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Sonet She’d been deceiving herself all along, thinking she could befriend hi attraction that flared whenever they were together The episode at the Neville Tour today showed just how dangerous that assumption was

Since she’d just demonstrated she couldn’t trust herself to resist hi before she left for London, she would have to avoid his co kisses

A wave of desolation swept through her

Itevents at Neville Tour, she told herself, trying to suppress it Before they reached Ashton, she would allow herself one more opportunity to speak with Greville before she turned him back into ‘Mr Anders’ and kept him there

And then get herself to London with all speed, before her resolve wavered, and her newly discovered weakness dragged them both into a dishonour from which there was no escape

By the tiot all the sorry details sorted out in her mind, they’d reached the stable drive By the copse of trees before the final turn, she pulled up herat Greville—Mr Anders—to stop as well

‘Before we go in, I need to thank you’

He shook his head ‘There’s no need’

‘No, you must let me say it Bad as our indiscretion was, it could have been much worse The fact that it wasn’t, I owe solely to your prudence You exercised restraint while I exhibited none Not that I will be hypocrite enough to deny how‘…as I hope you know, that episode cannot be repeated’

‘I know,’ he replied quietly, with a smile that looked somehow…melancholy ‘I shall try hard to remember not to tempt you’

‘And I will try not to place us in a position where you can tempt me’

He nodded ‘Best we get back, then’

As her stomach dropped to the vicinity of her kneecaps, he kicked his horse into ed the mare after him

What did she expect fro her to continue their friendship? To say he’d be desolated if they spent the next feeeks ers, before she left for London and walked out of his life for good?

He’d been , never more so than today, after that episode at Neville Tour He apparently recognised well before she had that their indiscretion meant the end of their friendship

Would she find anything in London to replace it?

That disain

As they dreithin sight of the stables, Jenkins ran out to ht to the house, Miss Aain’

Instantly every other concern fell away ‘Another attack? How bad is it?’

‘Don’t know, miss But Miss Althea sent for the physician, who arrived about half an hour ago, and told us as to send you in the second you got home’

An awful thought occurred to A about Black John and—’

‘No, Miss,’ the grooot back Master George was back, too, and neither he nor I saw the need to tell anyone what happened in town or at the Tour’

Urging the uilty wave of relief that nothing in her behaviour had contributed to her father’s condition The relief iftly followed by a renewed alarm

The attack could be serious Papa had been ill, too, during that awful suour after Ma

A few minutes later, they reached the front entrance Greville dismounted and stood ready to help her down After a moment’s hesitation, she let him

‘You go on in,’ he said, his touch at her waist light and iet back to the stable’

‘Thank you…for everything’

He gave her the shadow of a smile ‘I can say with perfect honesty, it was a pleasure’ The smile faded; an intense look ca else Shaking his head instead, he said, ‘Go on in, now Your cousin will be waiting’