‘I cannot recall ever seeing you ride before, Miss Beresford,’ he remarked as they headed towards the western boundary of the estate.

At this, her lips curled into the strangest little smile. ‘No, I don’t suppose for a moment that you can, sir. But, then, I doubt there’s very much you do remember about me.’

Although she had spoken lightly enough, without so much as a hint of pique in her soft and very pleasant voice, he seriously suspected that he had just received a reprimand and didn’t know whether to feel amused or annoyed by it.

After a moment’s deliberation he chose to be diverted. ‘Ungallant though it is of me to confess to it but, no, I don’t recall very much about you, ma’am. But, then, in my defence, I had little contact with you when you were a child, and it has been several years since we last met.’

‘Seven, to be exact.’

Little baggage! Was she deliberately trying to set him at a disadvantage? Or was it simply that she refused to indulge in the gentle art of dissimulation? Again he found himself more amused than annoyed, and not just a little intrigued as well.

‘Yes, of course, it was.’ He risked a sidelong glance in her direction, registered with a feeling of irritation that she was looking perfectly composed and experienced the most overwhelming desire to penetrate that shroud of cool dignity which seemed to be wrapped around her and glimpse the real essence of the woman beneath. ‘It was on the very sad occasion of your father’s funeral. If my memory serves me correctly, that was the last time I saw your sister too.’ He gazed intently at her delightful profile. ‘I hope she is in good health?’

‘Very, as far as I know.’ She turned her head to look at him then, and couldn’t prevent a smile at the quizzical lift of one dark brow. ‘Ours could never be described as a close family, sir. I became estranged from both my mother and sister when I chose to live with my maternal grandmother. Evadne did take the trouble to inform me of my mother’s demise, and I wrote to her last autumn informing her of our grandmother’s passing, but apart from those two instances, there has been no communication between us, verbal or otherwise, for several years.’

Because he had been so close to his own brother, he felt rather saddened to learn this, and not just a little appalled at Elizabeth’s seeming indifference to the state of affairs which existed between her and her sister. He decided, however, that it would be wrong of him to make a snap judgement on a situation about which he knew next to nothing, and changed the subject by enquiring if she now had a companion living with her to bear her company.

‘No, I live quite alone, except for the servants, that is. Oh, and Aggie, of course! But I don’t consider her a servant, even though she is my personal maid,’ she explained when he looked a trifle bewildered. ‘You perhaps wouldn’t remember her, but she was employed in my father’s household. She has known me since the day I was born, and is quite touchingly devoted.’ He found the rather wistful little smile which accompanied the admission most engaging. ‘I must say, Sir Richard, it is rather wonderful having someone around who is so concerned for my well-being, but she does tend to fuss over me like a mother hen.’

He tactfully refrained from voicing his staunch disapproval of a young lady of quality living alone and, as they made their way along the high ridge which formed the western boundary of his lordship’s land, encouraged her to talk about those years she had lived with her grandmother.

It didn’t take him long to discover that she had been touchingly devoted to her grandparent. She could not speak highly enough of the lady who had, through sheer determination and hard work, built up a thriving company, owning several sailing ships which had travelled to distant points on the globe, and who had died one of the richest women in Bristol.

As he listened he vaguely recalled his father once remarking on the fact that a substantial dowry was the only thing that had made Elizabeth’s mother acceptable to the younger son of an earl. Many of the top Ten Thousand still looked down on those who had any connection with trade, and he found himself admiring Elizabeth’s total lack of snobbery or embarrassment over her maternal grandparent’s humble origins. It was quite evident that she felt nothing but admiration for her grandmother’s businesslike acumen, and didn’t shy away from the fact that she owed her comfortable existence, now, to that woman’s hard-working life.

‘I wish I had had the pleasure of making her acquaintance,’ he remarked with total sincerity when she fell silent. ‘You make her sound a very interesting character.’

‘Oh, she was! There’s no denying she was a hard-headed businesswoman, as shrewd as they come, but there was a softer side to her nature too. She fell in love with my grandfather when she had just turned eighteen. Their marriage lasted such a tragically short length of time, less than six years, but she never married again, even though she received numerous offers throughout her life. She told me once that we were alike in that…that we were destined to love only once.’

For a brief moment he glimpsed a faraway look in her eyes, then she seemed to collect herself and looked at him with that completely unforced smile of hers, which never failed to reach her eyes, igniting a sparkle in those lovely grey-green depths.

‘My apologies, Sir Richard. You must think my tongue runs on wheels. I’ve done nothing but chatter about myself since we began our ride.’

Drawing her filly to a halt, she gazed at the rippling stream gurgling its way along the shallow valley below. ‘How beautiful it is here! Brin and Verity seem very contented in their new home, but they must find the landscape vastly different from their native Yorkshire.’

Richard, too, cast his eyes over the hilly terrain. ‘The more I travel about this glorious land of ours, the more I come to realise that each county possesses its own individual charm and beauty.’

‘Mmm.’ Elizabeth frowned suddenly. ‘I ought to travel more. It’s a dreadful thing to confess, but I’ve never ventured further north than Gloucester. I’ve always wanted to visit Scotland, and I could take in other places on the way—the Peaks, and the Lake District, to name but two. Late spring or early summer would be the ideal time to travel, don’t you agree?’

‘Emphatically no, Miss Beresford!’ he astounded her by responding in forthright tones. ‘Your father was my godfather, so I suppose I’m the closest you’ve ever had to a brother. Therefore, I do not scruple to tell you that it would not only be extremely foolhardy, but grossly improper for you to embark on such a venture without the support and guidance of some male relative.’

He could easily discern a look of combined annoyance and astonishment in her eyes, and was not just a little surprised himself that he had tried to interfere in something which was, after all, none of his concern. He was surprised, too, and not just a little bewildered by the totally unexpected and overwhelming desire he was experiencing to protect this young woman who was quite evidently battling against the very understandable compulsion to tell him to mind his own business.

‘I think, sir,’ Elizabeth said with careful restraint, ‘that it might be wise if we made our way back now. It doesn’t look as if Brin will be joining us, and I think if we are left alone together for very much longer we shall be in the gravest danger of coming to cuffs.’

His response was to throw his head back and roar with laughter, which only succeeded in annoying her further, but by the time they had arrived back at the Dartwoods’ charming country residence genial relations had once again been restored.

As she walked with Richard towards the house, Elizabeth was vaguely aware that there was a carriage standing in the courtyard, but gave not a single thought to the possible identity of the person who had called, until she entered her bedchamber and saw the disgruntled look on her maid’s face.