“Do you see the shop, Ella?” Nathan swung her hand.
“Yes!” she squealed with ear-piercing clarity.
They all wandered into the little store. Walter was allowed as Mr. Jinks liked him, because he was apparently polite, which baffled the Deville brothers as he was rarely polite in their company.
“Ah, there she is, my little ray of sunshine,” Mr. Jinks said from behind the counter. Unlike his wife, who had a face that could stop a runaway carriage, her husband had a ruddy face and white curls that capped his head. He had a loud, booming laugh and was rarely without a smile.
As luck would have it, only he was behind the counter.
“It is the morning for my favorite customers, it seems,” Mr. Jinks said, looking right.
Nathan followed his gaze and saw the shapely posterior of a woman. She straightened, and he knew instantly who it was.
“Miss Carlow also cannot survive a full day without my peppermint sticks.”
She turned quickly, and he thought she may run from the shop when she saw him, but instead she stood her ground, looking uncertain.
“I fear for us when we are married, Nathan. We will eat peppermint sticks for all our meals and have to be rolled from the house as our girths expand.”
She’d said those words to him one day while he took her driving in the park. He’d stopped to buy them the sweet treats beforehand. It was one of the many things they had in common.
She wore white today, a simple dress with embroidered rose knots all over it. Her pelisse was pink, as were the ribbons on her bonnet. A dress any young lady would wear, and yet on Beth its simplicity enhanced her beauty.
“Good day to you. I am Mr. Forrest Deville, the cousin.” Before he could speak, or drag his eyes from her, Forrest had stepped around him, holding out his hand. “I am a lover of peppermints sticks also.”
“Good day to you.” Beth dropped into a curtsey.
Nathan looked around them for her companion. He saw no sign of her mother or a maid. And there had not been one outside, either.
“This is my daughter, Ella.”
“Hello,” Ella said with her eyes on the treats in the cabinet. “Do you like peppermint sticks too?”
“Very much,” Beth said.
Nathan moved slightly and saw Beth offer a genuine smile to Ella.
“My name is Beth.” She held out her hand, and his niece took it.
“Are you well now?” Nathan stepped closer. “Your breathing, I mean?”
She managed a jerky nod. “Hello, Walter,” she said to the large hound who was crunching on something Mr. Jinks had given him. “It is lovely to see you again.” She dropped down to a crouch before the dog and rubbed his ears. “He sounds like he’s purring.”
“We call it grumbling,” Ella said, wrapping an arm around the dog’s neck. “He sleeps on my bed sometimes.” She shot her father a quick look, realizing he was likely unaware of that fact. Forrest merely smiled.
“Come, Ella, we will purchase your peppermint sticks, but you will eat only one before returning to the house.”
Nathan heard Ella debating as they moved to the counter.
“Where is your companion?”
“I am due to meet Mary.” She kept her eyes on Walter, who in turn had his closed, as Beth was scratching him in the exact position behind his large ear he liked.
“But you have a carriage?”
“No, I walked.”
“You are not serious? A lady does not walk about London unescorted at any time of day.”
