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Wasn’t she the one who swore up and down that she wouldn’t allow ‘a treacherous scoundrel’ to be alone with her for one moment? What exactly was she doing, laughing at his preposterous stories?

“So, I tried to make the best of the situation…” His voice was filled with mirth. “… and guided her to the nearest table, where she somehow made sure that a vase was broken.”

“Oh, you are incorrigible!” Elizabeth laughed.

“Well, it was a gift from a distant aunt, a horrendous piece of art—and I am stretching the use of the word—that deserved to be broken into pieces. Ending her pursuit in a river of apologies and embarrassment was just a bonus.”

Elizabeth laughed even harder, and when she threw her head back, the Marquess turned his focus on Diana. She didn’t have time to school her expression, so he caught her murderous thoughts, and somehow that made him smile darkly at her.

That smile must have conveyed a bold message because Diana watched with dread as Elizabeth rose, took her book with her, and made herself comfortable on the armchair by the window. She felt like a general watching his troops abandoning him, leaving him with a very determined opponent if she were to assume from Lord Crawford’s too-wide smile.

“So, Lady Diana? How about our promenade?”

“How about it?” Diana quipped, hoping the tone of her voice would make the idea of promenades sound as charming as a lake filled with crocodiles.

“Would you like to go for a walk? The weather is splendid.” He raised an eyebrow.

The look Diana gave him could have turned the splendid day into a raging winter storm, and yet he took it in his stride and smiled wider.

Diana knew he was toying with her, and she knew that he knew that she knew, and somehow that was worse.

“Would you like to go to St. James Park?” He openly showed her what he thought of her threatening glances.

“Do I really have a choice?”

His smile dropped instantly, and his already straight back straightened even more as he leaned away from her slightly.

“Lady Diana, I assure you, you always have a choice.” His tone was not strict but serious, and somehow that made it comforting.

The air shifted a little, and his amusement was distilled with consideration, as if he really valued her choices.

It shook her, but rather than dwell on that new emotion, she said, “Well, I suppose, unwillingly or not, I became part of a deal that I wish to honor.” She got up suddenly. “St. James Park is just fine.”

“Do you wish for me to wait for you to get ready?” he asked as he rose respectfully.

Diana looked back at him with surprise. Did the man think that she was going to rush upstairs and wear her best dress, find the perfect hat and gloves?

Such a spoiled rake. Women must have been tripping over themselves to land at his feet, so he was used to a road paved with female victims of his charms.

“No, I just need to fetch my accessories and let Mrs. Bremford know that we are going out.”

The message was clear—this was a duty, not pleasure.

“Just as well…” He fixed her with an intense look. “You already look lovely.”

That…

Diana pursed her lips, angry with herself for allowing him to have the final word.

It was going to be a long promenade.

St. James’s Park was alive with the hum of the fashionable crowd. Ladies in pastel gowns and gentlemen in crisp waistcoats strolled along the manicured paths, stopping only to murmur pleasantries or cast lingering glances at potential matches. The air was fresh, touched with the scent of budding flowers. The promise of spring was in the air.

Yet, to Diana, it might as well have been a battlefield. Because in a way, it was. She really wished it would start raining, so she would have to run back to her parlor and cross the first promenade off her to-do list.

“I am wondering—” James started.

“I am sure you do,” Diana huffed.