An Earl by Any Other Name(9)

She tilted her head to the side. Something was different about him, and it wasn't simply that he'd grown into a man and left the last traces of his boyhood behind. No … he had changed, and she couldn't put her finger on how. There was a seriousness to him, a grave solemnity of a man who'd suffered tragedy and loss and now bore a heavy burden. It gave her a bittersweet longing for the young man he'd once been and a respect for the man he'd become now. One thing that had not changed was the effect of his devastating smile. He could have made a fortune bottling it and selling it to lonely hearts throughout England.

In his unbuttoned Burberry motoring coat, trousers, and cap, Leo looked every inch a man of leisure. Yet a silver pocket watch chain glinting in the sunlight lent him an air of authority and precision. An altogether different impression from the boy he'd once been who'd spent an evening capturing glow worms with her in the garden or comforting her after she'd had a rough day and scraped her knee while running about.

She remembered grinning at him so broadly her cheeks hurt as he bent down to show her a captured insect between his palms. The green light had illuminated his face as he studied the black insect. In that moment, they'd been bound together by a spell of twilight and an effervescent glow. Having to stay still, breaths held, so as not to frighten the shy glowworm into darkening her shine. Her heart clenched in longing for warm summer nights like those again. She swallowed the sudden sense of homesickness for a place she'd forced herself to try and forget.


      ///
       
         
       
        

"It was very kind of you to stop and help a lady in distress." She offered a smile, hoping the action would lift her spirits. She had to put memories of that sixteen-year-old boy with merry, twinkling eyes and a tempting smile behind her or she'd be lost. He's not for you; you cannot fall in love with him, not again. The Leo she faced now was businesslike and polite, with only a hint of that charming, troublemaking boy she remembered so well.

What had changed him? Had his mother been right that his father's death and the pressures of running the estate had turned him cool and passionless? She'd heard some of the rumors about his father but wasn't sure if they were true. Given how the whispers of his father's mistress had persisted, it had likely affected his reception with most of the respectable families in the city. Even now she could see a hint of that resigned expression in his beautiful eyes. Where was the fiery young man who'd stolen her heart? No wonder Lady Hampton begged me to come visit him.

"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I am the Earl of Hampton. I would be delighted to help, though I confess to knowing nothing of motorcar engines. If you permit, I shall escort you to your destination and send my mechanic to repair your automobile and return it to you." As Leo spoke, he leaned in, placing one hand against the car beside her hip, and she shivered at the scent of him and his warmth. She had always been aware of him; like a planet hugging a distant star, she was connected to him in ways she'd never been with any other man. And that was what made him so dangerous to her. He was perhaps the one man in all of England who could tempt her into falling in love. And love would ruin all of her dreams for a brighter future as a woman with rights. Still, she had promised Lady Hampton she would visit the house and see Leo; she simply needed to guard her heart while she was here.

"My lord, it seems we are both fortunate. My destination is in fact Hampton House. I was invited by the countess for her house party."

This caught him by surprise. His eyes narrowed slightly as his gaze swept her body. Within her tan duster covered in dirt, Ivy must have looked a fright. Not that she could have helped her appearance, but she would have loved to have met him again under better circumstances.

Comprehension showed in the widening of his eyes as he made some mental connection. "My mother invited you? You aren't the newspaper fellow's daughter, are you?"

The newspaper fellow? So Lady Hampton had mentioned her coming, then. Over tea, Lady Hampton had outlined a scheme to play a game upon Leo that required some level of discretion as to Ivy's identity. Leo's mother was convinced he would be too well behaved if he realized Ivy had once been the child he'd looked after. It would be better to hide her identity for a time so she could be treated like any other lady he might meet. The idea of deception hadn't set well with Ivy, but she had to admit she did not want him thinking of Button during the house party. 

I'll tell him who I really am, after he has a chance to know me as a woman.