n a span of ten seconds, no one said a word.

Stokeford should have anticipated that Miss Davis was possibly a loose tongue and wasn’t at all well-versed in the word discretion. Had he consider this likelihood earlier, he could have the chance to stuff her mouth with a kerchief and then deposit her on a bench somewhere away from them.

No, that would be impossible, although he would take great pleasure on that endeavor. She was Miss Winscott’s cousin and even though quite truthfully, his mind still failed to accept this fact, he should be nice to her. He gave his head a mental shake. No lady with a sense of decorum would prattle cheerfully about her meeting with an unknown gentleman inside the hedge maze and in the dark. Not to mention alone (he had it in his mind that the unconscious Lord Randwick be completely eliminated in the scene).

No one except Caroline, apparently.

But then, Stokeford thought caustically, she was anything but a lady. And for that matter, probably had no modicum of propriety as well. Her ruination would surely be her undoing. 

He frowned. Why in the deuce did it bother him, anyway? The chit did not certainly give a fig or two about it since she was still smiling like an idiot, as if she just imparted a piece of knowledge that would contribute to the greater good of Britain. 

The silence was definitely thickening and that was partly due to the fact that the other two of the party were tongue-tied at the moment. Stefan cleared his throat, beginning to feel a little discomfort.

“Ah, Miss Winscott,” he said, trying rather desperately to straighten his countenance and make his voice polite. “May I have a word with your charming cousin for a moment?” 

Caroline turned to him with raised brows. 

“What? Oh,” Sophie flustered as she was partly slipping away from her trance. “Of course, my lord.” 

Before Caroline could say anything, she was being dragged away by Stefan who was gripping her left arm like a vise. After making some good distance away from Robert and Sophie, he stopped and let go of her.

“What do you think you were doing?” he hissed, leveling her a glare that would blot her memory for a life time.

But Caroline proved to be quite unaffected on being at the receiving end of his hostile stare, for her composure did not in the least left her. Instead, she only looked bewildered. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re saying!” 

“You, imp, should learn to control your tongue a little!”

“What are you saying, my lord?” She responded heatedly, disliking Stefan’s tone. “I assure you that piece of advice is quite unnecessary, for I know very well how to do it!”

“Then stop blabbering about our meeting inside the hedge maze. And do not,” he raised his finger in front of her for a warning, “ever mention what happened to Randwick. Got that?”

Caroline scowled at him. “Why? Were you guilty about it? Because you knocked him senseless and left him there alone?”

The last statement was refutable, considering that she also left Randwick there alone, but Stefan only swallowed back the retort. He wasn’t at all contrite about hitting that blighter and left him there in the middle of the night. Randwick could as well go to hell for all he cared. The only thing that bothered him was that Miss Winscott might get the knowledge of this harsh conduct and put him on such a low regard, which was really strange, since he wasn’t very much affected in whatever people were saying at him before.

Or was he?

In any case, he didn’t want Caroline to know about it.

“Of course not,” he scoffed.

“Well, I shan’t wonder on that!” Caroline retorted. “And what is this all about anyway? I’m sure there’s something you are not telling me!”

“And why is that?” He asked indifferently, one eyebrow arching.

“Because you wouldn’t be dragging me out in the middle of making acquaintance with your friend when there isn’t something amiss!” she answered with a little audacity, completely forgetting that she was addressing an Earl. “You cannot hide it from me, for I must warn you: my curiosity is indeed a monstrous thing! Well, unless it is something really…”

Her voice faded as a vague realization materialized in her mind. She stared at the imposing man in front of her and slowly, her green eyes widened with mischievous glints. “I see!” she exclaimed triumphantly. 

For Stefan, that short pronouncement meant like an omen. “What?” he asked sharply.

“I daresay,” Caroline looked squarely into his blue eyes. “You don’t want Sophie to know about it!” And as if knowing she hit the right nail, she snickered. 

It most certainly a peeving thought that the chit got the better of him, but he would never give her the satisfaction. If they were somewhere alone, he would definitely have her small neck wringed like soaked linen. Pulling a nonchalant expression, he replied coolly, “I am certain it isn’t in the line of your cousin’s interest to hear some one-sided fisticuffs, so what’s the point of her knowing that?”

She giggled. Stefan might be trying so hard to cover the truth, but she knew better. Odd, but somehow, she was beginning to like the man for a reason she could not name. His surly countenance did not bother her at all, and in truth, she found him exceedingly handsome. Perhaps it was those eyes which seemed to be bluer than ever everytime they fixated on her green ones, or maybe the manner of which he dressed—elegant and yet not quite flamboyant. Today he was wearing a dark blue riding coat cut in perfection, fawn-colored breeches that fitted his tightly muscled legs, and a pair of those gleaming top boots that bespoke of superior neatness. She also couldn’t help but noted those dark locks hanging carelessly on his forehead which gave him a very boyish look. Perhaps, she thought wistfully, if he would smile often, he would certainly find half of London ladies dangling on his arms.

“Oh, but she would be interested!” Caroline blithely insisted. “After all, you had saved me from a precocious lecher!” 

