Seth forced himself to turn his attention to other things as the day went on, not wanting to allow himself to get caught up in thoughts of Lady Lavinia. If it was clear to so many people around him that he had been paying her too much attention, that meant he had to step back. And besides, he told himself, it looked as if she wasn’t going to have any trouble finding gentlemen to spend time with now.
He still felt that she was far too clever to become entangled with Lord Hennington. He was a nice enough fellow, but he was so simple. He wouldn’t be a challenge to her intellect. He wouldn’t match wits with her, and she would quickly become bored. But if she had engaged his interest, she would find someone else.
She doesn’t need me anymore.
And he was confident of that until he rounded a corner in the upstairs hallway and found himself face to face with her.
She smiled at him. “Your Grace,” she said. “Did you enjoy the picnic today?”
“I did,” he said, hearing how stiff his own voice sounded. Well, that was probably a good thing. He needed to start putting up walls between the two of them. What had existed between them had to end.
“Lord Hennington spent the whole outing with me,” she enthused. “We had such a good time! And he didn’t seem to think I was too strange or awkward to be around. I think your lessons must be working, Your Grace.”
“They aren’t working that well,” Seth told her sharply. “You’re still pulling at your gown. I did tell you to stop doing that. I know I did. I told you it made you look uncomfortable and awkward.”
Lady Lavinia’s hands fell to her sides. Her smile disappeared as well. “I—I’m sorry,” she said.
“You don’t have to apologize tome,” Seth said. “I’m not the one you’re doing this for. But if you want to be successful, you need to try to remember these things.”
“I don’t know if I was fidgeting today at the picnic or not,” Lady Lavinia fretted. “What if I was? What if he thinks terribly of me because of it? I forgot to even think about it.”
Seth knew that he could have eased her worries in that moment, for he had watched her at the picnic and knew that she hadn’tfidgeted. He could have said something—and yet, he held his tongue. He could see her doubting herself, and though he knew he shouldn’t want that, a part of him was glad. It meant that she would still need him in her life, that their time together wouldn’t be at an end.
He cursed himself inwardly. He wasn’t supposed to want that. He was supposed to be distancing himself.
So he drew a breath and forced himself to say what he knew he should. “Lord Hennington is a good man. He’s kind and easy to get along with. I’m sure he didn’t think any the worse of you, no matter what you might have done. After all, he did choose to spend the whole outing with you, as you said. No one forced his hand. If he wasn’t having a nice time, he could have got up and walked away, but he didn’t do that.”
Lady Lavinia brightened. “That’s right,” she agreed. “He didn’t. He must have thought I was all right, mustn’t he?”
“I think so,” Seth agreed. “And I think that you shouldn’t worry too much about it. Be happy for the time you spent together. Did you enjoy it?”
“Oh, yes,” Lady Lavinia enthused. “He’s just so kind! He asked me so many questions about myself, and he seemed genuinely interested in my answers…” She trailed off. “I hope I didn’t talk too much. Sometimes I talk too much. I know gentlemen find that irksome.”
“I’m sure you did fine,” Seth said.
“But you think so too, don’t you? That I talk too much?”
“Sometimes you do, but I’m beginning to think that can’t be helped. Everyone has a flaw or two, and you can’t be expected to make all of them vanish in the course of a single house party.”
Lady Lavinia sighed. “You’re probably right,” she said. “Still, it’s encouraging that I was able to persuade someone to spend an entire outing with me.”
“You didn’t persuade him at all.” Seth could give her that much. “He was the one who came to you, Lady Lavinia. He was the one who elected to spend time with you. Don’t overlook that fact. It’s important. You should feel proud of the progress you’ve made.”
“Well…thank you.” She blushed. “I suppose I do feel proud. And thank you for your help, Your Grace. I do feel more confident, more certain of myself, than I did when I first arrived at this party. It doesn’t exactly seemlikelythat I’ll find love by the deadline my father has given me, but it’s beginning to seem possible, and that’s quite an improvement.”
Seth nodded. “An improvement indeed.”
“So when will we have our next lesson?”
“Our next lesson?”
“I do still need more lessons, don’t I?” she asked him. “It’s like you said. I still have plenty of flaws. I still can’t seem to remember not to fidget.”
“Yes, tell me why you do that,” he said.
“I don’t know why.” She was wide-eyed. “I’m not doing it on purpose.”
“I know you’re not thinking about it as you do it. But I wonder if there’s some sort of reason all the same. It’s a habit you’ve developed, but why? What causes it?”
