“Can’t say that I do.” Poppy turned to the maid and instructed her to send the men away. “Tell these men and anyone else who calls that Miss Blake is not at home. Thank goodness visiting hours are almost over!”
“Mama is going to have a fit when she hears you turned suitors away.”
“How could they be suitors? As you say, we don’t know them. This one’s the son of an earl, I remember hearing his name before,” Poppy said, accompanied by the shuffling of cards as she read them. “This one’s name is familiar, something about a carriage race through Hyde Park…”
The maid entered again. “Excuse me, miss.”
“What’s the matter?” Rose asked. “Is one of them not taking no for an answer?” Sometimes gentlemen got upset when others were not at home to them, taking it as a personal affront.
“Oh, no, miss. They all left immediately. But this just arrived for you.” The maid carefully placed a box in Rose’s lap.
Rosalind felt along the edge and opened the box. The decadent smell of chocolate floated into the room. “Oh, that’s divine,” she said. She loved good food; she had practically lived in the kitchens as a child.
“Is there a note?” Poppy asked, coming over. She must have seen nothing, for she said, “That’s odd. First a phalanx of would-be suitors, and now an anonymous gift!”
“Perhaps Lady Herbert sent it, as a sort of apology for what happened on the dance floor last night.” Not that the hostess was too blame for her guest’s bad behavior.
“No, I don’t think so,” Poppy disagreed. “She did send round a note earlier—I should have said, but I got distracted with all the callers. She expressed deep horror that such a trick was played, and she promised to not invite Hynes to any of her future events until he learned his lesson.”
“Hmm.” Rose wondered what would constitute “learning his lesson.” Hynes was a member of the gentry and quite wealthy, according to what she’d learned. Such men always seemed to be forgiven for their transgressions, no matter how shocking. Even Viscount Norbury, who was scandal personified, was welcome anywhere he chose to go. How much of that was due to his personal charm (admittedly a strong force), and how much was simply because he was a man with a title? Rose didn’t like to think about it.
The bell rang again.
“Oh, what now?” Grumbling, Alice turned and went to find out who was at the door. She returned a moment later, with someone in tow.
“My goodness, it’s Lord Norbury,” Poppy declared loudly, mostly to let Rose know what was happening. “Odd that you should arrive just after we instructed the servants to inform everyone we are not at home.”
“He said it was very important, miss,” Alice said hastily.
“That we shall discover,” Poppy said. “That will be all, Alice. And we are not at home to anyone else, understand?”
“Yes, miss.” Alice’s footsteps pattered into the back of the house.
“Miss Blake,” Adrian addressed Rosalind as he approached where she was sitting, “did you not tell your companion that I had plans to call on you?”
“You must forgive me, my lord, for not believing everything you say.” Rosalind strove to keep her voice cool, but couldn’t help smiling.
“You would not be the first, Miss Blake.”
“So we have heard,” Poppy said, so softly that Rose almost missed it.
“If I may,” he said, returning his attention to Rosalind. “Hold out your hands?”
She did, and he placed a single stem into them. “A rose?” she asked, inhaling a whiff of rich scent.
“Just a token I thought you might enjoy, seeing as it is your namesake.” He sat down on a chair opposite Rosalind. The faint smell of sandalwood drifted toward her. Perhaps that was the scent of his soap.
“I appreciate the thought, my lord,” Rose said, holding the flower out to Poppy in a wordless request to find a vessel for it so it would not wilt, “but why did you think it necessary?”
“I do unnecessary things all the time,” he returned. “It’s the necessary ones I tend to neglect. But in your case, I have not. It was necessary to see you again.”
Rosalind’s heart beat a little faster. “Why?”
“I wanted to verify that you were not an apparition. Someone so lovely as you shouldn’t really be allowed out in London. There are too many predators around.”
“I have heard that, sir. I’ve also heard they can take many forms, not all of them unpleasant.”
“You are right, Miss Blake. Not every suit of armor contains a knight. Some are quite empty.”
