Amanda Scott - [Dangerous 03] by Dangerous Illusions Page A

rarely mistaken in my judgment of people, and my first impression of you was an unnaturally favorable one, considering your sex, so perhaps you had better confess your true reason for this pretense of yours.”
    Flushing more deeply than ever, he straightened, ran his fingers through his thick hair, and said, “When I accepted your own suggestion, ma’am, as to why I’d behaved so reprehensibly, I did so out of base cowardice because I realized quite suddenly that I had no desire to reveal the truth.”
    Instantly Daintry said, “So you are not only a plain and simple liar, sir, but a compulsive one. Can one ever believe what you say?”
    His eyes flashed, and she saw with satisfaction that his tight control was slipping, but his voice was steady when he said, “I acted impulsively. I do not generally do so, but when your father declared that I must be Penthorpe, I had already decided—for reasons it would serve no purpose to reveal now—that I wished to become better acquainted with members of your family. Having no doubt that if I revealed my true identity, St. Merryn would instantly order my departure, I took advantage of his mistake in, as you have noted, the basest manner. If I regret having done so, it is because my action has served only to nourish the previous ill feeling between our families.”
    Before Daintry could point out that his words scarcely constituted an apology, he added, “I do not share that ill feeling, by the way. Indeed, if you know the cause of the infamous feud, you know more than I do, for I have not the least notion what began it, nor do I care. Such a petty conflict pales in my mind by comparison to the bloodbath at Waterloo.”
    For once in her life she could think of nothing to say. No more than he did she know the cause of the discord between their two families. She knew only that she had grown up hearing that Tarrants and Deverills were not and never would be on speaking terms, that Deverills were beneath contempt, that any contact with them was abhorrent. Trying to remember how she had come to believe such things, she looked inquiringly at Lady Ophelia.
    Deverill’s gaze followed hers, and Lady Ophelia, blinking owlishly back at them, said finally, “Dash it, do not look to me to explain it to you. I am sure I have never had the least idea what caused the feuding.”
    Daintry said, “Then the feud dates back even farther than I had thought, Aunt. Is it a truly ancient one?”
    “No, of course it is not, though Tarrants have resided in this part of Cornwall for generations. The Deverills …” She raised her eyebrows at Deverill.
    “Deverill Court has been part of the family holdings for nearly five hundred years, ma’am, though to be sure, it has never been the primary seat for the Marquesses of Jervaulx. I know that in my great-grandmother’s time, it was the dower house, where my grandfather grew up and where he continued to reside after his brother succeeded to the title. My father was born in that house, as were my brother and I. I believe the feud originated in my grandfather’s day, but if that is true, surely you would know … that is to say—” He broke off, clearly trying to think of a tactful way to make his point.
    “You are perfectly right,” Lady Ophelia said. “Tom Deverill and Ned Tarrant were the best of friends as boys. They were almost exactly the same age, I believe, and both went off to Eton together as happy as grigs, and then on to Oxford, where they shared the same tutors. And both of them made dead sets for the same females when they went to London to learn to be gentlemen.”
    “Then perhaps it was a female who caused the feud,” Daintry suggested. “That has been known to happen before.”
    “Well, I do not think it can have been that,” Lady Ophelia said, looking self-conscious. “You see, for the most part, they made wagers as to which could achieve success first with a chosen target. It was only a game to them, which I should know,