CHAPTER 6
ALEX KNEW ITwas not polite to drop in on Lady Withnall unannounced, but there wasn’t time for niceties.
Her elderly butler’s knees creaked louder than the front door when he opened it to allow Alex in.The ancient man then showed Alex into the well-appointed parlor, walking at such a slow pace that Alex wanted to lift him up and carry him forward because anything would be faster than this inching crawl.
“I shall let Lady Withnall know you are here to see her, Your Grace.”
Alex stifled a groan as the man shuffled out again with all the speed of a sluggish turtle.
Dear heaven.
It would be dark by the time she was notified.
Of course, that was a complete exaggeration because Alex had more to do today and this made him particularly impatient.
After several minutes of pacing, he heard the familiarthuck, thuck, thuckof Lady Withnall’s cane as she approached the parlor at a sprightly clip.Preceding her arrival was the scent of a lavender perfume she must have applied too thickly.
He coughed to dispel the overpowering scent.
“Blasted perfume bottle broke as I was dabbing some on this morning,” she muttered, motioning for him to take a seat on her yellow silk settee.“I’ll hit you with my cane if you cough again, Davenport.Is it still that strong?”
He laughed and chose not to answer, for denying it would prove him a liar and telling her it smelled like a perfume workshop in here would earn him a wallop in the shins with her cane.“Thank you for agreeing to see me.”
She took a seat in one of a pair of elegantly embroidered chairs beside the settee.“Go on then, tell me what information you are seeking this time.”
“It’s about the Davenports.”
She arched an eyebrow.“Your own family?”
He nodded as he settled his large frame on the delicate settee.“I have ignored them all my life.”
“With good reason,” she said with aharrumph.
“But I need to be better prepared now that I have more than myself to think about.”
She smiled.“Ah, yes.Congratulations, dear boy.I heard about the stir you and Tulip Farthingale caused last night.What a naughty thing you did, kissing her in front of everyone.But I suppose you saw the opportunity and seized it.I just received a note from Sophie Farthingale inviting me to your wedding.You don’t waste time, do you?”
He grinned.“Not when I know what I want.”
“What happened to bring this about?”
He told her about Caruthers, and how he saw no alternative but to step in.
“Quite chivalrous of you.But then, you were always hoping for a chance with Tulip, weren’t you?”
He grunted.“Yes.How did you know?I did not think I was that obvious.”
“You weren’t, but it wasn’t hard for me to tell.Anyone with excellent observational skills could have discerned it.Of course, no one is as skilled as I am.I knew it the instant I spotted the two of you together.”
“From that first moment?”He shook his head and grunted.“What gave me away?”
“Well, as I said, I am never fooled.It was in the way you glanced at her, each glance lingering just a moment too long.”
This was true.
Whenever he saw her, it was as though the entire room lit up.
His pulses raced and his heart beat faster.