Meanwhile, Lord March and Sophie were also engaged on their friendly conversation after completely recovered from their momentary stupefaction upon hearing the rather disconcerting meeting of Caroline and Lord Stokeford inside the hedge maze the night before. The matter would induce Sophie to puff her own vapours had Caroline failed to share this to her earlier. Still, she couldn’t believe that Lord Stokeford was actually the man who had come to her cousin’s rescue when Lord Randwick was being a cad. 

“Stokeford never mentioned to me this, ah, shall I say, a trifle irregular meeting with your little cousin,” Lord March delicately said, his grey eyes streaked with a little worry. “Are you upset about this, Miss Winscott?”

She lightly shook her head. “I trust my cousin. But you see, she is still young and a little naïve that it makes me really fretful whenever she is not to be found within the vicinity.” Sophie let out a sheepish smile. 

“I understand that.” Robert replied wryly. “I have a younger sister as well, and I confess it could be a trial at times to keep an eye on her. Never worry about Stokeford, though. He may look a little vicious, but he’s an honorable man.” 

“Of course,” she murmured. Seeing that Caroline was unharmed in his company, she conceded that point. But then, had there been prying eyes lurking around and discovering her with Lord Stokeford, it would certainly be a disaster. Sophie brushed away the thought instantly. She dearly loved her cousin, and she would not permit any action that would jeopardize her reputation. 

At the moment, the two persons in question were walking back to their companions. Stefan got back to the business of plastering a straight countenance while Caroline was still on her cheerful disposition, feeling giddy with her discovery. Although she found it quite a hard task to get the right words out from him, her conviction on the notion that the formidable Lord Stokeford was indeed besotted with her Cousin Sophie never wavered a bit. 

As for Stefan, well, his fingers were terribly itching to pinch Caroline’s cheeks until they became red and sore so that she would quit sporting that cheeky smile of hers. The brat was too full of herself, he thought annoyingly. 

“We’re back!” Caroline interjected, as though they had been from the farthest corner of the world.

“You have quite a discussion, eh?” Robert inquired amusedly to which he received an irritated glance from his friend.

She beamed at him. “As a matter of fact, we do! Sophie, it was indeed Lord Stokeford who had rescued me from Lord Randwick last night!” She turned to Stefan. “I’ve told her about it earlier, my lord.”

“Yes, she did.” Sophie assented with a smile that made Stefan’s heart tugged a bit. “And I owe you my gratitude, my lord.”

He never had dreamed of saving Caroline last night from the clutches of Randwick, but thinking that this would put him in a great advantage, he nonetheless acquiesced. “I had only chanced upon that, ah, incident, but I was glad to be of service to your cousin, Miss Winscott.” Stefan glanced at Caroline who was bestowing him a knowing smile.

He scowled at her in return.

In the course of these exchanges, however, Robert was completely left out, and so when he had seen the opportunity to poke his nose once more to get enough of the whole affair, he cleared his throat and graciously announced, “I’m afraid I am loosing track of the conversation. If there’s someone here who is kind enough to share the rest of the details as to that incident…,” he stared meaningfully at Stefan who looked at him with the expression of one who wasn’t clearly inclined to tell anything at all. 

In the end, it was Caroline who supplied him what he sought. “The truth was that Lord Randwick had followed me last night inside the hedge maze without my knowledge. And then he… he…,” she blushed, feeling suddenly embarrassed to share her last night’s predicament to Lord March.

“He made unwanted advances to her,” interposed Stefan.

“God god,” Robert swore under his breath low enough not to be heard by the ladies. “And what did you do?”

“Hit him on the face.”

“And he fell senseless to the ground,” added Caroline with restored composure. 

“I daresay Stefan, I never thought of you saving a damsel in distress!” he chuckled and turned to Caroline, grinning devilishly. “You are lucky, Miss Davis, to be the first object of his gallantry.”

Caroline and Sophie let out girlish giggles. Stefan darted an icy stare to him.

Robert chose to ignore his friend entirely. “Will you be attending at Lady Ashton’s ball tomorrow night?” 

“Yes, we will,” Sophie replied.

“Nice! We shall see you ladies tomorrow night, then.”

And with that, the two gentleman bid them good day and left. 

“Lord March is quite a charmer,” Caroline remarked as they pursued there promenade around the Hyde Park. 

“Indeed.”

“What do you think of Lord Stokeford?” 

Sophie was a bit surprised at the question. “Why, I think he’s in every inch a gentleman. I confess I did him a little injustice when I told you something about him earlier.”

“He’s not half as scary as everyone believes him to be. In fact I find him quite handsome.”

“You’ve made that point earlier. Handsome in a dark sort of way, was it?”

Caroline smiled. “Yes. Well, am I right?”

Her cousin nodded.

“What do you think of him?” she prodded.

“I believe I just answered that question seconds ago.” 

“I mean what else do you think of him?”

Sophie laughed and patted Caroline’s hand. “You’re quite persistent, aren’t you?”

She smiled sheepishly and said, “I am.”