“Unless you’re more concerned for his welfare than he is. And if my intentionsareevil, the farther I am from the house, the safer we all are, aren’t we? Particularly if you have me out in a public place somewhere. I’ve not been known to do horrible things in public. Mostly.”
There was a certain logic in his argument, self-serving as it was—and then, he’d never pretended that it was anything else. Like his brother, Mina sensed, Colin would never tell her that what he was doing was for her own good. As with Stephen, it was a refreshing change.
Being sought for her company was flattering, too, even if it was because she was the only remotely appropriate person around. IfColinthought she was a proper companion to take out into society—but no, it was best not to find that too encouraging. Colin wasn’t anything like proper. He’d already said he wasn’t particularly human in his outlook, and he’dalsosaid that he and Stephen were very different people.
Flattery, without further implications, would still be enough. And getting out of the house would do Mina good. Given how quickly her thoughts had turned to Stephen, some distraction was certainly the best thing for her.
“Anywhere I want?” she asked.
“Within reasonable limits. I don’t think it would be a terribly grand idea for us to wander over to Spain, for instance, and I’ll not go to any sort of improving lecture, as my sense of chivalry only extends so far. Otherwise,” he said and gave a ludicrously courtly bow, “I am at your service.”
A page of theTimespopped into Mina’s head. She’d read the article over breakfast and peered as hard as she could at the few small pictures that went with it.
“There’s an exhibition at the British Museum,” she said. “Art from India. Some of it’s thousands of years old—which might be less impressive for you, I suppose,” she added, “but there are some really wonderful paintings, they say, and some statues that—”
“Art,” said Colin, laughing and sighing at the same time. “Ancientart. I should have known.”
“Should have known what?”
“It’s as bad as taking Stephen out on the town.”
“Well, if you don’t want to—”
“No, no, I did promise. And I’ll enjoy myself, too. I’m not a complete Philistine. See, you’ll be having a good influence on me.”
“I doubt any woman can say that,” said Mina. “Give me a few minutes to change my dress, will you?”
“I wouldn’t have been rude enough to suggest it, but I do think it’d be a good idea. You’ve most of a book cover on your collar, too,” said Colin.
“Thank you.” Mina plucked the scrap of desiccated leather off her blouse and headed up to her room.
Her wardrobe was such as to spare her any moment of indecision. After washing her face and hands, she put on her best dress, the violet cotton she wore when she dressed for dinner. At least it would be more appropriate for the museum. Mina brushed her hair quickly, put it up again, then pinned on her best hat and peered into the small mirror.
Allowing herself a moment of vanity, she admitted that she looked rather nice. More to the point, she looked respectable. Respectability was really what mattered on this excursion, but despite the dreams and the case of nerves she’d been carrying around all day, her eyes were bright and her cheeks were flushed. Before she pulled the self-indulgent part of her mind up sharply, she thought that it was a pity nobody would be around to notice.
At the top of the stairs, she stopped in her tracks.
As the door closed behind him, Stephen looked up at her, his hat in one hand and his coat half-undone. Despite the hat, his mahogany hair was windblown, his clothing was rumpled, and his face was tired and drawn.
Mina couldn’t have imagined a more handsome man.
Thirty
Tired as he was from the trip, and struck as he was by the sight of Mina stopped on the stairs like the model for some painting, Stephen instantly grasped the meaning of her dress and hat. “You’re leaving?” he asked.
“No—I mean, not for good. I wouldn’t. Certainly not dressed like this.” Mina laughed and collected herself. “Your brother got tired of staying in the house.”
“And he wanted company, of course.”
“It didn’t seem like much of a risk,” Mina said, shrugging, “but if you’re worried, I can stay. He’ll find company soon enough.”
She hadn’t sounded wistful. She had, for as long as Stephen had known her, controlled herself very well under most circumstances. The hat she wore shadowed her face, too.
“No, you’re right,” Stephen said. “It’s daylight for several hours yet, and we’ve been out of the house before without anything particularly dire coming of it. And it’d be a shame to keep you inside when you’ve clearly gone to some trouble.”
“Well, it’s not exactly court regalia, is it? Thank you, though.” She came down to the bottom step of the stairs, although no closer, and gave Stephen a closer look. “Are you all right?”
“I’ll be well enough. It’s been a long day, that’s all.”
