Catherine ignored him. She slipped her arm through Elowen’s, who now wore her mask of composure once more. Lucas hadn’t noticed that she had let it drop.
“Miss Tremaine, how lovely to see you again. I hope my cousin hasn’t bored you beyond endurance.”
“On the contrary,” Elowen said, to his shock, “he has proven far more interesting than I first gave him credit for.”
“He has?” Catherine gasped, delighted.
Elowen shrugged lightly. “Whether that is a compliment remains to be seen.”
Lucas deflated while Catherine dissolved into laughter. At that moment, Henry appeared, looking cheerfully perplexed.
“What have I missed?” he asked. “I stepped away to greet Sir Johnson and return to find you all laughing without me.”
“You missed nothing of importance,” Lucas said dryly. “Catherine’s laughter is at my expense.”
“Then I insist on hearing everything,” Henry grinned.
Lucas resisted the urge to groan. Everything had been going so well. Another hour, perhaps two, and he might have coaxed a genuine smile from Elowen. Now she was retreating behind that wall again, and he hadn’t the faintest idea how to breach it.
“Have you been here long, Lord Westbrook? Miss Beaumont?” Elowen asked politely.
“About an hour or so,” Henry replied. “We wished to view a few exhibits before seeking you out.”
“I thought you said you did not know we were still here,” Elowen said.
“We hoped you would be,” Catherine added with a mischievous little laugh. It fooled no one.
Elowen flicked a glance at Lucas, and he could have sworn there was a flicker of humour in her eyes—gone so swiftly he wasn’t certain he hadn’t imagined it.
“Shall we continue together?” Henry suggested, gesturing grandly.
Lucas saw no graceful escape. He swallowed his sigh, tamping down the wave of disappointment that threatened to show. So much for solitude.
“Miss Tremaine! Ah, a sight for sore eyes!”
And just like that, the day took a still sharper turn for the worse.
Lucas stilled, his expression hardening as Lord Cherrington strode toward them, all broad smiles and polished self-assurance. He offered polite nods to the rest of their party, but his focus—hispossession, rather—was entirely on Elowen.
“It seems fate conspires to throw us together, Miss Tremaine,” Lord Cherrington declared. “It is as if the moment you cross my mind, you also cross my path.”
“Then perhaps you ought to stop thinking of me, my lord,” Elowen murmured. “For this begins to feel rather uncanny.”
He laughed as though she’d paid him a compliment. “Is it not? But let us make the most of it.”
“I am afraid I already—”
“Nonsense, my dear,” he said, taking her hand and patting the back of it. “I do not mind the company. Come, you must see this—an exhibit of foreign coinage, donated by my great-grandfather after his travels in India. You will be fascinated, I am sure.”
Without awaiting her consent, he swept her away, scarcely sparing the others a glance. Then, halfway across the gallery, he looked back as if belatedly recalling their existence.
“Come along, everyone,” he called cheerfully.
Lucas stared after them, his ears incredibly hot all of a sudden.
“Lucas?” Catherine’s face appeared before him, her eyes alight with mischief. “You look positively flushed.”
“It is rather hot in here,” he muttered.
