‘Our tenants, our staff, the tradespeople who supply it…’ Leo started to list on his fingers.
‘Well, all right, yes, they probably all do, but they could still hold it without you.’
‘The marquess is always in attendance. It’s tradition.’
‘That’s exactly the sort of thing Father would have said.’
‘I amnotFather.’ Leo’s tone hardened. ‘However, on this particular subject, I happen to agree with him.’
‘You’re right, that was uncalled-for.’ Cassie hauled herself upright again. ‘Very well, if you’ve made up your minds, I suppose I’ll just have to make the most of you both today. Will you at least accompany me to Hyde Park this afternoon?’
‘Of course.’ Florence answered before Leo could refuse. ‘It would be our pleasure.’
‘Thank you.’ Cassie threw him a superior look before pushing her chair back. ‘Now I suppose I ought to go and see what havoc my boys are wreaking in the nursery.’
‘I’ll come with you.’ George folded his newspaper. ‘We’d better find out what it was they broke in the dining room too.’
‘Hyde Park?’ Leo arched an eyebrow at Florence once they were alone.
‘Yes. It’s the least we can do after she’s been so welcoming and generous.’ She smiled unrepentantly. ‘Besides, you can’t blame her for wanting to keep you here. She really does care for you.’
He made a harrumphing sound.
‘What does that mean?’
‘Nothing.’ He sighed. ‘I know she loves me and that she feels guilty for leaving me behind at Rainton when she married George. I’ve told her a hundred times that she had her own life to lead, but she’s not the best listener.’ He rubbed a hand over his forehead. ‘Sometimes all this just feels like a lot of fuss.’
Florence nodded slowly, choosing her words with care. ‘She told me a little about your upbringing. Maybe she’s afraid that the way your father treated you still affects you?’
‘Perhaps.’ He held her gaze for a moment, his own unfathomable, before looking away and changing the subject. ‘How did you sleep after I left last night? No more nightmares? I left the door ajar just in case.’
‘I noticed.’ She smiled. She didn’t remember his leaving. She only had a vague memory of drifting to sleep mid-game and waking hours later to find herself neatly tucked into bed, with only a stack of cards on the cabinet beside her to prove it hadn’t been another dream. ‘And I slept very well, thank you.’
‘Good.’ There was a flicker of heat in his eyes. ‘Perhaps we should play cards more often?’
‘Perhaps.’ She cleared her throat, aware of a ripple of something warm and liquid spreading through her body. The way he’d comforted her during the night had caught her entirely off guard. She’d assumed that his attentive behaviour at the ball had been an act for theton, but when he’d rubbed his thumb across the inside of her wrist, it had been only the two of them.Then her own body’s response had surprised her as well. Even now, just thinking about it made her toes curl, making her extremely conscious of the fact that they were alone again, with only a breakfast table between them. She felt a sudden urge to stretch those same toes out, to move them closer to his, maybe even to slide her slipper across his thigh…
‘You know, you don’t have to agree with me.’ He sounded serious all of a sudden. ‘I’d like to be back for the fair, but if you want to stay in London for a while longer…?’
‘I don’t.’ She answered quickly, jolted out of her reverie. ‘I’ve done what I came to do and the fair is important. Besides…’ she knitted her brows ‘…even though I enjoyed last night, I can’t help thinking about how we must have appeared to the Wadlows. I don’t know if they were there, but I wouldn’t want them to think I was gloating, especially if they hear this new rumour.’
‘Does it really matter what they think?’
‘Yes,’ she answered emphatically. ‘They were kind enough to bring me to London in the first place. I don’t want to hurt them any more than I already have. Or Amabel.’
‘Very well, then.’ His gaze softened. ‘We’ll stick to our plan of leaving tomorrow.’
‘Good.’ She leaned forward over the table. ‘Aftera promenade in Hyde Park with your sister this afternoon?’
He groaned aloud. ‘If I must.’
‘Oh, I think you must.’ She couldn’t stop herself from smirking. ‘You’ll never hear the end of it otherwise.’
Chapter Thirteen
Florence jolted awake as the rhythm of the carriage shifted, though it took her a few moments to come back to herself. Despite Cassie’s loud protestations, they’d decided to make the most of the good weather by leaving London early in the morning, intending to make the journey back to Dorset as quickly as possible, but she hadn’t the faintest idea what time it was now. They’d been travelling for so long that her internal clock, never mind her sense of geography, was a complete mess.
Groggily she glanced out of the window, careful not to disturb the sleeping figure of her husband, just in time to catch a glimpse of twilight before the carriage turned into the lantern-lit yard of a coaching inn. They must have both dozed off after the last time they’d stopped to change horses, and then slept all the way through until evening. She wasn’t entirely surprised. They’d been up until the early hours the night before, Leo with George, she with Cassie, and this afternoon had been so hot, and the carriage so well-sprung and comfortable, that it had proved impossible to stay awake. At some point Leo’s head had slipped sideways too, so that his dark hair now tickled her chin where it rested on her shoulder. Feeling him there was a somewhat confusing sensation. It made her feel pleasantly cosy and yet curiously restless too, as if her whole body was tingling. Part of her didn’t want to disturb him, but she supposed it was better for her to do it than wait for the carriage to lurch to a stop.
