She sighed heavily in an attempt to dispel the disagreeable reverie—and when that did not work, she leant to peer carefully around the pillar to determine how easily she might slip away without being noticed by the pair on the couch. Miss Darcy and her gentleman friend appeared to be deep in conversation about the exhibition.The only people in the entire place genuinely interested in the paintings,Elizabeth mused.
“It never occurred to me to consider it in such a way,” Miss Darcy was saying. “It would be wonderful to hear more, but I must go. My companion and I have another engagement this afternoon.”
“What a shame,” the gentleman replied.
“It truly is. I declare, I could come here every day and always find something new to appreciate.”
“Then, what do you say to doing just that?”
“My lord?”
“Pardon me—I recognise that our acquaintance is of exceedingly short duration, but I have enjoyed it enormously. I wondered whether you would consent to meeting me back here again tomorrow, at the same time. I shall tell you everything I know about whichever paintings you choose.”
Elizabeth felt her cheeks flush with heat, mortified to have trespassed on such an intimate discussion. If she knew her at all, she imagined Miss Darcy must also be blushing fiercely in the face of such marked attention.
“I should like that very well indeed,” Miss Darcy replied, and her breathless voice did indeed reveal all the awkwardness of overt flattery.
“Excellent,” the gentleman said. Elizabeth jerked backwards to avoid being seen as he began to stand up, thus she could not see him as he said, “Until noon tomorrow, madam.”
Neither could she see Miss Darcy as she replied, “Until noon tomorrow, Lord Rutherford.”
Then, despite all her efforts to remain out of sight, Elizabeth could not help but thrust her head around the pillar to gape at the pair in disbelief, but they were already walking away. She came out from her hiding place and stared after them, confused and not a little alarmed. If that was Lord Rutherford, to whose arm was Kitty clinging?
“There you are, Lizzy! Where have you been?”
She looked around to see Kitty emerge from the same churning crush in the centre of the room into which Miss Darcy and Lord Rutherford had just disappeared. “Where have I been? Where wereyou? I looked everywhere!”
“I was taking in the exhibition. Most of the portraits are nudes, you know!”
With a last, infuriated groan, Elizabeth grabbed Kitty’s elbow and directed her firmly around the outside of the room towards the exit. Under her breath, she whispered, “Who were you talking to? I know it was not Lord Rutherford.”
“No—and thank goodness it was not! Would you cease shoving me? What is the rush?”
“What do you mean ‘thank goodness it was not Lord Rutherford’?”
Kitty jerked her arm out of Elizabeth’s grip and made a great show of rubbing it. “Apparently, he is an awful man. You brought me to meet a rake.”
No less confused than appalled, Elizabeth stopped walking, but before she could think what to say, Kitty pointed at her and said, “I told you you should have worn a different gown.”
“What?”
“Have you not noticed the way everybody is looking at it? Honestly, what were you thinking? You came here on Monday—you must have known this place was little more than a walking fashion plate, yet you still came dressed as a milkmaid.”
A quick look around confirmed it. Peoplewerestaring, but not at her. It seemed her vastly unfashionable gown had been the cause of every sidelong sneer. She shook her head in consternation and tugged Kitty towards the door. “Rest assured I shall not wear it here a second time, for I believe I may safely promise youneverto come back to this place again.”
Elizabeth thanked the attendants at the door and bustled Kitty out, setting off directly for home. “Tell me everything. Who was that man and what did he say to you about Lord Rutherford?” She did not miss the look that crossed her sister’s face as she began her explanation—a faraway aspect in her eyes and a dreamy smile.
“His name is Sergeant Mulhall. When he sat down next to me, I thought he must be Lord Rutherford, so I did not hesitate to talk to him. He told me he came to see the paintings but was not much taken with any of them and that he was only sitting on the couch to get his full shilling’s worth before leaving again.”
Elizabeth gritted her teeth and schooled herself to patience, certain that hastening her sister would only dissuade her from telling the story at all. She nevertheless wished Kitty would spare her the minutiae.
“We spoke a bit about how pointless most of the paintings were—who wants to look at pictures of flowers and hay wains when you can just as easily go outside and look at the real thing? And he asked me why I had come if I did not like art.” Shegiggled. “That was when I realised he was not Lord Rutherford, because when I said I was there to meet him, he said he was very glad to have made my acquaintance, but he had no idea who I was.”
“At which point, he presumed to introduce himself, did he?”
“Well, we had already been talking, so I thought I might as well allow it.”
Elizabeth sighed quietly. She supposed it was no more inappropriate than the meeting that had been supposed to take place.
