her knees felt weak. She felt flushed and skittish. At her back, she could feel the muscled solidity of his body all down the length of hers. Her breath strangled in her throat.
Eyes wide, she glanced over her shoulder-and met his amber eyes.
Close, so close, those eyes saw too much; they searched hers, then passed slowly over her face…lingered on her lips.
Time stopped.
Stretched.
Her lips throbbed.
The sounds of others approaching reached them.
Gervase glanced back; his hands briefly gripped, enough for her to sense their steely strength, then he urged her on.
Her feet moved, one in front of the other; his hands fell from her.
By the time she reached the end of the passageway and stepped out into the open, she’d managed to subdue her traitorous senses enough to haul in a breath.
There wasn’t anything she could say, any comment she wanted to make. His initial action had been nothing more than gentlemanly courtesy-an escort’s steadying touch. It was her reaction that had precipitated the rest.
Just the thought of being so susceptible to a man’s touch made her mind reel.
She glanced over her shoulder. Gervase was scanning the area around the horses and carriages, his expression the same as when he’d looked at the importuning trio. Forbidding, protective…possessive.
She blinked, looked for one last instant, then faced forward.
Protesting that he didn’t have the right to behave so over her was, she suspected, no longer even an option.
She was, absolutely and definitely, in much deeper trouble than she’d thought.
Chapter 4
Two evenings later, Madeline followed Muriel into Lady Porthleven’s drawing room. By an exercise of will she kept her gaze on her ladyship’s face, waiting while Muriel greeted their hostess.
She’d had two days to recover her equilibrium. On leaving the vicarage, Gervase had ridden alongside her gig until she’d reached the lane; she’d deftly turned into it, flourished her whip in farewell and escaped at a good clip, leaving him to ride on to the castle. She hadn’t looked back.
In the intervening hours, knowing she’d come face-to-face with him tonight, she’d endeavored to recall what their previous relationship had been-how they’d interacted, addressed each other; as far as she could remember she’d always treated him just as she did the other local gentlemen.
She’d come here tonight girded for battle, determined to get their interaction back on its previous tack, well away from the increasingly personal, increasingly intimate level they’d been broaching.
“Madeline.” Turning from Muriel, Lady Porthleven clasped her hand warmly. Her ladyship’s protuberant eyes widened as she took in Madeline’s gown. “That’s a delightful shade, my dear.” Raising her quizzing glass, she examined the rich, bronzed silk. “It matches your hair wonderfully, and does very nice things for your skin. You should wear it more often.”
Madeline smiled. “Thank you, ma’am.” With a nod, she started to move on to make way for the Entwhistles.
Mrs. Entwhistle reached forward and tapped her arm. “Lovely gown, Madeline, dear.”
Acknowledging the compliment with a confident smile, head high, she swept into the room. The compliments were welcome; she rarely paid much attention to her gowns-where was the point?-but it appeared she hadn’t forgotten how to shine when she wished.
Still smiling, still confident, she made for the circle of older gentlemen she customarily joined before dinner; as usual they stood before the French doors, tonight open to the terrace and the balmy night beyond. At no point did she glance around. She was not going to look to see if Gervase was present; he was just another gentleman to her.
Stationed inside the door chatting with Mrs. Juliard, Gervase saw Madeline sweep by. He blinked, looked again, then had to stop himself from staring, from turning to track her progress as she swept across the room.
With her back to the door, Mrs. Juliard hadn’t noticed the Valkyrie like vision. “We’ll definitely need a tent for the embroidery displays.”
“I’ll make a note of it the instant I reach home.” Gervase clung to his politely interested expression, although the urge to follow Madeline was a tangible thing. “If you’ll excuse me, I must have a word with Ridley about the contests he’s organizing.”