“No, my lord. I would welcome a picnic. I love to take advantage of these crisp, dry days,” Bella replied.
“Good. I have just the spot,” he said, as he asked the driver to stop. Before them sat the apple tree that had been the site of the mischief. He reached beneath his seat and pulled out a large, folded quilt. “I thought these would be perfect. I have one for you, as well, Mary.”
“Thank you, milord.”
Slade helped the women from the carriage and carried the basket and blankets to a large sunny spot next to the tree. “This might be better than under the tree,” he said, laying the blanket down. “Cook packed white wine and grapes, along with cheeses and lemon biscuits. They are my cook’s favorite to make. I confess, I enjoy the combination of tart and sweet,” he said, opening the basket. There was a smaller box inside the basket, and he placed it outside of their basket. Slade picked up Mary’s smaller blanket and moved toward a small bench underneath a tree, about thirty feet from theirs, hoping to gain a measure of privacy. He turned to Mary and asked her if she might prefer the bench.
“Yes, milord. I brought me stitchery, so the bench is wonderful,” the maid said.
“Cook packed a smaller parcel of food for you to enjoy,” he said, passing her the wrapped box.
“Thank you, milord. You are most thoughtful.”
The morning passed quickly as he and Lady Bella shared a lazy late morning, sipping on wine and discussing people they recalled from their childhood and memories they shared. Slade found he enjoyed talking to Lady Bella. She was unlike the other young ladies he knew of in theton. Her violet eyes sparkled when she spoke of things that stirred her imagination, especially the brother-sister torments that she had engineered with Percy.
When they were at Eton, Slade had looked forward to Percy’s shared news from home, especially that of Lady Bella. They had portrayed both a playful and adventurous side of her, including her insistence to rescue a momma cat from the roof of a barn and deliver her kittens in the same barn—despite the rotten weather.
“I do not think we have discussed the weather once,” Slade remarked, meaningfully grinning and sipping his wine.
“Outside of knowing what to wear when I leave the house, it does not signify for discussion,” she replied shyly. “However, I enjoy days like today.”
“You are not like other young women of your ilk,” he followed up. “Most find the weather stimulating.”
Bella giggled. “I know many of those, Lord Drake.”
“Slade.” He corrected softly. “Please call me Slade.”
“Slade . . .” her voice was tentative. “My friend, Lady Diana Harris, calls the expectations Society demands of womenbombastic. They taught us to engage on benign topics so as not to frighten away the men.”
“Frightening to think that they instruct your conversation to be about the weather and the mundane.” He hooted. “Your friend Lady Diana is Lord Spencer Harris’s youngest sister, correct?” He had forgotten the name of the young lady that was always in cahoots with Lady Bella when he visited. The two of them constantly followed him and Percy whenever he visited. Lord Spencer Harris had never been a favorite of his, nor Percy’s, and was known for questionable ethics and rakish behavior.
“It is. I have not seen her in weeks,” she replied, trailing off with a sudden distant voice.
“Have I said anything to offend?” Slade inquired, concerned about the abrupt change in her demeanor.
“No, my lord. I apologize. I thought I saw something moving in the tall brushes on that side of the house.” She pointed to the opposite corner of the pond nearest the road. “Mayhap it was my imagination playing tricks on me,” she said, smiling while taking a last look. “Perhaps it was a deer.”
“Where?” Slade regarded the area directly across the pond from them for a long minute. He saw a dark hat pulled low on a man’s head dart behind a shrub. The man had been watching them.For how long? Good God!He needed to get Lady Bella away from here. He would come back later and check. Instinct told him to let the man think he was unseen. Slade pulled out his silver pocket watch and flipped it open. “Goodness! I had not realized how long I have kept you. We should probably get back to your house or your father may look for me.” He chortled. “My driver can swing by that side and we shall have a look.”
The two of them began packing up the basket. As she folded the blanket, Bella coughed softly and pointed toward the maid who had fallen asleep, still holding her needlework. “It seems our conversation ceased to interest her,” Lady Bella said with a chuckle.
“Yes, it would seem so,” he said, joining Bella in quiet laughter.
He watched Bella walk over and begin talking to the maid as if she had not noticed the woman had not nodded off.
“Yes, your ladyship,” the woman automatically replied.
“So, you do not mind sitting with the goats tonight and making sure that the little ones get plenty of milk?”
The woman sputtered. “M . . . milady . . .”
Lady Bella arched a brow, and Slade fought the impulse to laugh. The maid had not heard Lady Bella’s question.
Mary stood, dusting off her dress. “Milady,” she snickered, “that was most unkind.”
“It was,” Bella acknowledged, “however, it was all in fun. You know ’tis hard for me to resist teasing.”
“Yes, milady,” Mary said, coloring. “I do not know what overcame me.”
