“You don’t like him because he bit you,” she countered.
“Seems sufficient reason, does it not?” He turned his attention to the brunette at her side, whom she had yet to introduce. “Lady Clementine, I presume?”
She inclined her head. “I fear my reputation precedes me.”
Reputation? He sent a look in Vivi’s direction, wondering what manner of people she had surrounded herself whilst he had been gone. Mother’s letters had always been sharply worded and filled with implications he hadn’t wished to consider.The duchess travels in a fast set, she had written once, before droning on for five paragraphs about the forward and wrongheaded nature of the suffragists, artists, and writers Vivi had befriended in London, many of whom had apparently visited Sherborne Manor with her. He wondered again whether she had been faithful to him, but then he tamped down the unwanted thoughts.
“As a matchmaker,” Vivi explained with a frown.
He clasped his hands behind his back, feeling foolish after the nonsense with Honoré the bloodthirsty swan. “Of course. Is that the nature of this house party, then? You and Vivi are playing at Cupid for your friends and acquaintances?”
He directed his question to Lady Clementine, whose demeanor possessed significantly less ice and condemnation than his wife’s.
“Perhaps,” Lady Clementine answered vaguely, casting a searching look in Vivi’s direction that spoke volumes and only served to heighten his curiosity.
Why was this blasted house party so important to Vivi? And what secrets were the two ladies before him keeping?
“Or perhaps not,” he guessed, swinging his gaze back to Vivi, who had been studying him intently.
Pink blossomed on her cheeks, and he wondered at the cause of it. What had she been thinking? Had it been about him? He hoped so. Their parting the day before in the library had been unpleasant, but he remained determined to win her back however he must. Still, she could not avoid him forever, and this little reunion was proof of that.
“If you must know, my guests are either members of the Lady’s Suffrage Society or future members we are interested in inviting to join our cause,” she said loftily.
Mother had not been wrong about that detail, then. But unlike her, Court did not have any concern about Vivi’s involvement in the Lady’s Suffrage Society. He believed that women should gain the right to vote. Some of Mother’s beliefs harkened to a previous century, but there was no altering her opinion. He’d never met someone less inclined to see reason.
“You are a member yourself, then,” he said to Vivi, admiring her loveliness.
It felt as if a lifetime had passed since their parting the day before. She was all cool, icy poise this morning, not a golden curl out of place, her rose-petal-pink lips pinched at the corners with disapproval for him. He longed to undo her buttons, to toss away her hat to reveal the full glory of her hair. To kiss her until she was breathless and make her forget all the hurt in her heart. Not going to her last night as he had wanted had been sheer agony, but he had promised himself he would grant her the time she needed to accustom herself to his renewed presence in her life.
Her chin went up, defiance flashing in her blue eyes. “If I am?”
She had never been so defensive and guarded with him before. She had always been open and teasing and earnest. He hated her aloofness, her lack of trust, and loathed even more that he was the cause of it. Her refusal to respond to his kiss still stung. She had kissed him with fierce passion once, as if she had drawn her very life from his mouth on hers, and he fully intended to have those kisses again one day.
“Then I commend you,” he told her softly. “It is a worthy cause.”
“I shall leave you and His Grace to talk,” Lady Clementine said, reminding Court of her hovering presence.
He had quite forgotten, so caught up was he in Vivi.
Court cleared his throat, feeling oddly as if he had been caught in a state of dishabille, for his emotions were that raw and near to the surface. He hadn’t felt so gauche since he’d been a green young buck of sixteen, experiencing his first kiss.
“That isn’t necessary,” Vivi blurted.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Lady Clementine,” he said in the same moment.
The lady in question looked from him to Vivi, catching her lower lip in her teeth as she no doubt debated which of them she should listen to.
“Bradford can carry on his way,” Vivi added, shooting him a glare. “Clementine and I were just discussing the final details concerning our life-size game of lawn chess. Weren’t we, dear?” She directed the last question to her friend, smiling brightly.
“Was that why there were painters on the north lawn?” he asked, comprehension dawning.
He’d been too consumed by his whirling thoughts to travel the distance to question the fellow, contented to watch the bustling activity from afar instead. For in that moment, lingering in the newly rejuvenated roses had been like being close to her, and he needed that nearness. Even if the woman before him was every bit as thorny as the flowers.
“I do hope you didn’t intervene.” Vivi frowned. “Shipley knows precisely what he must do.”
“Shipley?” He unclasped his hands, lifting one to pass over his beard, contemplating. “The name isn’t familiar.”
“He is the head gardener,” she informed him.
