Lucy took immediate offence to his words and was about to tell him about it when he carried on.
“Don’t ruffle up, Luce, you have to realize I’m right in this. You are small. I’m sure you aren’t weak, especially not for your size, but most men would be able to overpower you, especially since wearing skirts would be a further impediment. And I’m almost certain you haven’t any experience in physical altercations.”
“Well of course I don’t,” Lucy huffed.
“What about shooting or fencing or sword work?”
“I never got very good at shooting as I abhor the hunt so there was no reason. And Robert wouldn’t let me touch his swords. But I do know how to fence.”
“Really?” Roderick asked with surprise, distracted briefly. “I would love to go a round with you.”
Another thrill warmed her stomach.
“I’m not terribly skilled at it,” Lucy admitted with a small smile that couldn’t hide her delight nonetheless.
“Shall we dine?” Roderick asked, turning the subject just as he brought them to the edge of the dancefloor and the music came to a still. Lucy was surprised by the round of applause. It felt to her as though it were directed at them and a blush suffused her from head to toe when she realized it was polite applause for the orchestra who had been skilfully playing for the past hour and more.
“Why do you appear as though you’ve stepped in something unpleasant?” Roderick asked with a low chuckle next to her ear. Another thrill shivered through her at this, distracting her from her embarrassment.
“For the briefest second I thought the applause was for us,” she whispered to him, not wanting to admit her foolishness, but not even sorry when he laughed.
“It ought to have been. You danced remarkably well,” Roderick complimented.
“I had a remarkably skilled partner,” she countered. “I never would have thought a scientist would keep himself up to date on the latest dance trends.”
Roderick simultaneously found them a table and summoned a footman while offering her a small shrug. “I doubt it’s a mere trend. The waltz is here to stay, I’d say. And Caroline insisted we all needed to learn it. Me especially she said, since I’m the only one still unwed.”
“And hoping to change that state,” Lucy added with a nod even as her stomach sank.
She hoped her reaction was hidden, but Roderick was always so attentive to every detail, she wasn’t sure if she had done so.
“Do you wish to have a say in what we are served or would you like a sample of whatever is on the buffet?”
“A sample of whatever, thank you.” It had been Roderick who asked the question but the footman was going to be the one delivering so Lucy offered a smile to them both, and the footman quickly joined the crowd waiting for food.
“We could have gone ourselves,” Lucy pointed out. “I’ve never bothered with a footman at a supper ball.”
“But now we have a few minutes to speak privately, while still in full, non-scandalous view of the entire gathering.”
“You are rather deviously intelligent, aren’t you?” Lucy asked with a laugh even as she admired his thinking and worrying if he was going to follow in his brother’s footsteps of investigations.
Chapter Fourteen
Roderick’s stomach fluttered. It actually fluttered. Not in the way that meant he was about to cast up his accounts due to over drinking or sampling one of his friend’s inventions. It was likely delight. How odd and not unpleasant. Except that Lucy wasn’t for him despite all the indications that his subconscious didn’t agree.
Could he possibly convince her that sheoughtto be for him?
Now was not the time to worry over such a topic. He needed to tell her about the plot and convince her she needed to take precautions. Perhaps a sojourn in the country wouldn’t be such a terrible idea, despite her fears of it affecting her marriage prospects.
“So Gilbert sent us to eavesdrop on a conversation of two men plotting to kill the Prime Minister,” Lucy stated in a low voice. “Does he often have such ideas that he involves his brother and friends in?”
“Yes,” Roderick admitted with a light laugh. “And as farfetched as it sounds, he’s often correct, unfortunately.”
“And how does he think to prevent the attempt?”
“As it turns out, he already knew much of the plot. It was the details he needed to know that I listened to. Specifically, if there were other people involved.”
Lucy’s rounded eyes should have been off-putting, instead he thought she looked adorable. But she must have quickly realized her shock would draw undue attention, so she pulled back her shoulders and returned her expression to its usual pleasant blandness.
