Like No Other

Chapter 4: Miss Davis' Discovery

                           

        In 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.