The Rakehell Regency(286)

"Henry!" Clifford said oppressively. "If you shock Miss Ashton again I shall have to scold you most severely."



"Oh, it's all right," she said, feeling her cheeks burning. "I have heard far worse."



"I hope you will find better company then, Miss Ashton," Jonathan asserted with a quelling look at Henry and Gareth.



He moved closer to her now, placing himself between she and Gareth as he stood to offer his hand.



"Forgive us, Mr. Cavendish, but we need to go over to see the Jeromes. Samuel is shipping out with his regiment as well this week."



"Ah, I dare say we shall be traveling down to Portsmouth together, then. Yes, of course you must be leaving. Very kind of you all to call. I'm so glad to have had the chance to see you all."



"And may I wish you the best of luck, and God's blessings upon you," Jonathan said as he shook hands.



His words were kind enough, but Jonathan stood toe to toe with the younger man. If Pamela didn't know better, she would have said he was trying to intimidate him.



"Let me just look over the parcels to Michael and Blake one more time," she suggested, in order to dispel the tense atmosphere.



"Indeed. Delighted to be of service. And thank you for the blessing, Mr. Deveril. Do take care, you and your delightful sister."



He bowed over Sarah's hand, then Vanessa's. He took his leave of Pamela with every show of polite but respectful regard.



Once they were safely out of the house Jonathan pulled Pamela's arm close to his side, so that she was pressed up against his outer thigh most intimately.



"Word of warning about him. He is said to be a rake, though not quite as bad as his father and siblings."



"I'm not interested in his talents in the boudoir. I simply need a good estate manager and steward," Pamela said with a toss of her head. "He's intelligent, well educated, energetic and knows the land. I'm in need of a good servant, and he's in need of a decent home with congenial companions."



"People will talk. What will your aunt say?"



She shrugged. "I don't care. You're the one who told me when my father was ill that there was no shame in asking for help from someone who was best able to give it. At the time you were talking about nursing him, a special skill. Gareth Cavendish has those skills. Accounting and legal skills. Why not ask him for help? And I shall have the satisfaction of being able to help him in return."



"You could have asked me," Jonathan said, trying to keep the hurt out of his tone. He wished he could rein himself in, but his feelings were galloping out of control even more rapidly than his mount had this morning, with no pulling them back. "If you have any difficulties, you can always come to me. I thought you knew that!"



Pamela stopped, allowing the others in their party to veer away. They were kind enough to pretend they were admiring the overgrown gardens, trying to give the quarreling couple some privacy.



She shook her head vehemently. "You already have helped me, Jonathan. So much more than I can ever say or thank you for. And you go to the assistance of everyone in the entire parish. I can't ask you for any more favors, or monopolize you."



"People will talk--"



"About Gareth working for my family? Or about you suddenly taking to running my estate? Regardless, one or the other of you will be labeled a fortune hunter, will you not?"



Jonathan looked as though he had been slapped. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so angry. "You can't honestly think I would--"



"No!" she denied quickly. "I just meant that they will say it! You know they will. And you cannot afford to get yourself talked of. You're the vicar of this parish! And as I'm sure everyone in the district would agree, any connection between us would be deemed shockingly unsuitable," she added, testing him, though she was ashamed of herself for doing so.



She regretted the words as soon as she said them. His face looked as black as a thundercloud. For a moment his mouth worked up and down. For once in his life, the vicar seemed at a complete and utter loss as to what to say.



"Yes, quite. Most unsuitable," he gritted out, "for a man of the cloth to be led around by the nose by a shameless flirt."



Pamela began to protest in outrage, when he lifted her almost bodily into the carriage and crammed her into the far corner.



The other women scurried up quickly before matters grew any more heated between them.



Jonathan helped Sarah in next, then Josephine and Vanessa. He sat next to his sister on the same side of the carriage as Pamela so that she could not see his face or continue the argument that had suddenly erupted between them with all the force of a volcano.