His tone held scorn and her heart plummeted in her chest. Her title and true name meant something to him.
There was no point in denying the truth. Eventually she would have had to tell the Marquess and his sisters her true name anyway, if they were to help her find her Uncle Laybourne and the trustees named in her father’s will. She would need those trustees to access her inheritance and have her London season. Besides, she trusted them. Even Lord Cheswick, who had eyed her with suspicion once he’d realised that she wasn’t a governess. And made her feel hot and breathless and full of an unknown want...
‘I am... How—how did you know my name?’
His lips turned into a sneer. ‘I was unfortunately acquainted with Lord Barnabas Bracken before he was sent down from Oxford because of his gambling debts.’
Louisa touched her hot cheeks. It did not sound as if Wick was fond of her cousin. Not that she liked him either. He was a toad.
Becca cleared her throat. ‘The villain enters the scene and the plot thickens!’
‘Yes!’ Helen’s eyes grew wide. ‘Is he trying to marry you against your will so that he can steal your fortune?’
‘I daresay you’re an heiress?’ added Frederica.
Louisa swayed on her feet and held a hand against her stomach. She couldn’t quite believe that the Stringham sisters had guessed her true circumstances. It was so unlikely. Almost unbelievable.
‘How many times do I have to tell you?’ Lord Cheswick said dismissively. ‘She isn’t the heroine in a gothic novel and you should call her Lady Louisa.’
Frederica tickled her kitten under his chin. ‘And you should read more of them and then you’d know that a delicately nurtured young lady only flees her family home when she is being forced into a distasteful marriage. And why else would her evil aunt try to make her marry her bad cousin unless she was an heiress?’
‘It’s entirely obvious,’ Helen said, lifting her chin defiantly.
Huffing, Lord Cheswick turned his eyes from his sisters to her. ‘Isit true?’
Louisa felt so mortified that she would have been happily swallowed up by floor. She’d hoped that when she told him the truth of her identity the Marquess would show her the same kindness he demonstrated with his sisters.
‘It is.’
‘I don’t blame you for not wanting to marry Lord Barnabas,’ he said, looking at her closely, his voice softening. ‘He’s a rum touch. But why did you not appeal to your other relatives? Surely there is someone in your family who would help you?’
She wasn’t precisely sure what a ‘rum touch’ was, but by the tone of his voice Louisa was certain that her cousin was one. She rubbed at her forehead. ‘I was trying to seek refuge with my uncle, the Canon of Sherborne, when you found me on the road and mistook me for your governess.’
‘Then why the secrecy with your name? And why did you not wish to continue to find him this morning? I told you I would have provided you with a carriage and a proper escort.’
Louisa lowered her head, unable to meet his disapproving eyes. ‘I am so sorry, my lord,’ she whispered, her hands fidgeting against her gown. ‘I should have left. Only, I feared being returned to my Aunt and Uncle Rockingham. The servants at Greystone Hall helped me escape and I don’t wish for them to get into trouble.’
‘Are Lord and Lady Rockingham your guardians?’ he asked.
Still gazing down, she shook her head. ‘Not any more. I am turned one-and-twenty. They have never allowed me a season. And in the nearly eleven years they have been my guardians they have only permitted me to leave the estate to attend church. I have so longed for a season, and for an opportunity to be presented to the Queen.’
Chapter Nine
When Lord Barnabas had bragged in his cups about marrying his wealthy and beautiful cousin who was an heiress, Wick had dismissed it as the idle boasting of a gambler whose pockets were always to let. If this Lady Louisa was so fetching, why hadn’t she been brought to court and been presented at a come-out ball? Why had she not attendedtonparties? He’d thought the poor woman must be an antidote or a halfwit.
The fact that she was neither made him almost believe his sister’s wild theories about villains. Whatever the case, he couldn’t hide nor harbour a runaway. Particularly one of such high birth. It would not look good to theton. And if he wasn’t careful he would be forced into marrying her. The last thing he wanted to do.
She would have to go to her uncle’s house in the morning.
There was no other option.
Otherwise, by law, she’d have to be returned to her former guardians. Something he could not do after Lady Louisa had worked so hard to escape them. He would have to appeal to her maternal uncle, and hopefully he would help her. It was her uncle’s responsibility and not his. Wick had enough on his plate, trying to find a new governess for his wayward sisters. The sooner the better.
‘Mrs May and I will escort you to your uncle’s home first thing in the morning. There you can explain the situation to him and request his assistance in locating your trustees and arranging a proper come-out and season for you.’
She glanced up at him, her countenance trusting. It touched something in his heart. ‘Thank you, my lord.’
‘Girls, take the kittens to the kitchen and wash your hands before you return for dinner,’ he said, moving to the door and opening it.