And Then She Fell (Cynster 19 Cynster Sisters Duo #1) by Stephanie Laurens Page A

she’d felt his gaze on her back and had had to fight the urge to look—too eagerly—around.
    After the disappointment of last night, the dashing of her apparently unfounded hopes, she was determined to allow no sign of susceptibility to slip past her customary, no-nonsense façade. She intended to keep their interaction firmly focused on their mutual goal—on finding him his necessary bride.
    Consequently, she met his eyes with an easy smile and inclined her head politely. “Mr. Glossup.”
    His eyes met hers, studied them; for a fleeting instant he hesitated, then he nodded in reply and, lips curving, murmured a greeting, then turned to greet her mother and Lady Cowper.
    Hands clasped about her parasol’s handle, Henrietta sat stiffly upright and watched critically as James deployed his usual charm, delighting her mother and Lady Cowper, glibly deflecting them from dwelling overlong on the incident at Marchmain House. But her mother would have none of it, roundly thanking him for his bravery in coming to her—Henrietta’s—aid. James accepted the accolades but quickly steered the talk into more general avenues. For which she was grateful; she’d had her fill of having to assure everyone that the accident hadn’t overset her nerves and scarred her for life.
    With the older ladies satisfied, James turned to her and arched a brow. “Would you care to stroll the lawns, Miss Cynster?”
    “Thank you, I would.” She shifted forward.
    As James reached for the door, Sir Edward Compton, who’d been standing nearby and, it seemed, biding his moment, stepped forward and made his bow to Louise and Lady Cowper, then inquired if Mary might like to stroll as well.
    The implication being with Henrietta and James. While Henrietta could stroll alone with a gentleman, Mary was still too young to be allowed such license, at least not in the park, directly under the censorious noses of the ton’s matrons.
    Henrietta didn’t expect Mary to accept; her sister wasn’t one to waste time where she had no true interest, and Henrietta was sure Mary had no interest in mild-mannered Sir Edward, but after an instant’s pause, Mary smiled and inclined her head to Sir Edward. “Thank you, Sir Edward. I would be delighted to stroll on your arm.”
    James opened the carriage door and handed Henrietta down, then Sir Edward stepped forward and performed the same office for Mary.
    Mary smiled at him sweetly, placed her hand on his arm, and promptly steered him out over the lawn.
    Mystified, her hand resting on James’s sleeve, Henrietta strolled beside him as they followed Mary and Sir Edward across the neatly clipped grass. Her gaze on Mary, Henrietta murmured, “I wonder what she’s up to.”
    James glanced at her. “Why would you think she’s up to anything?”
    Because otherwise Mary would not have done anything to interfere with Henrietta’s time alone with James . . . Henrietta tipped her head toward her sister. “Just wait—you’ll see.”
    Sure enough, they hadn’t strolled far when Mary pointed ahead, spoke to Sir Edward, then looked over her shoulder to inform Henrietta and James, “Sir Edward and I are going to join that group over there. Miss Faversham and Miss Hawkins are there, too, and we’ll still be within sight of Mama and the carriages.”
    Despite remaining unsaid, the words so you don’t need to play chaperon could not have been clearer.
    Henrietta scanned the group in question. As well as Miss Faversham and Miss Hawkins, it contained several eligible young gentlemen, chief among them the Honorable Julius Gatling and Lord Randolph Cavanaugh, second son of the late Marquess of Raventhorne, yet the company was suitable and innocuous enough. Henrietta nodded. “Very well. I’m sure Sir Edward can be trusted to return you to the carriage in due course.”
    Mary smiled beatifically at the clearly smitten Sir Edward. “You will escort me back in due course, won’t you, Sir Edward?”
    Henrietta inwardly