“Indeed, ma’am?” He was a big fellow, tall and broad-shouldered and exceedingly fit. But today he perched on the edge of the sofa, his hands between his knees like a boy who’d been caught doing wrong.
Which he had done. “Ballooning?” she asked dryly.
Incredibly, he perked up. “Did she tell you about it? I hope Miss Bennet enjoyed it as much as I did.”
That was very interesting. He still looked like a boy, but now one who had a ripping good tale to tell. Much the same way Joan had looked, when relating the same tale. “How much didyouenjoy it?” she asked curiously.
“Enormously,” he said with relish, and then began waxing enthusiastic about gas burners and balloon ropes. He also slipped and started to call Joan by her Christian name before catching himself with another covert glance at the door.
Joan had not yet appeared. Evangeline knew that some new dresses had been delivered that morning, and hopefully Joan was trying on one of them. The colors promised to go very well with her coloring, and the styles were elegant and only theslightest bit daring. One sight of her, dressed flatteringly, might clarify Lord Burke’s mind.
“I never would have asked her to go up if I weren’t completely satisfied it was safe,” he ended.
“And youarepersuaded it was safe?” It didn’t really matter now that they were back on terra firma, but Evangeline wanted to know how considerate he was of Joan.
“Absolutely,” he said without a flicker of hesitation.
She took a breath, and pressed a little. “In all ways?”
Richard had delivered the men’s gossip about the viscount; Fanny had told her the ladies’ view of him. He was indeed one of the most eligible men in London, but he was also one of the most elusive. He was never seen in the company of ladies, let alone unmarried ones; he was rarely seen at fashionable society events at all. Many a hostess had torn out her hair trying to lure the viscount to her party, where one of her single daughters or sisters might catch his eye. If there had been a ranked list of the biggest prizes on the marriage market, Burke would have been near the top. Handsome, titled, and rich—very,veryrich.
His attentions to Joan had so far escaped anyone’s notice, but taking her ballooning and continuing to call on her would change that. If, by some incredible chance, Burke hadn’t thought of it, and had no intention of courting Joan, he ought to be warned off as soon as possible.
But if, on the other hand, he was considering just that...
“Take care not to create any expectation you don’t plan to fulfill,” she told him.
He bristled at this, taking her meaning. “Are you warning me off?”
Oh, very interesting. He wasn’t taken aback, or revolted. He was affronted that she might be trying to deter him.
Evangeline smiled a little. “Rather the contrary! Merely letting you know the scope of the... challenge ahead of you.”George. Marion. He would need to impress far more than Joan or even Evangeline.
“What challenge?” he demanded, looking both irked and determined, but then the door behind them opened, and Burke shot to his feet, a strange expression on his face.
Evangeline knew it would be Joan. She turned and saw her niece, wearing a turquoise dress they’d ordered a week ago. She was pleased to see that the color did flatter Joan’s coloring, and the cut was infinitely better for her curvy figure than the beruffled and beribboned dresses Marion had dressed her in. Joan looked like a woman, not a little girl dressing up.
And Lord Burke looked like a man who’d just been struck by a thunderbolt to the forehead.
Well, well.
She sat quietly and watched them strike sparks off each other. Joan was teasing him—something about a wagered shilling—and Burke’s eyes practically glowed with fascination. Evangeline had seen that look in a man’s eyes before. In Richard’s, when she’d stood up in the pond and opened her eyes to see him watching her, breathless and entranced.
Within days of that look, they’d been lovers.
“My niece tells me you are rebuilding your house,” she blurted out, feeling suddenly as if she ought to redirect things. Mentally she sighed at herself; house building? But it was the only thing she could think of that might cool the sizzling air. She’d not heard Joan mention anything of his taste in music, books, theater, sport, even politics.
But it turned out that Lord Burke was as enthusiastic about his house improvements as he was about ballooning. Even more remarkable, Joan was as interested in the subject as she’d been at the modiste, asking questions and hanging on his answers about plasterwork and rooflines.
“Would you like to see it?” Burke asked of a sudden.
Evangeline seized the moment. “I should like it above all else,” she said warmly. Joan gave her a startled look. “I’ve often contemplated improvements to my own house, but it’s so difficult to picture them. Have you installed any water closets?” she asked Burke.
He cut a swift glance at Joan. “On every floor.”
Her niece smiled, and soon they were on their way. Evangeline prattled on about the water closets—which shewasinterested in seeing, actually; such a convenience they would be—to cover her racing thoughts.
He owned a house in Hanover Square. A very good address, even if his house was currently not the most elegant on the square. Marion couldn’t object to that in the slightest. Inside, the smells of plaster, paint, and sawdust hung thick in the air, but the rooms taking shape were very pleasing. Another point in his favor. Evangeline strolled through, listening with half an ear as Burke talked about his plans, and Joan responded with far more enthusiasm for new woodwork than one might expect from a London young lady.
