“Yes, Jack,” she said with a sigh. So she had been out too long. Her parents were back home and furious at her independence.
Norbury opened the door and helped her out, providing a very stable support, not to mention the gentle squeeze he gave her hand to offer her a bit of comfort.
“Do you want me to come in with you?” he asked. “To explain things?”
“I can manage,” Rose said. “Though it is very kind of you to offer. And you know…I think it’s best if neither of us mention Mr. Evans’s behavior. After all, nothing actually happened, and if any hint were to get out…” She’d never be allowed past the threshold again. “I will find a discreet way to ensure Mr. Evans never troubles me again.”
“Very well, Miss Blake. I will bow to your preference on this matter.”
“Thank you,” she breathed.
“But if you ever do need my assistance, whether regarding Evans or anything else, send word to me at Boodle’s and I’ll do whatever is needed.”
“Let us hope it never gets so dire! My lord Norbury, I must thank you for a lovely afternoon. I do hope we will meet again.”
“You may rely on it, Miss Blake,” he promised. “Your walking stick.”
She accepted it, and hurried inside, Jack hovering at her elbow, telling her when she veered to one side.
In truth, Rose was confident of explaining the day’s events to her parents, until she reached the drawing room, where it felt like she was walking into a winter storm. She heard the rustling skirts of Poppy and her mother. Her father crinkled his ever-present newspapers when she entered.
“There she is at last!” he cried with a false heartiness. Evidently, the household had been much more concerned than Rose thought, if her father was waiting at home.
“Where were you?” her mother hissed.
“As I’m sure Alice told you, I went for a ride in the park at the request of Mr. Evans,” Rosalind admitted, aware that this innocent truth would be taken in the worst possible way.
“But you returned with Lord Norbury! What happened? Have you lost your mind?”
“No, just my sight,” she retorted. She heard Poppy gasp, but it sounded suspiciously like the beginning of a laugh.
Mr. Blake was as appalled as her mother. “Rosie, darling, please explain!”
So Rose gave a much simplified version of events, not hinting at any impropriety on Evans’s part.
“I wish you had not accepted the gentleman’s invitation, Rose. It was far too impulsive. You could have destroyed your reputation and our family honor.”
“By going for a ride?” Rosalind asked. “We were in the park the entire time. It’s not as if I ran away with him to Gretna Green.”
Her mother gasped again. “How dare you joke about it! And anyway, what had Norbury to do with all this?”
“Because Mr. Evans’s carriage was damaged, and we had to stop. Lord Norbury came across us, and didn’t think I should have to wait for Mr. Evans to repair the wheel, or whatever it was. He offered to escort me home himself, which was very chivalrous. But since it was so nice out, we took a slightly longer route through the promenade. Then he drove me home, and here I am before you, hale and whole.”
“Rosalind, you are so innocent. I know what Mrs. Bloomfield told me when you were at school with her. And I have always tried to follow her advice to allow you space to make your own decisions, so that you may grow up and not be coddled like an infant. But you don’t understand…”
“Oh, now I’m innocent? A moment ago you made it sound as if I were a barque of frailty.”
“Guard your tongue!”
“Yes, Mother.” (By rights, Rose should not be aware of this term for a prostitute, but Poppy had learned it and told Rose, who was so intrigued by the fanciful euphemism that she never forgot it.)
“Rosalind, dear,” Mr. Blake began again, clearly keeping his voice in the range of calm. “We do not wish to hurt you. But I do not think you comprehend the gravity of the situation.”
“I do not. Poppy has done exactly the same sort of thing on a number of occasions, and you never reacted like this.”
“Poppy was escorted by respectable young men who were approved by us. Lord Norbury is neither respectable nor approved! And neither is Mr. Evans,” he added, almost absently.
“Excuse me, Papa, but Lord Norbury behaved with perfect courtesy. Indeed, I am very lucky he happened by.”
