Wishing For Rainbows (Historical Romance) by Rebecca King Page B

watching, he added silently .
    Now that he had spent some time in her company, he wanted to know all there was to know about the girl who had grown into a stunningly beautiful woman. It was a little strange to think of Ursula, the somewhat shy young girl he had adored from afar for so long, blazing a trail across London. If he was honest, he wasn’t entirely happy about it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her in London; far from it. As far as he was concerned though, the only suitor who was going to show her the sights of London was going to be him. He didn’t want anyone else to spend any time with her and if the gossips began to speculate about them, so be it.
    “Would you allow me to escort you around the sights while you are here?” he asked again when she didn’t appear to have heard him.
    “What’s wrong?” he demanded when he saw her hesitate. “I promise I shall be a good guide.”
    “I would love you to,” she replied honestly. “I just don’t want to cause you any problems by being seen out with me.”
    “We are old acquaintances,” he countered. “What difficulty could there be in my showing you London while you are here?”
    “Well, your fiancé might not like it,” she replied with an air of reluctance. Even saying the words hurt. It was ridiculous really because Trenton had never been hers in the first place. She was aware that her voice betrayed the emotion she struggled to hide but she couldn’t take the words back.
    “Barbarella?”
    “I am not suggesting anything untoward in your offer,” she added quickly. “It is just that you are engaged and, well, nobody knows me. As far as anyone is concerned, I am a single, unchaperoned female.” She gestured to the curricle they sat in. “Knowing London and its strictures, I am probably committing several scandalous faux pas just sitting here like this with you.”
    “Well, I don’t know about you but I see no reason in giving any gossips the opportunity to object. People will talk about others behind their backs, you know, no matter what they do. People will often criticise others, just because they can. They even talk about people who are generally considered to have done nothing worth talking about. I don’t think you should concern yourself over gossip given that you are due to go back to Yorkshire shortly.”
    “Oh, but I am not returning just yet,” she countered. “Aunt Adelaide has asked me if I would like to stay with her for a while longer, and I have accepted.”
    “What does your father have to say about it?” he asked. Given his last conversation with Jeremiah, he doubted that the man had even been consulted about the decision, much less been given the opportunity to give his permission.
    “Father doesn’t get a say,” Ursula snorted.
    His brows shot up. “Are you sure?” He immediately winced when she glared at him.
    “I am not some meek mannered miss who needs to be cosseted throughout the day. I am four and twenty, and perfectly capable of making my own mind up about where I want to go thank you very much,” she snapped.
    “I am not suggesting otherwise,” Trenton soothed. “It is just that I understand your father gave you one month to find a husband or he would select one for you.”
    “I shall do no such thing,” she bit out coldly. “I am not going to be forced up the aisle by my father, or anyone else for that matter. Aunt Adelaide has offered me a place to live. I shall stay there until father sees sense and ceases with his ridiculous notion that I need to be married.”
    Trenton knew he had touched on a raw nerve from the outraged look on her face, and lapsed into thoughtful silence while she calmed down.
    “Have you informed your father of your decision yet?” he asked after several moments of stilted silence.
    She had the good grace to look a little sheepish. “I haven’t written to inform him, no. It has only just been decided. What with the break in last night, and the mystery over the