“Sweet ladies want nothing to do with me.”
“And whose fault is that, eh? I warned you, your father warned you! But no, you never listened and you behaved terribly, and now you realize that actions have consequences. Thank God that is all behind us now. You nearly killed me, Adrian. My nerves are not what they once were…”
“Your nerves must have once been granite.”
“They had to be, considering my trials. And though you’ve improved in some ways, you’ve grown worse in others. Running about with anarchists and pirates and revolutionaries…”
“Do you mean Carlos?”
“Yes, that miscreant! De la Something or Other.”
“De la Guerra. And he’s not a pirate.” At least, Adrian had never definitively proven he was a pirate…and he aimed to keep it that way. “He’s my very good friend since our school days.”
“Hmmph. You’ve chosen friends poorly in the past.”
“True. But Carlos is entirely different, and anyway, you like him.”
She sniffed. “Nonsense. I did not achieve what I have in my life by liking every charmer who wandered by.”
The dowager viscountess had by all measures made a success of her life. Even Adrian’s scandals couldn’t touch her. She poked at his chest with one finger. “Now you listen to me. I’m off to Bath to take the waters, and by the time I return to town in the autumn, I expect to meet your intended.”
“Or what? You’ll disown me? I’m the only heir you’ve got.”
“I won’t disown you. But I’ll be very disappointed.”
Adrian hated disappointing his mother. And she knew it.
And there was the memory of Rose again. Sitting with her in the garden, while she explained how she wasn’t trying to trap him into marriage! And her kissably soft mouth…
“Very well, Mama. I’ll grab the nearest woman to catch my fancy.”
“You’ll do no such thing. You’ll propose to a woman who will add luster to the name of Norbury. Nothing less than perfection will do.”
“Perfection is a high bar.” His mother would probably dismiss the very idea of a blind woman as an option, Adrian thought. Then he shook his head. What was he thinking? He’d barely met Rosalind Blake. He certainly wasn’t going to rush off and marry her!
That would be scandalous.
Chapter 4
Dear Daisy,
You may think you have a monopoly on meeting aristocrats under odd circumstances, but I must inform you (via my amanuensis Poppy) that it is no longer so. Last night, we attended a party at Lady Herbert’s, and not only was I asked to dance by a gentleman guest, I ended the dance on another man’s arm! Shocking, yes, but more so when I learned that my new escort was none other than the Viscount Norbury, a man with more scandals attached to his name than any other in London. However, he is a good dancer and he was very kind to me. I wanted to tell you of the incident in case you might hear of it, even so far as you are from London. Truly, it was only a dance and a short turn in the garden, and with any other companion it would not rate a comment. But the viscount, apparently, stirs up comments whenever he comes within twenty paces of a woman. Poppy tells me that Mama almost collapsed on the floor when she saw me on the viscount’s arm. And of course she took us all home straightaway, lest I be asked to dance again by anyone! All in all, it was a memorable evening, to say the least. Though I am certain that I will never encounter Lord Norbury again, I can say I danced with a rake, which is not a milestone I ever anticipated passing on my journey through life…
“You’re not going to tell her about Hynes’s actual role in this event?” Poppy asked, pausing in her writing. It was early the next morning, and the girls were in their sitting room adjacent to their shared bedroom, wearing the loose, comfortable dressing gowns they preferred for days at home. Rose’s gown was done in a soft, breezy linen, with little leaves embroidered at the neckline and the hem. She ran her fingers over the raised threads, counting the little leaves as she went. Poppy, who liked vivid colors, told Rose that she was wearing a deep red gown this morning.
The day was bright, the warm sun streaming in from the open balcony door, which faced east. Rose and Poppy usually woke up early, and they had a habit of chatting or writing letters or of Poppy reading aloud from the newspapers before they went down to breakfast.
“It’s not pleasant to remember Hynes’s role,” Rose said in reply to Poppy’s question. “Honestly, I’d rather not name him at all.”
“Fair enough,” Poppy said. “Anyway, as you say, with any other gentleman, it would not rate a comment. So Norbury whisked you off the dance floor for a few minutes! I am sure that within a week, only you and I will remember that it occurred.”
“Mama will remember.”
Poppy chuckled. “Yes, Aunt Gertrude will take this memory to her grave! Her darling girl on the arm of the most scandalous rogue in London. Her expression when she saw him…!”
“Tell me again what he looked like. I’m trying to picture it.”
“He was the one I spotted earlier, in the very well-cut clothing. The blue-gray velvet jacket was so lovely.”
