An Earl by Any Other Name(10)

"My father is indeed the newspaperman." She chuckled. He wasn't the first to react that way to her father's background. Leo's eyes were still fixed upon her face and she tried not to wriggle under the intense scrutiny of his gaze. It made her feel warm in the oddest places, and it was much more like the Leo she'd known as a girl.

"Fortunate indeed that I found you, then." He looked over her shoulder into the motorcar. "Your luggage?"

Before she could step out of the way, he moved, accidentally pressing her against the door. A flush of heat coursed through her in a sudden rush when he didn't immediately step back. His eyes blazed with an unexpected interest that made her feel small and vulnerable. As though he could see through her, pick apart her soul, and study the pieces and understand her. What a terrifying thought … Never had she wanted a man to evoke such a feeling, but with him, it was exciting, rather than frightening. Ivy licked her lips and his eyes tracked the movements the way a lion would a mouse.

"Your"-he breathed deeply-"bag," he murmured, sliding past her to reach into the Hudson. He retrieved it without any of the trouble she'd had. "This way."

He gestured toward his auto, which was parked next to hers.

It was a lovely black Stanley Touring motorcar. Her father had almost bought the same model instead of the Hudson, but in the end he'd opted for the striking yellow auto, valuing the flash more than the extra seats.

Leo walked ahead of her, placing her luggage behind the front passenger seat.

Ivy retrieved her eye goggles and hastily got into her side of the Stanley, which earned her a raised brow by Leo, who had only just turned to try and open the door for her. For some reason, she needed a moment of space between them, at least long enough to get her breath and her good sense back. How was a woman supposed to concentrate around such an irresistible man? When he was too close, she seemed to think only of him and wonder if his lips were as soft as they looked.

Once they were driving back down the road, he turned to look at her.

"Are you traveling alone? Mother mentioned your father was coming. I'm sure she would have insisted you be escorted." There was a note of disapproval to his voice that she didn't like.

She hesitated before replying. "My father is coming tomorrow afternoon on the train, and he's bringing my lady's maid and his valet. Your mother said one of her upstairs maids could wait upon me until they arrived."

"So was that your father's Hudson?"

The question prickled her because his tone seemed to imply a woman could not own a motorcar. It was her father's but only because she insisted they share a vehicle, when he offered to buy her one of her own. They didn't need two; that would have been silly.

"It is," she replied a tad stiffly. "But I have plenty of experience driving it."

Let him think what he will about that.

Leo was silent for a moment. "So … you are … friends with my mother?"

Ivy nibbled her bottom lip, considering how best to answer that. Lady Hampton had always looked out for her as a child, especially when her mother fell ill. The countess was the one who had located Ivy's father and informed him that he had a daughter. For such a service, the word friend hardly seemed adequate. Leo's mother was a veritable godsend. But she was supposed to remember the little prank they were to play upon Leo by keeping her real name a secret for a time.


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"We met in London three months ago at a charity function held by Lady Buxton." A lie. The countess had crafted a story to explain how they met to keep Leo from discovering Ivy's true identity. She also didn't want Leo knowing that she and Ivy were involved in the Women's Social and Political union   together. When Ivy had questioned the deceptive plan, Lady Hampton had explained her predicament vaguely, saying Leo had become too rigid, too driven, and wasn't open in his thinking, especially toward the suffragette movement.

"He needs adventure and mystery, my dear, and you can provide both. It shall be a fun game. He needs to be shocked for his own good."

But Ivy had grown up at Hampton House and worried the servants would recognize her. The countess had insisted that the servants who'd known her as a child had been instructed to treat her as they would any guest, not as the child they had helped raise.

Ivy had no desire for "Button" to be resurrected in Leo's mind, and a few days of simply being herself would be fun. She would not play the deceiver long, though. She would tell Leo who she was soon; she would simply leave out his mother's involvement in the local suffragette gathering.