The Untamed Earl(70)

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

“If anything, I’d say it worked too well,” Lucy Hunt announced the next morning as the ladies strolled through the duke and duchess’s gardens. Lucy was wearing a spring green day dress with daisies laced through her hair. Cass wore a lavender silk gown and a lovely strand of pearls. And Jane Upton wore a gorgeous shade of ice-blue with a stunning silver necklace that matched her ever-present spectacles. As for Alex, she was wearing a light gray gown and no jewelry. Her ensemble matched her mood. The four women walked two by two along the pretty winding garden path among the bright yellow mums.

“Far too well.” Cass sighed, shaking her head.

“Yes,” Lucy agreed. “We only wanted Owen to get jealous, not cause poor Lord Berkeley to bleed.”

“Is it any wonder blood was let, Lucy?” Jane asked, stopping to smell a rose in a vine that lined the stone wall of the house. “Your plotting was involved.”

Lucy, who was walking ahead of Jane with Cass, paused along the mulched walkway and put her hand on her hip. She turned to face Jane. “I take offense to that, Janie. To date there has been no bloodletting during any of my so-called plots.”

Jane arched a brow. “What did you tell me Owen said last night? First time for everything?”

Cass turned to Alex. “I’m sorry, Alex. We certainly didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt. Though I daresay Owen got as good as he gave. When I visited him last night, he said he thought his jaw was broken.”

“I doubt it,” Jane announced. “If it had truly been broken, he couldn’t have spoken. It’s most likely no more than a bad bruise.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Cass replied before turning her attention back to Alex. “Are you very upset, dear?”

Alex took a deep breath. The truth was she didn’t know how she felt after yesterday’s debacle with Owen. Upset? Angry? Embarrassed? Tired? A bit of them all, if she was honest.

“I’ll be fine,” she answered as they continued their stroll. That was all she could say for sure. She would be fine. It was true that her silly childish dream had died along with Owen’s rejection of her and his outlandish behavior, but she also wasn’t a child anymore, and didn’t all childish dreams die sometime? She used to believe in fairies and elves, too. Was this so much different? Perhaps her parents had the right of it. They were older and wiser, after all. They’d lived longer, seen more of human behavior. If her parents believed that marriage was more successful when based on family trees and money and land changing hands, who was she to gainsay them? Besides, Owen Monroe had proved himself to be exactly what he’d tried to tell her he was from the outset: a scoundrel, a rogue, a … jackass.

“I’m only sorry I dragged poor Lord Berkeley into the fray,” Alex added, stooping to inhale the fresh scent of huckleberry.

“That was our fault, dear,” Cass hurried to assure her.

“I still say it worked,” Lucy declared, plucking a pink rose from another vine and twirling it between her fingers.

Jane shook her head. “Lucy, you’ve never learned how to admit when you’re wrong.”

“Who’s wrong?” Lucy pressed the rose to her nostrils. “It seems to me that Owen is jealous, and that is exactly what we wanted.”

“He and Lord Berkeley nearly ripped each other to shreds,” Jane replied.

Lucy wiggled her shoulders. “There’s nothing wrong with a bit of male drama. They accuse us of it often enough.”

Jane rolled her eyes. “I cannot believe you just said that, Lucy.”

“You’re looking at this all wrong,” Lucy continued. “Berkeley handled himself easily, and I’m certain he doesn’t mind a bit of bloodshed in the name of helping our friend here secure a proposal from the man of her dreams.”

“No!” The word shot from Alex’s mouth with more force than she’d meant it to.

“No?” Lucy’s face fell.

“No,” Alex repeated with less vehemence, but this time she shook her head. “I don’t want a proposal from Owen. I never should have wanted one. I never should have accepted your help, and I’m quite through with Owen Monroe.” She reached out and touched Cass’s sleeve. “Though I hope I haven’t offended you, Countess.”

“Oh, Alex, how could I be angry with you for your decision? I cannot possibly defend Owen’s behavior. He’s acted like a complete reprobate.”

“No. No. No. Alex, don’t you see? You can’t stop now. We’re nearly through the rough part,” Lucy pleaded.