A Gentleman Never Tells(57)
“No, no,” he said, holding up his hand to stop her. “Sit back down, Lady Gabrielle. No need to disturb your footman. I’m perfectly capable of helping Brutus get into the carriage.”
As if knowing exactly what to do, Brutus immediately put his front paws on the first step of the curricle, looked back at Lord Brentwood, and gave a short woof. The viscount reached down and gently grasped him under the stomach with one arm and, with the other, cupped the back of his hind legs and carefully lifted the dog. A passing phaeton slowed and the driver asked if Lord Brentwood needed help, but he shook his head and called out, “I’ve got it handled.”
It was a bit of a struggle for him at first, but he managed to get Brutus onto the floor of the small carriage, where he slowly lay down.
With a teasing smile, Lord Brentwood brushed dog hair from his coat and said, “Did I mention that you have a big dog?”
When the viscount was so charming, she had to remind herself he was being forced to marry her, and she didn’t want that for him or for herself. She must remember her plan and do all she could to convince him she would not be a good wife. But looking at him now, she knew that would be hard to do.
Gabrielle laughed lightly to cover the good feeling that washed over her from simply looking at him. She smiled and patted the panting dog on the head.
“But he is such a darling, and I know it pains him to be so much trouble to everyone.”
“You are obviously a good master,” Lord Brentwood said as he carefully climbed into the carriage, trying not to step on the dog’s large paws. “But I don’t think darling is the word I would use for the mastiff, Lady Gabrielle. He cares not for trouble. He’s just happy to be going along for the ride.”
The viscount sat down beside her on the padded bench. She immediately felt the heat of his body as his thigh settled brazenly against hers. She knew she should move away and give him more space on the seat, but there was something intimately comforting about the slight touch from him, and she didn’t want to deny herself his warmth.
“You know you can’t keep doing this.”
His eyes narrowed, and he seemed puzzled for a moment. “What’s that?”
“You said I had promised you a dance when I hadn’t, and you said we had planned to go for a ride today in the park, yet you had never asked me to go with you this afternoon.”
His eyes narrowed further. His gaze settled gently on her face and he questioned, “Really?”
Gabrielle watched as Lord Brentwood reached for a wool blanket from underneath the seat. All his hand found was dog. The small curricle was not the carriage he needed if Brutus was going to join them. He finally caught an edge of the blanket, pulled it out, and laid it over her lap.
“Yes, and you know it,” she admonished with a soft smile. “You cannot continue to just assume we have made plans and I will go along with whatever you say.”
He smiled, and she noticed it was a little crooked from the swollen corner. “It’s worked for me so far. Why mess up a good plan?”
Gabrielle suddenly felt wistful and said, “Because I would like to have a say about my life, about what I do. I want to be in on making the decisions that affect me, the decisions as simple as where we go together.”
“All right, it’s your turn. Tell me what you would like for us to do after this outing.”
Though he sounded genuine, Gabrielle wasn’t sure she trusted him. “You will let me decide?”
He gave her a curious look, as if he wondered why she questioned his sincerity. “Yes, of course. What do you want to do?”
His insistence that she could choose surprised her. “Well, I don’t know yet. I will have to think about it.”
He clicked the ribbons on the horses’ rumps and the carriage took off with a jerk, rattle of harness, and clopping of hooves.
After he had safely maneuvered them into the street behind a hackney, he threw a smiling glance her way, and said, “Fine. You can let me know when you’ve decided. You have approximately two hours to think about it.”
Gabrielle settled comfortably into her seat and opened her brown ruffled parasol. The rain and dreary weather of the past few days had lifted. A light blue afternoon sky was filled with puffy white clouds. The air felt cold and breezy, but with the bright sunshine and Lord Brentwood’s thigh next to hers, Gabrielle felt very warm. She wasn’t sure why, but an exciting sense of awareness bubbled up inside her. Something told her it was going to be a splendid afternoon.