“Shyness is an attribute of strangers. I hope to be less of one to you. Then you may not be so shy,” Lord Duskwood said. “And I will start immediately. I’ve come with an ulterior motive. I wanted to ask if you would accompany me to dinner at my aunt’s country house.”
Adeline hid her blushes behind her teacup, aware of Louisa’s sudden interest in the conversation. She was watching Lord Duskwood intently.
Afraid he intends to poach her governess, I’ll be bound.
“I do not know if my duties will permit it. I am Lady-In-Waiting to the Dowager Duchess as well as governess to Louisa,” Adeline said.
“Then I will ask my good friend Winston to release you for the evening. I doubt he will be so stony hearted, as to refuse,” Lord Duskwood said smoothly. “I earnestly think you will enjoy it. A small gathering, some of my aunt’s neighbors, a little music. Perhaps some dancing.”
“I am afraid I am not one for dancing,” Adeline said, knowing that she had already exposed herself in a lie.
“That is not what I have heard,” he said, undeterred, “but if you do not wish to dance, then we can walk and talk. You will give me a welcome rescue from the conversation of crones.”
This last was delivered in a stage whisper, and Louisa guffawed at the irreverent description of stately ladies as crones. Before Adeline could form a reply, while she scrabbled for an answer that would reject but not offend, a shadow fell across the table. Winston stood there, one hand resting on the back of Louisa’s chair. He had come silently from the house. Unobserved.
“A rescue?”
His voice was calm, but the tone carried the weight of a man used to being answered.
Louisa turned with delight. “Papa! We’re having breakfast outside. I did come to collect you, but your study was locked.”
“Because I was busy. You did well to remember the rules when you found the study door locked.”
He kissed his daughter’s head and stole a piece of her toast.
“Oswald. An unexpected pleasure.”
“Your Grace. I thought I would be sociable this morning, so I rode over from my aunt’s house. I am lodging with her at the moment.”
“Indeed? It is rare to find you straying far from town. What magnet has drawn you out to the countryside?”
Winston stood, towering despite the seat in which he could have sat. He munched toast, but his eyes were stone.
“His Lordship came to ask Adeline to dinner,” Louisa said.
“Miss Wilkinson,” Winston corrected, “and she is the holder of two official posts in my household. Were you aware, Oswald?”
Oswald’s smile slipped for the first time and he frowned slightly. It was a minor shadow, a scudding cloud fleeing across the face of the sun.
“She has said as much. I hoped you would give her leave to take the night off. Just over to Haverleigh. Nothing grand.”
“Everything about Haverleigh is grand,” Winston said, pulling out a chair, “even its dinners. And Miss Wilkinson is just a governess.”
Adeline felt a stab of anger at the reductive statement. Lord Duskwood’s cheeks colored, and his frown returned.
It looks as though he is seeing his friend anew and wondering at the change.
There was a brief, taut silence. Adeline tried to think of something neutral to say and failed. Louisa’s eyes darted between the men, bright with curiosity.
“And a Lady-In-Waiting. Eminently suitable for Haverleigh,” Lord Duskwood said, levelly.
“I will need to check with my mother to see if she can be spared,” Winston said. “It is doubtful. When is this dinner party?”
“Tomorrow night.”
Adeline felt like she was watching a replay of the fencing match she had interrupted. Now they use words instead of blades.
I feel as though two men are fighting over me. That must be the most conceited thought I have ever had.
