VIscount Besieged by Elizabeth Bailey Page B

rebellious little monster, but endearing with it.
Not to mention her truly amazing talent.
    ‘ A
penny for them, my dear fellow.’
    He blinked.
Syderstone’s face came back into focus. He had entirely forgotten
the man’s presence. Mentally thanking Isadora for the brief
respite, he poured the man another glass of burgundy.
    ‘ Syderstone,’ he began, returning more easily now to his usual
mild tone, ‘why don’t you go away, there’s a good fellow? It will
take me some time to settle my affairs, but you may rest easy that
when the money is available you shall have it.’
    ‘ I
shall, my dear fellow,’ said the other silkily. ‘I mean to make
very sure of that.’
    ***
     
    No opportunity
had yet presented itself for Isadora to draw the attention of Mr
Syderstone for the purpose of discovering what she might about the
viscount. What with church and the general gathering on Sunday,
there was no chance of privacy.
    She was
therefore delighted, a couple of mornings later, to find him
breakfasting alone when she came in from her ride. She smiled
involuntarily.
    ‘ Oh,
Mr Syderstone, how fortunate. I mean,’ she corrected herself
hastily, ‘how glad I am that someone is still here. Usually I am
last in and obliged to enjoy a solitary meal.’
    ‘ Then,’ the gentleman smiled, with a little bow, for he had
risen at her entrance, ‘I beg you will allow me to keep you
company.’
    She saw then
that his place was already being cleared by the housemaid who had
been assisting Hampole to serve from the various dishes laid out on
the sideboard.
    ‘ But
you have finished already,’ she said on a deliberately disappointed
note. ‘Then I must not keep you.’
    ‘ I
shall not, I protest, be guilty of deserting you.’ He waved a hand
at the housemaid. ‘This kindly wench will perhaps indulge me with
another cup of your excellent coffee.’
    ‘ How
thoughtful of you.’
    Isadora was glad
of his courtesy. For how else was she to attract his interest? She
knew herself to be unremarkable in looks, except when she was
acting, for she was aware that then some transformation took place
in herself that made her stand out. She had no woman’s wiles. She
had no leisure for that sort of absurdity. And among their
acquaintance it was Harriet who had the admirers—apart from Edmund,
of course.
    ‘ Not
at all,’ he responded, resuming his seat. ‘You have rescued me from
the dilemma of deciding what to do for the morning.’
    ‘ I
have saved you from boredom, you mean,’ Isadora said drily, turning
to help herself from the dish of ham and eggs which the butler was
proffering. The silver serving-dish shook in his unsteady hands,
and she added quickly, ‘Do put it down, Hampole. There is no
necessity to hold it for me.’
    But Hampole,
evidently on his mettle before a stranger, merely gave her a
reproving look and stubbornly maintained his grip.
    ‘ You
wrong me, I protest,’ said Syderstone urbanely. ‘Only everyone
appears to have business on hand. Roborough was before me, and has
gone. Your cousin has taken her two children off for their lessons.
While as for Mrs Alvescot—’
    ‘ Oh,
Mama never rises for breakfast,’ Isadora interrupted.
    ‘ There you are, then. Now, if fortune favours me, I might
persuade you, Miss Alvescot, to take a turn about the grounds with
me.’
    Fortune, Isadora
thought, accepting with alacrity, had instead favoured her. He
looked to her for amusement as a last resort, it seemed. Not that
she gave a fig for that, if only he might not prove as close-lipped
as Roborough and Thornbury.
    Not very much
later, they were walking about the lawns—in full sight, Isadora
ensured, of the schoolroom party who had brought their books out
under the trees on this warm day. Cousin Matty had unfortunately
been obliged to attend to her own children’s education ever since
the family were obliged to let Isadora’s governess go and Rowland’s
lessons with the vicar had to be given up. These retrenchments