The Lady Tamed by Boyd, Heather (urban books to read TXT) 📗

given their adventurous natures.” Fanny’s nephews might be described as mischievous by those outside the family. The family knew better. The pair were the devil’s spawn. Angelic of face but possessed with inexhaustible imaginations. “You’ll likely see them everywhere. Come quickly before they see me and try to follow us.”

The journey to the Hawthorne estate was a pleasant stroll when one did not hurry, and Fanny slowed their steps once they reached the safety of the trees, well beyond the sight of Stapleton Manor’s many windows.

“Who are you going to see?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne. Neighbors on the other side of these woods.”

“Wonderful.” He looked at her, frowning. “We need to talk about how we greet each other, too.”

“I don’t understand.”

“To play the part of a smitten lady, you’ll need to behave a certain way. Do you remember your favorite performances at the theater where characters first meet each other?”

“A few,” she said.

“When you appear in a room, I will most likely try to catch your eye. The degree of welcome in your response will need to grow as time passes. But too much enthusiasm at first will seem false. The danger will be in allowing our enthusiasm to spoil the performance. Usually it’s worked out during rehearsals, but we have little time for that I suspect. Let me show you.”

He took up her hand, raised it and lifted his shoulders as he declared gushingly, “My lady, it has been too long.”

Fanny giggled.

“See? Utterly false.” He repositioned himself a few yards away. “Now this…”

He met her gaze and a soft smile turned up his lips. His steps were unhurried as he crossed to her a second time, and he never looked away. “My dear lady, it has been too long.” He caught her outstretched hand and the degree of warmth in his smile increased a little. “Now you respond,” he whispered out the side of his mouth.

“Oh, yes,” Fanny replied, doing her best to come up with something suitable. “Mr. Dawes, how I have missed you, sir,” she promised, doing her best to mimic the inflections of a lovestruck woman.

“A little too strong, perhaps,” he suggested. “Remember we’re not trying to beat them over the head with the suspicion. A hint of partiality is all we need to make it seem a romance is in the air.”

He brought her hand to his lips. Although it might seem so to anyone observing them, his lips never once touched her gloves. He raised his eyes to her and winked.

Fanny fought a blush.

He dropped her hand without kissing it. “Now that was a well-played scene, I should think. A pity there were no witnesses.”

Fanny nodded, suddenly aware of the warmth of her cheeks and the rapid beat of her heart. She dropped her gaze from his. “There should be at least one next time.”

“And one is all we need to begin a suspicion.” He held out his arm to her. “Shall we continue?”

“Indeed.”

He looked down on her with a cheeky smile. “London was quiet without you.”

She looked up at him concerned. “Was there still no word when the new play will begin rehearsals?”

“None,” he promised. “And I am grateful, too, because I will have more time and energy to devote to you. I promise to put all my effort into making this performance as realistic as possible and not being an embarrassment.”

“Mr. Dawes, I could never be embarrassed by you.”

“Thank you. I do hope you’re right.”

She smiled at the young actor by her side, encouraging him, she hoped, to be more optimistic. Her play would be a success in her eyes if the fortune hunters left her alone, and if it didn’t exactly turn out as planned, she’d make adjustments accordingly.

Every now and then a beam of light would strike him, revealing the odd copper strand in his hair. He was quite dashing now. But Jeremy didn’t need training in turning a woman’s head. He had an agile tongue for flattery which was so useful in society. “You do look the part, and sound it to my ear.”

“I’ll consider that the highest compliment of my life,” he promised placing his free hand over his heart.

Fanny laughed, clinging to his arm. The man was outrageous.

They strolled along side by side, Mr. Dawes peppering her with questions about the family and her childhood home. But he was constantly looking about them. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s eerie under so many trees.”

“I’ve always thought trees romantic. I had my first kiss in these very woods,” she admitted with a laugh.

Jeremy looked at her with one brow raised high. “May I ask who the lucky man was? Or was it your late husband?”

“A lady never tells,” she said with a coy smile.

“Not your husband then,” he guessed, correctly too. “So is the fellow at liberty still, or did your father lock him in his dungeon for his daring?”

Fanny laughed. What would he say if he knew Fanny had been the one to take liberties? People always assumed she had been a good girl, which was a mistake on their part, really. “My father isn’t a tyrant, and he doesn’t have a dungeon, either. Papa never knew about that kiss and he never will.”

“Ha! So you were kissed by a scoundrel, and he got away with it. Lucky devil.”

“I suppose,” she murmured. “I am actually very glad I never had to marry him. Scoundrels make terrible husbands in my opinion.”

“And that is the only opinion that matters today,” he promised.

She looked at him curiously. “So, where did your first kiss take place, Mr. Dawes?”

“Oh, no. I’m an innocent still,” he promised with a sly wink. “Never been kissed.”

Fanny laughed outright at his boast. “By all means, keep your own counsel. I don’t mean to pry.”

Jeremy’s grin widened. “Yes, you do, my lady. You’ve been prying into my past since the day we met.”

“It’s your own fault for being so mysterious,” she complained.

He looked ahead. “There’s nothing about my past that a proper lady needs to hear.”

Fanny disagreed, but Jeremy was stubborn